Portal:Projects

The Projects Portal

Appropedia is the site for collaborative solutions in sustainability, poverty reduction and international development through the use of sound principles and appropriate technology and the sharing of wisdom and project information. It is a wiki, a type of website which allows anyone to add, remove, or edit content. Registration is encouraged but not required for contributors.

Appropedia has been described as an "appropriate technology wiki," but it is much broader than that - it is a green wiki, and a wiki for all matters of international development and aid. But most importantly, Appropedia is an open site for stakeholders to come together to find, create and improve scalable and adaptable solutions. For more about our motivation, see Appropedia:Mission.

To create a new project page, first browse the project articles and subcategories below for examples and check for possible collaboration opportunities, such as articles similar to what you're considering writing. If you are looking for ideas for your own project, check out our suggested projects. It is highly encouraged to tag your projects with their status -- you can do this with a few templates. Be Bold!

More about Appropedia, suggestions, projects, and their status...

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Solar Charged Lawnmower. An electric lawnmower that utilizes solar power as an energy source will address a number of issues that standard internal combustion engine mowers do not. An electric lawnmower with a solar charger will be easier to use. There is no messy dangerous gasoline to deal with. It will eliminate those pesky trips to the gas station for fill-ups. Just plug the mower into the charging station when not in use and it will be charged and ready for your next mow! Most importantly it eliminates the emissions of an internal combustion mower.

The basic idea is to convert an older non-working gas mower into an electric powered mower by replacing the gas engine with an electric motor that runs from a 12 volt battery. This battery will be charged using photovoltaic panel (A.K.A. - solar panel). I chose to convert an old gas mower rather than just starting with an electric mower due to cost and so I could design the power output. I also planned on using as many used materials as I can. This will help to save these materials from ending up in our already over filled landfills.

I would like to claim that I came up with this solar charged electric mower idea on my own but the truth is I came across an article about one in a "Home Power" magazine (Issue 107) a while back and have wanted to build one ever since. When the opportunity arose to use it as a project in my Engineering 305 class at Humboldt State University I jumped at the chance.

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Appropedia is a wiki, so you can edit and share information and collaborate with others to lighten our ecological footprint and live richly, in harmony with our environment. You can start contributing after you create an account or log in if you have an existing account.
	Suggested projects: Cycle rickshaw · Improved cook stoves · Mosquito control · Quality of life · Water supply and purification for emergencies