guatemala – Preindustrial Craftsmanship

I wrote a little something about this a while back; see the post about the Bicimáquinas. Matt, from Makeshift sent me this link and asked me to share it. Have a look. It is pretty inspiring to see Makers of this caliber.

From their YouTube page:

“Power Hackers, a series made in collaboration with Autodesk, profiles unexpected makers and designers who are developing creative climate solutions.

This video profiles the inspiring work of Maya Pedal, a Guatemalan organization that produces “bicimaquinas,” or bicycle-powered machines. The income-generating devices range from blenders to milling machines. Along with clever engineering, director Mario Juarez has succeeded in fostering pride in the community’s work.

Makeshift is a field guide to hidden creativity. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to follow original series like Power Hackers.”

While you’re at it, have a look at their quarterly magazine at http://mkshft.org.

An excellent project and a good cause.

From the Makers:

In 1997, in San Andrés Itzapa in Guatemala, Maya Pedal Association began recycling scraps of bicycles into Bicimáquinas.

Bicimáquinas are pedal-powered blenders, washing machines and threshing machines, eliminating the need for fuel and electricity. Pumps are also possible, and are capable of extracting 30 liters of water per minute from 30-meter deep wells (electronic pumps reach just to 12 meters).

The idea of these ingenious contraptions emerged from the desire to help the farming families of the San Andrés community. The issue that gave rise to Maya Pedal was the expense and shortage of electricity and fuel in the village.

Carlos and Cesar, creators of Maya Pedal, have achieved an extraordinary result: a worthy project that does not pollute and is extremely fascinating in its involvement of volunteers from around the world who are building a fantastic pedal revolution.