“These 10 videos focus on the artisans around the world still making shoes by hand. From Mexico to Japan: we’ll take a look at how different shoes, slippers and sandals are made.”
Cash Ropeway in South Africa
January 26, 2011 by Filed Under: Obsolete technology, Random, Ropes, Ropeways
Low-tech Magazine editor Shameez Joubert spotted this cash ropeway in Grahamstown, South Africa.
Cash ropeways were used in shops from the 1880s to the 1960s. They worked in a similar manner to large-scale cargo ropeways. Bicable cash transportation systems were powered by a catapult device or by separation of the wires, monocable systems were operated by a small electric motor.
The Cash Railway Website is dedicated to cash ropeways and similar systems, but it does not mention any ropeway still in use. The system in the South African shop was installed in the 1960s and it still works. Thank you, Shameez!
Know Your Bolts
January 25, 2011 by Filed Under: Bolts, nuts & screws, DIY, Repair
Makezine points to this printable poster that displays all the different bolts and nuts and connectors along with their official names (and instructions on how and when to use them). All bolts – except for the Pentalobe screw (more).
UK Lawmakers Call for Energy Rationing with Personal Fuel Quotas
January 24, 2011 by Filed Under: Energy
“TEQs (Tradable Energy Quotas) is an electronic system which guarantees reductions in a nation’s use of fossil fuels, and involves energy users and communities in the task of working out how to achieve this in the light of local conditions and opportunities.” Media coverage / UK report / Book / Website.
Cameroon Blacksmiths
January 13, 2011 by Filed Under: Africa, Hand tools, Metal working, Random
“On the outskirts of Maroua, the capital of the Extreme North of Cameroon, is a place quite unlike any other in the country. Here a community of blacksmiths practice their craft in the relative cool of a tree grove. Several dozen men with specialized skills are gathered here for a single purpose: to transform piles of scrap iron into finely finished tools, stoves, replacement parts and other useful implements for sale to the local population. Young apprentices learn the craft while operating bellows or shaping wood for tool handles. The production here is performed entirely by hand and on a scale which must be seen to be fully appreciated.”
The Extraordinary Makers of Maroua, via Afrigadget. Related: Innovation in Kenya’s informal economy.
Low-Tech Whale Hunting in Japan, pre-1900s
January 11, 2011 by Filed Under: Fishing gear, Random
“Pêcherie de baleines (départ des canots) à Ikézouki, Nagasaki”. Source: Histoire de l’industrie de la pêche maritime et fluviale au Japon, 1900. Original at CNUM.
