We are happy to announce that our safe, economical Arivi stove is a finalist in this year's Index Award under the home category, it is a great honor to be included with other great designs to improve life.
Approximately 60 000 people are injured by paraffin use each year in South Africa, costing the country hundreds of millions of dollars and the Arivi stove is designed to address this problem.
The stove has 3 main benefits, the first is that the flame self extinguishes when knocked over, tilted, moved or refilled. The second is the increased efficiency, saving users 32% of their paraffin costs. Thirdly, the stove produces almost no particles or smoke and less than half the amount of carbon monoxide required by law, reducing indoor pollution which causes respiratory ailments. A limited number of stoves are being offered for pre-ordered sale to anyone who believes in this cause and wants to help. Please go to www.myarivi.com to find out how you can help.
Good to see that apart from the Arivi stove, this year sees another 4 finalists from South Africa; Woolworth’s "Making the Difference Through Design" Program, Design Indaba 10x10 Low Cost Housing project, Lodox® Statscan® VE1 and the Freeplay Fetal Heart Rate Monitor.
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The Woolworths "Making the Difference Through Design" program provides a platform between business, design and education, placing important tools in the hands of educators.
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Design Indaba 10x10 Low Cost Housing project; in 2007 Design Indaba commissioned ten local and international architects to design low-cost houses for ten low-income families in the Freedom Park community in Cape Town, South Africa
The idea behind the design was conceived by Ravi Naidoo during Design Indaba
2007, the 10×10 Housing Project invited leading international and South
African architects to submit housing designs for lower income families. “Lets give dignity and empathy to the poorest of the poor by
designinga house that pushes the envelope in terms of ingenuity,
creativity and sustainability.” Ravi Naidoo; PingMag 2007.
The design from MMA Architects is a low cost, timber and sandbag
infill construction, can be built with little or no electricity and
uses unskilled labor from local communities. The design has also won the Curry Stone Design Prize.

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Lodox® Statscan® VE1-the Statscan can X-Ray a person in 13 seconds. “Statscan gives critical life-saving information to the medical staff by enabling them to have a complete picture—literally from head to toe—of a patient’s injuries, faster and with less interference with patient stabilization efforts than ever before possible. “ Lodox.
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The Freeplay Fetal Heart Rate Monitor-"Using advanced ultrasound technology, the Freeplay Fetal Heart Rate Monitor detects and measures the fetal heart rate. This vital indicator of fetal stress allows rural healthcare workers to make life-saving decisions during childbirth. Destined for use in low-resource settings, its design focuses on simplicity of use, durability and electrical-power independence. The fetal heart rate is numerically displayed, while its sounds are clearly amplified. Its efficient, human-powered electricity generation and storage technology ensures operation anywhere" Index Award. Freeplay gained recognition through its first product , the Lifeline Radio, a wind-up radio designed specifically for use in development and other humanitarian projects. Read more about the Freeplay Foundation here.
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Project Masiluleke needs to be mentioned too, Project Masiluleke is a collaboration between Praekelt Foundation (based in Johannesburg), Frog Design, Pop!tech, iTeach, Aricent, Nokia Siemens and others. See coverage from Core77, BBC and Poptech.
Great use of the mobile phone as an appropriate means of communication
while being culturally sensitive.
The INDEX:Award prize ceremony will take place on 28 August 2009 in Copenhagen.