#HTE

The SafariSeat: A Low-Cost, All-Terrain, Open-Source Wheelchair Built from Bicycle Parts

If you want to research how to design for those with disabilities, you can buy the Inclusive Design Toolkit we looked at here. But industrial designer Janna Deeble did his research the hard way: An accident left him in a wheelchair for three months, providing first-hand experience of what it’s like to not be able to use your legs.

The market for wheelchair users in developed nations is one that designers are already addressing. But there’s a need in developing nations for wheelchairs too, in regions where there are no sidewalks. Even if impoverished residents could afford a conventional wheelchair, it would do little good over dirt tracks and goat pastures.

Thus Deeble assembled a design team and developed SafariSeat, a low-cost, all-terrain, open-source wheelchair made from commonly-available bicycle parts:

Deeble’s four-person outfit, Uji, has as their mission “to design tools that help people lift themselves out of the poverty cycle.” The SafariSeat project is their first, and it’s off to a promising start; it’s not only been successfully Kickstarted, but is truly going to make a difference in people’s lives.

“The open source toolkit means we don’t have to pay licensing fees, allowing businesses to grow freely,” says Matthew Lukindo of the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK). “This will mean more SafariSeats and more jobs for the community. The all-terrain [capability] and low cost design makes it perfect for the Kenyan environment.”

At press time, the campaign had netted $68,977 on a $37,370 goal, but they can still use more funding. The current amounts pledged enable Uji and the APDK to set up two workshops in East Africa and produce 100 SafariSeats. More funding would not only allow them to produce more, but will also enable them to set up a disability outreach program to locate the undocumented folks in isolated regions who are desperately in need of a SafariSeat. There’s just nine days left in the campaign, and you can pledge here.

http://www.core77.com/posts/57668/The-SafariSeat-A-Low-Cost-All-Terrain-Open-Source-Wheelchair-Built-from-Bicycle-Parts