Tool/Machine

Rhizosphere engineering through biostimulation of Quorum quenching bacteria for controlling bacterial diseases in vegetables Bacterial pathogens have been largely controlled through pesticides even though there are risks involved. Aside from the economic demerits, pesticides negatively affect animal and human health due to their direct, indirect and residual effects, and are considered as risk to biodiversity, biosafety, and environment.

A low-cost, paper-based device developed by this project will help detect E. coli bacteria and other pathogens in food and water in low-resource settings.

Mycotoxins are a threat to agriculture and human health. The issue arises when toxin formation occurs during grain drying and storage, and there is a need for novel approaches. Current efforts have concentrated in tackling wastage of grain while stored. The innovators showed that the drying stage is the most critical control point in curtailing toxin production. However, the cost of the drier prototype is too high for adoption at subsistence farmer level.

Our innovation is the PICS bag, a triple layer plastic bag that serves as an hermetic way to store grains. Sealed PICS bag deprives insect of oxygen, action that kills insects and stops mold growth decreasing food losses and aflatoxin contamination.

Mothers working in Bangladesh garment factories will receive access to breast pumps and a low-cost way to extend the shelf life of expressed breast milk. The technique uses an alternative heating medium, minimizing the amount of water and energy normally needed for pasteurization but effectively killing bacteria and viruses while leaving nutrient content largely intact and extending shelf life.

Mumtaz Arthur and colleagues of Biofilcom Ltd. in Ghana will develop and field test a prototype toilet facility that incorporates an aerobic digester to decompose waste along with a low-cost microflush valve that uses minimal amounts of wastewater from the washbasins to improve sanitation and user experience. The field tests will help assess and refine cultural, sanitation, and financial aspects of these community facilities.

Srikanth Mutnuri from BIRAC in India in collaboration with Willy Verstraete from Ghent University in Belgium, will aim to develop a financially affordable and simple-to-operate decentralized wastewater treatment system for a single household as well as for a gated community of 100 people (25 families) that will produce high quality effluent for safe disposal. The waste treatment system relies on electrochemical reactions and the production of chlorine, to manipulate the pH of the wastewater to destroy pathogens and helminthes.

This project, undertaken in collaboration with the University of South Florida, U.S., aims to develop and demonstrate an innovative sanitation and resource recovery solution for the slum areas in India.

The project aims to ensure food-security throughout the entire year in a rural district by storing food through an innovative technology known as the Solar Conduction Dryer. It also aims to add extra income to women farmers from the sale of the dehydrated products of this technology, while providing valuable lessons in post-harvest losses.

Provide an affordable prosthetic hands to war-wounded people for their better lives