Wheel & Water is a nonprofit developing transportation systems for rural Africans.

Throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa, rural women spend an inordinate amount of time and energy, every day, fetching and carrying water and firewood.

While there is little possibility of providing piped water and electricity to most rural communities in the near future, basic Human and Animal Powered Vehicles – or HAPV’s (see HAPV MODELS) – could make this task far quicker and easier. These include the water-wheel, the pannier, custom-built vehicles, or multipurpose carts such as the “HAPPY”.

Rugged in construction and ingenious in design, the “HAPPY” is a high-tech model of an ancient, yet proven concept, the donkey cart. This versatile vehicle is fitted with seats to carry up to four adults, or several children. The space below the seats allows for the transportation of standardized water containers and beverage crates....

Fitted with a solar panel that charges a 12 volt battery under the driver’s seat, the “HAPPY” becomes an independent, sustainable source of energy that powers cell phone connectivity, front and rear emergency lights and a small neon tube at night. Add a water filtration system, and the “HAPPY” doubles as a multifunctional mobile business unit, that can empower an entrepreneurial owner, to generate income from it as a fresh water outlet, a mobile phone kiosk or a spaza shop – even after dark.

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Three things are interesting about this project. First is its combination of high and low tech: we now live in a world in which having a donkey cart pulling a mobile cell phone charging station seems like a viable idea. Another is the effort it puts into folding many different functionalities-- or potential functionalities-- into a single multipurpose platform (achieved in part through DIY standardization). Finally, note the role of the cellphone as an indirect driver of technological innovation: cellphones have created a demand for electric power in environments that demand highly innovative, small-scale solutions.