Solution

Customizable Clay Food Storage Systems

This solution addresses food waste in Addis Abba, Ethiopia for merchants ("Guilt" purveyors), clay craftswomen

Problem Description

"Guilts" (the Ethiopian word for an outdoor marketplace) suffer from high amounts of food waste. The often harsh physical environment of these outdoor marketplaces means that food does not last long. With the impending severe temperature fluctuations of climate change, this problem will only intensify. As it currently stands, most vendors dispose of their unsold food at the end of the day. A great deal of potential profit is literally thrown away. While storage solutions already exist for food, most are either too expensive or not compatible with the different kinds of produce that merchants sell. Clay is a technology that has existed for thousands of years, and offers both a cost-effective and customizable solution to this problem of food waste.

Building Blocks

Story

Currently this solution is still in the prototyping and ideation phase. The solution practitioners are in the field, talking to vendors and determining what their precise needs are and how storage technology could possibly fit into this. The actual clay storage vessels are also in prototyping phase. Working with local clay craftswomen, The Guilt Project is developing a series of feasible designs. This solution recently was chosen by the OpenIDEO community as one of the winners of the Amplify Challenge looking at how urban slum communities can further their climate resiliency. They will receive additional funding from the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) to further this idea.

Photos

Resources

Prototyping Worksheet
Depicting visualizations of clay storage prototypes

Organisations Involved

Contributed By

Julia Masuser, Julia Mauser Architects
Melat Assefa, EiABC

Solution Stage

One of the 7 stages of an innovation. Learn more

STAGE	SPECIALIST SKILLS REQUIRED	EXAMPLE ACTIVITIES	RISK LEVEL AND HANDLING	FINANCE REQUIRED	KINDS OF EVIDENCE GENERATED	GOAL
Generating ideas2	Ideation and facilitation of creative thinking	Creativity methods Design tools Crowdsourcing Open innovation Awards and rewards Challenge prizes	High failure rate should be an explicit expectation Visible senior leadership essential HIGH	Usually grants, occassionally convertible LOW	A clear account of change or likely causation, supported – but not overly constrained – by evidence	An idea or set of ideas to develop and test

Submitted By

Bryan Lehrer