VITA - Volunteers in Technical Assistance

Wood-Burning Oven - 1/01/1981

This oven was designed and built for use in the Godavari School in Kathmandu, Nepal. It is built of solid brick, with a sheet iron door. A wood fire is burned in the oven, the ashes removed, and the bread slipped in to bake in the heat retained by the thick brick wall. The oven for the school has a baking space of about 122cm x 122cm (4' x 4'), but some have been built with oven floors as large as 183cm x 183cm (6' x 6'). (For larger sized baking areas, of course, the size of the entire structure has to be adjusted.)

Waste Oil-Fired Oven - 1/01/1984

This simple, low-cost bakery oven is fueled by waste, automotive crankcase oil. The design has undergone extensive testing. It is designed to be built from locally available materials.

This oven is capable of maintaining a 160 degrees C to 190 degrees C baking temperature on .946 to 1.4 liters of waste oil per hour depending upon chimney draft. This oven is a result of a student design project by University of Maryland students under the direction of VITA Volunteer Clifford L. Sayre. The other members of the project are: Leon Chuck, Richard Freeman, Morris Hoover, Maureen Houle, Barry Kornett, and Thomas Sieber.

Waste Oil-Fired Kiln - 1/01/1984

This technical bulletin briefly describes a new technique for using the spent lubricating oil removed from automobiles. This oil normally has no immediate use. It is often discarded in ways that can foul local groundwater or upset wastewater treatment systems.

The "waste oil" can be burned as fuel by using a special "oil-drip" technique. A ready supply of waste oil can usually be found at nearby gas stations.

The oil-drip method is based on an original application designed by Ali H. Sheriff with the aid of Bashir M. Lalji. Sheriff is the owner and operator of a number of small-scale industries in Arusha, Tanzania. The oil-drip technique was developed at his pottery works. It is currently in use there and at a number of schools and institutions in the Arusha area. Sheriff is a long time VITA Volunteer.

Understanding Scrap Metal Recycling - 1/01/1984

Metal scrap, although unfamiliar to most people, is one of the world's larger industries with regard to the number of companies and people employed, weight of material handled and value of equipment used. It offers exceptionally good opportunities, for creating new businesses in developing countries, whose production or generation of scrap will increase rapidly with industrial and urban growth. Governments like it because it saves foreign exchange, conserves energy (recycling metals uses far less energy than primary metal production from ores), and creates substantial employment.

Men's Wash And Wear Pants - 1/01/1987

This Profile describes one plant operating with one shift and producing 15,000 dozens pairs of pants a year, and another that produces 22,000 dozens a year.

It is important for a small factory to be able to produce varied styles. Therefore, it is imperative to have a designer/pattern-maker available to quickly produce properly fitted items as may be requested by the customer.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas - 1/01/1988

This profile describes two plants, operating with three shifts for 52 weeks per year. The smaller has an annual manufacturing capacity of 2,220,000 barrels; the larger has an annual capacity of 4,440,000 barrels.

The methods of LPG recovery fall into four general classifications: (1) absorption, (2) absorption plus turbo-expander, (3) adsorption, and (4) compression. Absorption uses liquid such as naphtha or kerosene to recover LPG from gas. The rate of recovery can be increased by reducing the temperature. As a result, oil absorption plants often use refrigeration in the process.

Hand Operated Clothes Washer - 1/01/1979

This easily operated washing machine can be built by a good carpenter from materials readily available in most countries. It is easy on clothes, effective and sanitary. The machine, which can take a 3-kilogram (6-pound) load of clothes, can be shared by several families.

Clothes will last much longer if they are washed in this washing machine rather than beaten or scrubbed on rocks. Washing with the machine is also much less work. A pilot model of the machine was made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and tested in the USDA Home Economics Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Under test conditions, a comparison with standard electric commercial washers was very favorable. If the cost of the machine is too much for one family, it can be shared by several. However, if there are too many users, competition for times of use will become keen and the machine will wear faster.

Handloom Construction - 1/01/1979

Read this manual carefully before deciding which loom to build. The manual has been written to assist with thinking about the questions which must be answered before a loom is built. For example:

-- What types of fibers are available and how much do they cost? -- What product or articles will be woven? -- If the handwoven article is to be sold, is there a market? -- If the articles are to be sold, can they be made and sold quickly enough to make the effort worthwhile? -- What materials are available for building the loom?

Once these factors--construction materials, purpose, fibers, and so on--have been considered, it will be much easier to decide which loom can or should be constructed.

This manual first describes briefly a range of fibers which can be used and then presents a brief summary of each of the types of loom, the construction materials needed and the products best produced. As a guide to the potential loom builder, the looms are then compared with each other in terms of all these factors. The first chapter provides a very good framework for making decisions concerning which loom is best for a given purpose. Chapter 2 is an illustrated dictionary of basic terms used by a weaver and throughout this manuscript.

Directions for construction and use of each type of loom are covered in Chapters 3, 4 and 5. Chapter 1 includes information on choosing, treating and spinning fibers. Other sections cover types of weaves and finishings, and weaver's tools. An annotated list of references is also included.

Construction Glues - 1/01/1990

Strong, water-resistant casein glue, which produces joints as strong as or stronger than most of the common species of wood, is made from skim milk and common chemicals. Casein glue joints are water-resistant but not waterproof. They will withstand occasional soaking, but if soaked and dried, they will fail.