The Design and Technology Lab is a joint venture between the Industrial Design Programme at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and the Product Development Group of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ). The Lab is a cross-university education and research platform dedicated to interdisciplinary innovation projects.

In western Nepal, the mountain population produces edible oil from a local hard shell walnut in an elaborate process. With the help of MITO, a bicycle-driven module, the time from collecting the nut to extracting the oil is significantly shortened.

MITO

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In western Nepal, the mountain population produces edible oil from a local hard shell walnut in an elaborate process. With the help of MITO, a bicycle-driven module, the time from collecting the nut to extracting the oil is significantly shortened.

The Design and Technology Lab is a joint venture between the Industrial Design Programme at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and the Product Development Group of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ). The Lab is a cross-university education and research platform dedicated to interdisciplinary innovation projects.

The use of hand-pressed walnut oil has a long tradition in western Nepal. The nuts are collected in mountain villages and then cracked on site using a time-consuming process, first with stones, sorted by hand, crushed with mortars and finally pressed by hand.

In cooperation with Helvetas, Mattis Stolze (Master, ETHZ) and Pascal Trachsler (Bachelor, ZHdK) investigated oil production on site and designed a bicycle-powered module on this basis. A bicycle chain drives two counter-rotating rollers, making it possible to crack a family’s entire harvest in one day.

The project will be pursued further with Helvetas. The designed concept will be implemented in a robust prototype and subsequently tested in Nepal. Current project information is available at MITO’s official website.

Gestaltung:
Studios Zürich, Basel

Umsetzung:
Neusicht

Copyright:
©DTL, 2016

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