Low-tech Inventions That Help Change Lives

angelaelle writes "The current issue of Popular Mechanics is featuring their Breakthrough Awards program for inventors. Some of the winning inventions help improve the living conditions for people in third world countries using low-tech materials and assembly methods. Technologies like this cookstove for people in Darfur, and in the case of this Windbelt developed by Shawn Frayne, could be used to provide cheap, clean energy alternatives. The website features fascinating, inspiring videos talking about the inventor's 'eureka moment', focusing on the inventor as well as the technology."

Comments

Re:"Save Darfur Stove" is stupid

[DDLKermit007]

I call their grill a waste of energy, and masturbation at beast. Engineering demands my ass. We learned how to cook with high efficiency like what that crackpot is going on about in the video. It's called a coffee can (or similar size). You simply take some tin snips to it. But then again, it doesn't take someone with a PHD to come up with something like that. I like how at the end they mentioned the stoves cost $20 a piece (vs a couple bucks at best with a coffee can), and the families that got them, had to buy them.

Re:A cook stove: band aid for war torn Darfur

[lena_10326]

To the person who modded me Flamebait, my URL pic is for you.

Re:Hexayurt website

[IdeaMan]

Your page totally stinks. Gives no real information, only fluff marketspeak. This is Slashdot, so consider your target audience.
http://www.appropedia.org/Hexayurt_Playa
and
http://www.appropedia.org/Hexayurt_playa_checklist
are MUCH better sources of real information.