Dear Michael and All
>Interesting discussion it is surprising how wide spread around the world the >support for decentralization is even with its problems warts and whiskers. It is not generally known by New Dawn Engineering has for many years been looking into this problem and working out ways to manufacture locally using a carefully chosen blend of inputs that takes advantage of the production capacity and accuracy of the modern manufacturing systems (read: cent5ralised) and the local production of something that the customers can gain an additional advantage from. The idea is the put big manufacturing in its proper place in the manufacturing chain, and also to put the one making that ‘last mile’ connection in the value chain. People talk about ‘making something locally’ but no one makes their own steel sheets, or their bolts and pop-rivets. One might substitute handmade rivets such is done in the Sahel where nails are cut short and used as a steel rivet, but that is not common. The point is that there is really no such thing as a metal product ‘locally made’ any more. Ceramics is another matter. It is possible to decentralised the production of ceramics but several new problems arise that are best controlled in a large facility. The bridge to be built is the connection from a simple decentralised facility to a central laboratory which can monitor the mix and the production firing. Moulding clay products consistently is easy – there have been systems available for lifetimes. Yes, people don’t use them, but they could. To get a ‘certifiable’ performance is the challenge. The reason is there are subsidies involved and in order to warranty performance, the product has to be consistent. Jigging and tooling are key to producing a certified product locally. The development of producing (labour-saving) but simultaneously labour enhancing tooling is not as strange as it sounds. Manual or slightly mechanised production of the final assembly is the right idea. A good example of this is the Berkeley stove in Darfur and on a smaller scale, the Vesto in the Gambia. Both are certifiable products in that they all have identical performance but both are assembled ‘on the ground’ meaning nearby the point of use. The production of certified stoves in Senegal would include the Mayon Turbo Stove which is made from scrap metal in a ‘sort of certified workshop’ meaning they produce a consistent product. Anything made of metal can be produced more cost efficiently if the transport of empty space is considered. That is important in a place like Mali where all scrap metal is turned into stoves but there is an absolute shortage of local metal. If a better stove needs twice as much metal, only ½ as many can be produced when the material runs out. Thus importation of material is a minimum if you want to roll out at scale. If that material is pre-manufactured flat parts, so much the better. That is how to create a high performance product with local low skill labour. Regards Crispin
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