so, I'm currently stranded in the american southwest, and I just realized I've only seen a solar cooker at a homeless camp twice. and that's just foil, some cardboard, and a couple bricks/rocks/piecesofwood and a single non-foragable piece; a black metal/ceramic pot.
so in sun-heavy places where it literally never rains, I know a way to empower people for their own hot food.
what other tools could be easily fabricated for unhoused people? I want to get a resource together. then get some shit printed and pass it out. but I want to have more than this. can you folks think of any tools that could be built from scrap that might empower people to live life even a little more on their own terms?
Solar showers are another good one. Literally just a silver lined bucket with a shower head on the bottom. What would be really cool would be to design some kind of collapsible stand so that you could pack it up and take it with you, then set up a shower stall with a curtain wherever you go.
I'm imagining three aluminum poles that form a 6' tall tripod, and the hot water container mounts on the top. If the poles can be taken apart the whole setup would be small enough to carry in a backpack or duffel bag. And you could rig a curtain to go around the tripod, or just hang a sheet around it for some privacy in a pinch.
omg forgot solar showers were a thing.
why silver lined instead of painted black?
No reason they couldn't be black, I was just remembering one that I had a while ago.
i just mean, like, wouldnt the reflective stuff keep it from getting too warm?
I don't think so, because the light warms the water as it passes through it, so the reflective surfaces will magnify that effect. Although I'm not sure that would work better than a black plastic container, and the black container would be easier to source and maintain so you might as well go with that.
yeah, but hiding things is also cool shit. and there's plenty of space out here outside of town. just a matter of figuring out shelter.
Alcohol burning soup/beer can stoves are easy to make. lightweight, and good for cooking. Wood burning ones are even easier but much less efficient. Both are significantly better than cooking over open flame.
ideas for cheap-ass semi-permenant shelter? got lotsa sand, im willing to throw down a couple hundred for someone to sleep inside and stay cool for a couple months. if most of that is tools and can be used to house others, even better.
rammed earth crossed my mind, but IDK how to do that all the way and dont want to half ass it. how to work around rebar reinforcements etc?
