Procrastinating? We’ve got just the thing! The YTT have pulled together a series of TED Talks that they LOVE. Grab some popcorn and get comfy, because you’re about to get seriously inspired by these amazing engineering projects.
What’s this TED talk about?
This TED talk features Amy Smith, who has worked to develop better alternative cooking fuel in response to the millions of deaths caused by breathing in smoke from indoor cooking fires. She’s worked with students and volunteers to come up with a solution, which is, using farm waste from sugar mills in Haiti and turning them into fuel that the locals could both use and even make themselves.
What’s rad/ah-mazing/awesome about it?
What’s so awesome about the concept behind Amy’s talk is the adaptability of this technology to different areas in the world who need it. It isn’t just about distributing the materials and using the same generic thing to solve a problem. It’s about using what’s available for the locals, and helping them build the technology that works for them. It helps them solve their own problem to make everything work.
How did it inspire you?
Amy’s talk really inspired me in the way that, it wasn’t just about helping people by giving them the resources they lack to solve a problem in short-term. The solutions developed provided a long-term fix to what had been long-term problems. It wasn’t that resources were continually being provided, but it was that help was continually being developed so that they could continue to fix the problems by themselves.
What surprised you?
What surprised me most was the adaptability of the concept. Amy had started of in Haiti, and had later talked about the technology used in India, this being using what resources that they had and how it could be used to solve the problems that they had. The development of the technology and the solutions catered to what was needed most, not so much to why it was needed.
Did you ever have an idea about developing something yourself that solves a problem in the world? Tell us all about it.
I cannot recall a time in my life where I figured out a way to change the world in a positive way. I’ve only ever wanted to make it better, but never knowing how. Initially, I wanted to write and inform others of a better world, through journalism. I have long since discovered that although this is not a bad idea, I have yet to personally learn more about the world I live in before imagining and telling about a better one.