Small Scale Hemp Processing

May 9, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: Farming

Reader Martin Monin shares some links around hemp processing:

I don’t know if you have some research or an article under preparation for this, but as you know, hemp is an extraordinary plant for the low tech transition, and yet its use is still marginal, as it’s costlier than cotton/concrete and the other chemical/petrol substitutes.

There are multiple parts in the process, from the retting of the plant (which can be done naturally by letting the plant in the field after its cut, or chemically – like the Chinese do). And then decorticating, separating the fiber from the stem, and the flower/seeds. From my small research, it seems that the industry is more looking into huge machines to process the huge fields of American and Australian farmers. But there is not much around small scale farming, and I was wondering if you knew of any low tech projects around hemp processing?

Here is a machine made in Latvia that seems interesting but does only a small part of the whole process : https://hurdmaster.com/

And another project between USA and Zambia to build a whole hemp processing facility, very interesting : https://ehemp.house/

The dream would be to build a micro autonomous plant that produces seeds + flowers for CBD extraction, fiber for textile production and hurd for construction isolation…

Best,
Martin

Reconstrained Design & Locally Produced Gravity Batteries

May 5, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: DIY, Energy storage, Gravity Powered Machines, Random

The Reconstrained Design Group at the Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute in Portugal “challenges the dominance of the grid system through developing functional prototypes that operate outside of its control”.

Solutions include gravity batteries to provide night-time storage from solar or wind power using the natural phenomenon of gravity in vertiginous regions. The uniqueness of this battery is its ability to be built, installed and maintained by local communities using local materials and techniques and to not rely on any external help or funding. It uses basic physics principles to provide an easily achievable and efficient way to store energy without conventional battery systems.”

Also check out their manifesto and publications.

No Tech Reader #31

May 5, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: Digital technology, Internet, No Tech Readers, Politics, Repair

Carbolytics: The Environmental Impact of Data Collection Practices

May 5, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: Internet, Random

“Carbolytics is a project at the intersection of art and research that aims to raise awareness and call for action on the environmental impact of pervasive surveillance within the advertising technology ecosystem (AdTech), as well as to provide a new perspective to address the social and environmental costs of opaque data collection practices. Online tracking is the act of collecting data from online user activity, such as reading the news, purchasing items, interacting on social media or simply doing an online search. It is known that tracking and recording users’ behaviour has become a major business model in the last decade.”

“However, even though the societal and ethical consequences of abusive online surveillance practices have been a subject of public debate at least since Snowden’s revelations in 2013, the energy and environmental costs of such processes have been kept away from the public eye. The global data collection apparatus is a complex techno maze that needs vast amounts of resources to exist and operate, yet companies rarely disclose information on the environmental footprint of such operations. Moreover, part of the energy costs of data collection practices is inflicted upon the user, who also involuntarily assumes a portion of its environmental footprint. Although this is a critical aspect of surveillance, there’s an alarming lack of social, political, corporate and governmental will for accountability, thus a call for action is urgent.”

More: Carbolytics. A project by Joana Moll commissioned by Aksioma in collaboration with Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and in partnership with The Weizenbaum Insitute + Sónar +D.

Fireless Cooker Made from Chair

January 26, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: Cooking stoves, Cooking utensils, Random

The fireless cooker is a well-insulated box that keeps food simmering with only the heat of the cooking pot itself. As we wrote in 2014, a fireless cooker doubles the efficiency of any cooking device because it shortens the time on the fire and limits heat transfer losses. A fireless cooker is easy to make and may be one of the most useful low-tech devices around. [Read more…]

Solar Powered Website in Design Museum London

December 21, 2021 by kris de decker Filed Under: Internet, Random

The solar powered website in the Design Museum in London. It forms part of the exhibition “Waste age: what can design do?“, which runs until 20 February 2022.