ETHOS Technical Reports
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
10-3-2017
Abstract
This summer, a University of Dayton Mechanical Engineering student traveled to Cochabamba, Bolivia to work with CECAM developing sustainable technologies for the Cochabamba Pedal Project. This project aims to design and construct various pedal-powered machines to ease the living conditions of people with a wide range of needs or disabilities. From corn de-grainer bikes to blender bikes to ice cream machines, the CPP aims to create machines of all types that can enable someone in need to pull themselves up from poverty. In most Bolivian families, the burden of chores and other household responsibilities tends to fall on the backs of the women and children of the family. Specifically, the task of washing and drying clothes is a significant burden in Bolivia due to the scarcity of resources including electricity and clean water. The entire load of the family’s clothes is therefore washed by hand in trickling streams once or twice per week requiring about 6-8 hours of labor each time. Since this time spent washing clothes is extremely valuable and could be better spent on education or turned to profit in some way for these families, it was decided that the next machine that the country needed was a bicilavadora. The concept and prototype of the bicilavadora, or bike washing machine, quickly became the main project of the summer. Ultimately, a prototype was created from preliminary drawings and recommendations for a final design were determined.
eCommons Citation
Devine, Thomas, "Bolivia: Bicycle-Powered Washing Machine" (2017). ETHOS Technical Reports. 6.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/ethos_reports/6
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