Mighty Mitad - Google Project 10^100

Every day, over 70 million Ethiopians consume a flatbread called injera as their staple food. Injera is cooked on an open fire using large clay discs called mitads like a griddle. Mitads, however, have a serious problem: they break every few months. The clay cooking surfaces are quite fragile and most families will replace them between 3 and 7 times a year, at a cost of ~5 USD each. Since mitads are ubiquitous in Ethiopia, a country where the majority of families live on about 180 USD a year, this creates an enormous financial burden. Most households spend over 10% of their annual income replacing broken mitads.

The durability of mitads can be massively increased with a simple, inexpensive solution: by installing a steel band around the edge of the mitad to compress the clay. Applying an engineering principle called pre-stressing, the mitad transforms from a fragile disc that shatters when accidentally knocked over to a durable cooking surface that can be dropped from overhead without cracking.

Its that simple. With a steel band you can create a Mighty Mitad.

In detail, the Mighty Mitad is a pair of C-shaped bands with tabs at each end for bolting the halves around traditional clay discs. The retail cost is under 2 USD and the manufacturing expertise required for production is minimal.

The environmental impact is also quite significant. The Mighty Mitad could save 500 thousand tons of raw clay annually, as well as countless endangered trees burned for firing.

A pilot launch of the Mighty Mitad has already begun in southern Ethiopia with a local manufacturing partner. It has been hailed as a miracle and generated tremendous demand. The cost savings to households are already apparent: every family has decided to send their children to school.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• ethiopia
• mitad
• google
• development
• injera
• dschool

[emigrantgap]

who initiated this project? deserves that Nobel prize thingy. These 'little " idea are the things that can change the world. An individual who thinks, creates and shares with others is one who lives in peace. Peace is when people live with out want. A simple band of metal, who would ever have thought!

[WorldStove]

What a wonderful project! I am very grateful that a friend sent me your video in an email. What sort of stove is used under a Mighty Mitad? Perhaps we could collaborate

[soundslikejesse]

Freaking awesome, Dave - keep up the great work.

[Subsonicmonkey]

Simple solution starts a positive revolution.