The Canadian James Dyson Award national winner, Kaleb Aman, created DewPointe, a system that attracts moisture from the atmosphere with the hygroscopic properties of charcoal and turns that moisture into water for crops. It targets the lack of readily available water and encourages smallholder farmers to cultivate while keeping costs low. Carleton University student founder Kaleb Aman will be awarded £5,000 to further his project.
DewPointe – sustainable irrigation system
During Aman’s fourth year of Industrial Design at Carleton University, he was given the opportunity to travel to Tanzania. Leading up to his trip he was made aware of the dry spell season and that farmers did not have the opportunity to grow crops to feed their community. With the limited water supply, the priority of expensive tap water is always drinking water and sustaining livestock. Unfortunately leading to agriculture being overlooked and food insecurity.
The recent poor harvest in the Longido district of Tanzania resulted in limited food availability and a reduction of casual farm labour opportunities – which led to high commodity prices and eventually leading to food insecurity. This is a reality for many countries and community that face dry spell seasons.
Aman invented DewPointe, a solution that would encourage crop production year-round through a low cost, passive irrigation system. DewPointe solution that fits the needs and the lifestyle patterns of the Longido people while aiming to encourage food security and create revenue in crop yield while conserving water.
From the beginning, Aman’s aim was always to create something with locally found materials. Prior to Tanzania, Aman trialed many different methods to harvest condensation to form runoff to water crops passively but quickly learned the temperature at night does not drop enough to create the dew point for moisture to condense. Through this trial he turned to research found materials that could absorb moisture in the atmosphere and release that moisture when exposed to heat. Eventually leading him to charcoal for accessibility and its hygroscopic properties.
He stimulated tests with bags of charcoal at different thicknesses, size of pellets, and material of the bag. Then prototyped different mechanisms for the transition of the charcoal in its exposed and closed positions. The frame would slide up and down a glass basin with a rubber ring around the frame. After user testing, the form of the handle was finalized and it was time to bring the components together visually, a form that would seamlessly transition the system into the ground.
Aman plans to use the £5,000 prize to take steps to continue field testing and work with a Physical Geographer specializing in atmospheric water to consult on DewPointe’s potential. Eventually, Aman would like to present the concept to NGOs hopefully leading to implementing DewPointe with small holder farmers facing food insecurity due to the dry season.
