Innovative Designs for Impoverished Communities

By Virginia Prescott on Monday, August 11, 2008.
listen:Listen with Windows Media PlayerListen with an MP3 Player

Monday on Word of Mouth, we take a look at improving life on the ground for the 2.7 billion people in the world living on less than $2 a day.

Bicycle wheels that can thresh millet, Lego-like bricks created from soil, and electric generators hooked-up to irrigation pumps are simple projects that could go a long way toward improving the lives of millions of people in developing countries. That's the guiding principle behind a month-long summer workshop that just wrapped up at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The International Development Design Summit was initiated by Amy Smith, a senior lecturer in mechanical engineering at MIT and the recipient of a 2004 MacArthur "Genius Grant." Smith joins Word of Mouth to talk about the ideas that came out of the summit.

(Photo by Niall Walsh)

Word of Mouth is on the move! Sign up for our podcast and take the show wherever you go.

Say what you want to say. How you want to say it. We want to hear from you.

Word of Mouth is all about what's new. Online and on-air, the show looks at our fascinating and ever-changing world, and puts the latest ideas under a microscope. Word of Mouth investigates everything from science and technology, to health and the environment, to new trends in popular culture. The show airs Monday through Thursday at noon and is hosted by Virginia Prescott.

Support From

Corporation for Public Broadcasting


THE NEXT GREEN THING
is supported by


Public Service of New Hampshire

supporting environmental education
and awareness and committed
to responsible forestry



Navigation

User login