Copyright © 2008 Bambulance. All rights reserved. design by plippo.com
The Design For Development Society (DFD) is a Vancouver-based, registered Canadian charity that works with communities in need to address problems that are a consequence of and/or contributor to poverty.
Working with established and student designers, along with client communities, our aim is to design solutions that are sustainable and that support self-reliance.
DFD focuses on working with the end-user, utilizing local materials and means of manufacture, and on maximizing opportunities for skills transfer and education.
Examples of our current activities include:
Working with communities in southern Africa to build bicycle ambulances that allow rural communities to transport injured people to medical facilities quickly and safely.
Consulting with health professionals and village communities in India to provide designs for locally built adaptive aids and developmental toys.
Exploratory design work into issues such as low-tech plastic recycling and in-field oxygen delivery systems.
For more information visit our website at www.designfordevelopment.org
The Design For Development Society
Project Team Leads
Drawing on an eclectic background in sciences, fine arts, music and interior design, Chris believes that practicing design is not about creating products, but about a meaningful dialogue between our daily actions and the creative process.
Currently Chris is completing his Bachelors in Industrial Design at Emily Carr Institute, and interning on the Bambulance project as part of an ideation and synthesis team. In working with DFD, his hope is to help the Bambulance become an emerging product/system which utilizes sustainable and ethical design practices, and serves as a lasting contribution to the capacities of collaborating communities.
Chris Ryan
Role: Design Intern
As a design intern on the Bambulance project, Philippa is excited to be involved in all stages of the design process – from first renderings to final manufacturing. She comes to this with a background in medical design, ergonomics, and sustainable design as a student at Emily Carr Institute. Her previous projects including a leg lifter for people with immobile limbs and a push-top pill bottle for people with limited dexterity. She is inspired by the challenges of designing in a development context and appreciates the opportunities for collaboration and capacity-building presented by the Bambulance project.
In addition to researching, designing & prototyping the Bambulance as part of her final year in Industrial Design at the Emily Carr Institute, Philippa will be directly involved in training our Kenyan partners to manufacture and distribute the Bambulance.
Philippa Mennell
Role: Design Intern
