Day two...

Day two of the EWB conference...more people, more interest, more great questions...

Jeff and I participated as real world examples of how CTI collaborates with it's partners, and had the chance to explain the 2 pass prototype to the audience.

Jeff deserves HUGE credit for this prototype. He spent many nights this last week finishing the system, and it shows...

The thresher breaks down to fit into a standard suitcase for ease of transport...

Has a minimal number of parts...

And then assembles to create a compact, stable system (1st generation is on left)...

We have 3 weeks to incorporate a stripping mechanism that removes the millet from the candle (stalk) as well as a hand powered winnower. Then our little baby is off to Mali for field testing and user feedback. Over the summer we will modify the system based on the feedback and have another device in the field in time for the fall harvest...

The Blue Sweater...

Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO and Founder of the Acumen Fund http://www.acumenfund.org/ gave the keynote address Friday. She has a new book called The Blue Sweater, personal memoirs of her lifelong quest to understand global poverty and to find powerful new ways of tackling it.

You can lean more, and hear interviews here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Blue-Sweater/41692100926?ref=ts

A few of my take aways:

- "Philanthropy is broken" - insight gained from her time at the Rockefeller Foundation

- "Charity alone will not solve poverty"

- "Dignity is more important than wealth"

A re-occurring theme between all the people in this field is patience and time...

...Both are critical to the success of any endeavor

Road Trip!

Jeffy and I are on our way to the Engineers Without Borders conference in Milwaukee. We will be delivering the 2 Pass prototype, as well as helping Roger (from CTI) with a few workshops.
We are looking forward to talking with others who share out interest, and hope to move our vision for OneLab one step closer to reality!

Winnower 2.0

Thom made some good progress on the winnower. We are still on track to deliver the 2 Pass prototype to the engineers Without Borders Conference at the end of March!

A visit from Erv...

Erv Lentz, full time volunteer with CTI visited our humble workshop this past weekend to check on our progress, brainstorm some new ideas, and apparently meet every member of Jeff's extended family, including the dogs...



Jeff demonstrated the current version of the roller module, which is ROCK SOLID and works like a champ (regardless of what my son Elliot explains to Jeff...)

We ran millet through the system 2 times, and winnowed by hand to have Erv evaluate the "brokens".




Then Thom demonstrated the winnower prototype. It still has some bugs, and he is trying to dial in the appropriate air flow, which is proving to be a bit of a pickle...