A Complete Food Preparation System: From Corn-Stalk to Cook-Stove

The Namaso Bay School in Malawi, Africa currently provides a single meal for each of the 452 students. This is, in fact, the most motivating factor for school attendance. Additionally, the nutrition has obvious benefits for the ability to learn. The non-profit Under the Baobab Tree, which maintains and supports the school, would like to extend the program to provide lunch to the students as well. Nsema is the food the Namaso Bay School serves and the staple of Namaso Bay. It is a corn-based meal turned into a grits-like porridge. The process of making Nsema involves harvesting the maize grown in the area, scrapping the kernels off the cob, taking the kernels to another town, paying to have the kernels milled, and then returning back home to cook the milled kernels in boiling water. There are several problems with this system, including labor intensive kernel removal from the cob, wasted cob, and inefficient and dangerous cooking methods. In this studio, we intend to create a systems approach to address all of the problems using simple maintainable technology. This technology will be developed by students in the NuVu program under the guidance of Dr. Mike North. After the course is complete, students will be given the option to enter into the Under The Baobab Tree program to travel to Africa and implement the created technology.

Mike North

Ph.D., Nanotechnology; CTO, Nukotoys; North Design Labs; Founder of Reallocate

Dr. North holds bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in engineering with focuses on mechanical design, rapid prototyping, and nanotechnology. He’s published in a half dozen major scientific journals, including the journal Nature; and continues to speak internationally on design and innovation. Mike masterminded builds on the Discovery Channel show Prototype This!, where he led teams of crack inventors, scientists, builders, and engineers to create never before seen spectacles of engineering. Inventions ranged from an omni-directionally driving stilt lifting traffic busting truck to a 30-foot tall waterslide simulator to cutting-edge lifesaving fire fighting equipment. Currently Mike is bringing innovation to the toy industry as Chief Technology Officer at Nukotoys, Inc.; runs his own design consultancy, North Design Labs, LLC; and is founder and director of reallocate.org, a non-profit that redirects expertise in the developed world to solve real world problems in developing countries.

links:
North Design Labs
Reallocate

photo credit:
Erik (HASH) Hersman