After several months of hard work, These Hands has successfully hosted the 2018 International Development Design Summit. This summit brought together development practitioners, engineers, and designers with local communities in rural Botswana. These teams collaborated with local entrepreneurs and innovators in D’kar, Dutlwe, Rakops, and Kaptura to create technologies that address local development challenges. The teams developed several technologies like peanut roasters, deep-sand wheelbarrows, hydroponics fodder, elephant repellent, bean threshers, dough mixers, and elephant dung paper. The teams also developed an accompanying business plan for their technologies. These business plans will serve as a roadmap for creating enterprises based on these technologies and generating income for the community.

The 2018 International Development Design Summit produced many new technologies and facilitated knowledge sharing between local innovators and international development practitioners. However, the Summit also produced many new friendships, connections, and a sense of camaraderie between local communities in Botswana and the international development community. These connections will open up many new opportunities for collaboration. We will continue to foster this spirit of cooperation and we look forward to seeing the effects that the Summit will have on these communities.

View our final report: IDDS Botswana 2018 Final Report