First Full Day!

Today we drove to the Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit (ITTU) workshop in Suame magazine to finish preparation of our village press and grater demonstrations. Irene, Anna, and I co-designed with Francis—one of the workshop’s chief technicians—and fabricated pieces to complete the press prototype. During this time, we also grated cassava and finished fitting grater heads to the new motors. Meanwhile, Ben, Jianhan, and Julian found the Sokoban wood village and purchased wood that the sellers claimed was used in all presses. When they returned to the workshop, we concluded with the modifications before heading back to the guest house.

First day! Team heading out to ITTU.

On campus we pressed cassava in our prototype for the very first time had a few immediate reactions and design considerations. First, the nut of the handle bottomed out on our lead screw because our spacer was too small. Next, juice began to seep through the bag all crevasses of the press, some even getting trapped in a small basin for the duration of the experiment. Lastly the bag ripped at the seams and some cassava spilled from the press. At this point we left the experiment to sit overnight as we discussed possible design changes for our next iteration.

Choosing boards for the press at Sokoban.

(Left to right) James, William, and Francis. Chief technicians at ITTU who helped us immensely in our efforts

Laying out ideas for legs of the press