17 Aug 2015

The just ended two week long 2015 International Development Design Summit D’Kar left a legacy for the community of D’Kar and other communities from Ngamiland District. 

Participants from 15 countries presented prototypes, which will be developed into sustainable projects to benefit and improve livelihoods of local communities provided there is financial support. 

The prototypes ranged from agricultural designs to art and crafts. 

In total, the participants produced six prototypes namely precision planter, crop protection, plastic waste, fodder chopper, ostrich eggshell beads maker and cultural preservation through information communication technology. 

Co-lead instructor of the summit, Ms Amy Smith, noted during the presentation of prototypes that IDDS is a hands-on design experience that brings people together from all walks of life to co-create low-cost, practical innovations to improve their lives. 

She said after the summit, IDDS participants become part of the growing International Development Innovation Network (IDIN). 

Also of importance, Ms Smith said some participants continue to work on projects from the summit, while others pursue their own local innovation projects.

D’Kar village was chosen because of the artistic skills of its San community. 

However, Ms Smith noted that such innovative and artistic skills need to be translated into economic growth. 

She explained that with IDDS D’Kar 2015, a large stage will be set for an even bigger month long design summit scheduled for Botswana in 2016. To produce prototypes, participants worked closely with local community members to learn more about how challenges in D’Kar could be addressed with low-cost technologies and systems. 

Participants would then build and test a prototype to address a problem presented by the community. All six prototypes were then presented and shared with the local communities and explained. 

Awarding participants during the summit, Director of Cluster Development at the Botswana Innovation Hub, Mr Budzanani Tacheba, said that they take interest in initiatives that help communities grow.

He also said that they encourage and support Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and under grass roots innovations. 

Mr Tacheba said they appreciate potential in such projects as they believe they are ideas that can help find solutions to the communities and be relevant to the world. Meanwhile, University of Botswana Director of Industrial Design Technology Prof Richie Moalosi encouraged participants to develop bigger projects from the prototypes. 

For his part, Dr Alexander Moseson of the US Global Development Lab urged participants to impart and share skills they gained at the summit with their communities and take the projects forward to develop and improve their livelihoods.

He commended the participants for their ideas saying they will transform lives and grow economies if developed. 

This year’s summit was organised in coordination with local partners, including These Hands GSSE, the University of Botswana Industrial Design Department, Southern Africa Innovation Support program, and the Botswana Innovation Hub. 

The partners will support projects that emerged from the summit, providing resources, mentorship, and workspace for innovators looking to take their prototypes to the next level.  ENDS