Nur Ahmad Furlong

Islamic Experience Designer

Sustainability

Modular Smart Phone by Phonebloks – So cool I had to share

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broken iPhone
Photo by Lars Plougmann on Flickr

I haven’t posted anything to any of my sites for absolutely ages but the following project is just so inspiring and “necessary” that I thought it’s a definite must share. I know more than anyone else the problem we have with our “smart device” becoming unusable because one small little part broke. In many cases the cost of repairs are so high we end up tossing the device and just getting another, which is an extremely wasteful practice. My daughter just washed my iPhone and destroyed the screen. Even though all the other parts work perfectly fine the phone is useless and I’m struggling to find someone to repair it at a decent rate. I wouldn’t have a problem if I was using a Phonebloks Modular Smart Phone.

THE PROBLEM

A phone only lasts a couple of years before it breaks or becomes obsolete. Although it’s often just one part that killed it, we throw everything away because it’s almost impossible to repair or upgrade.

DESIGNED TO LAST

Phonebloks is made of detachable bloks. The bloks are connected to the base which locks everything together into a solid phone. If a blok breaks you can easily replace it; if it’s getting old just upgrade.

Modular and Reusable Phoneblocks
Modular and Reusable Phonebloks

I’m absolutely stunned that we’ve come so far without solutions like these becoming mainstream. Of course we know that’s driven by the consumerism being shoved down our throats by the corporations merely interested in profits and not sustainability. If we can use collaboration and networking to create mass movements we can surely get 1 simple and very necessary product developed.

A movement not a product

I think The Phonebloks project is more of a movement that a 1 off product and deserves our energies to see it realized. These types of solutions are what improve people’s lives drastically while not completely destroying the environment. It’s a matter of changing our mindsets and looking further than the status of the latest and most flashy device.

I highly recommend giving this project your support, getting the word out there and adding your voice to the Thunderclap.

I’m working with another like minded designer to create a community directory of dwelling modules along a similar lines. It’s called Wikidwell, the brainchild of Irina Papuc. It will contain fully modular items, free of toxins and completely recyclable

Our relationship with water needs a Refresh

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It’s that time of year again when bloggers get together in force to spread the word about Blog Action Day and the topic of the moment. This year’s focus is on Water, such an essential element of survival that many of us take completely for granted. In less developed parts of the world, and, in fact possibly just around the corner from where we are staying people struggle on a daily basis to have access to this precious element of Life. It is mainly because those of us who enjoy easy access to this resource do no respect it and end up abusing it, that others have to suffer and struggle without it.

As a Muslim, it is part of my belief system to take water issues really seriously, as we as Muslims have been advised by the Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) that “even if we have a flowing river of water, we should still not waste it”. I am taught by the Scripture which I follow(The Quran) to believe that Our Creator has created every living thing by making use of Water as a major component of it’s creation. It’s very simple, water is essential for life, though we as a Human race are abusing this very essential element in just about every single manner possible. There is enough water flowing around our planet at any given time to provide for each and every living being, but we have chosen to make it a right only some of us can enjoy.

Things we’re doing to make our water situation worse:

  • Waste in general
  • Using unenecessary amounts of water for enternatinment or commercial use
  • Hoarding up water resources and depriving others
  • Polluting our rivers, lakes and even the oceans
  • Polluting the atmosphere out of which the Rains fall
  • Unnecessarily using valuable resources on bottled water in many cases where it’s not necessary

In the modern home the amount of water each person uses on a daily basis for various activities could at times equal what others may use in an entire month. If only we could see the thousands of litres we’ve consumed, polluted, wasted unnecessarily we may be more conscientious. I speak for myself first as being very guilt of all of these things.

Here’s a list of things we can all do to be part of the solution right now.

  • Shower Instead of bathing
  • Shorten shower duration to what is necessary
  • Wash your face with cold water, don’t wait for water to warm up
  • Rinse dishes, fruit etc in a bowl of water instead of leaving the tap running
  • Don’t throw chemicals or other pollutants down the drains
  • Water your garden early morning or late evening to avoid vapouration
  • Reuse water used to rinse fruit & veg for house plants
  • Don’t drink bottled water unless absolutely necessary
  • Fix leaking taps asap
  • Only run dishwashers and clothing washers when they’re full

I found a great list of 100 tips to conserve water – Use Water Wisely

One more tip to inspire you towards appreciating water in a more meaningful way it, go out into nature where fresh water is still flowing naturally, like a river, waterfall or mountain stream. When you see clean water in nature and you appreciate it’s beauty & benefit it helps increase respect for this divine blessing.


That’s me on a 2 Day Hike in the Cedarberg Mountains in the Western Cape South Africa. It helped me gain a much better appreciation for clean flowing water and the blessings it holds.

Embrace Technology, Save the Earth – Join Blog Action Day

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Once again blog action day has arrived and always sneaks up on us so quickly. I’m not gonna post an essay or discuss anything in depth but will briefly share my simple strategy for lowering my carbon footprint.

1. Go Digital – Save Trees

Going Digital means cutting out many of the paper based systems we use as business people and many times unnecessarily so. I use almost no paper and I don’t use a printer at all. Take you data assets online and back them up using various mechanisms. It will not only save trees but can drastically improve you efficiency.

2. Work Remotely – Save our Atmosphere

There really is no good reason for knowledge workers to be commuting in their thousands on a daily basis. The web has made it extremely easy to setup online collaboration spaces which help keep remote teams in touch with each other. This can also improve your quality of life and reduce stress, save valuable travel time and reduce carbon emmisions.

3. Less is more – Save our Resources

Or should I say, less is less. We tend to go over the top when we get involved in things and go on spending sprees for our hobbies, work and families. Embrace a more simple life and you’ll be consuming less valuable earthly resources as well as needing less money which leads to needing to work less. Humans can survive very comfortably with very little.

4. Re-use – Save money

I buy everything I own or need on a cash basis, keeps me in a almost permanently debt free state. When I do need to make a purchase, most times I opt for a good quality used item whether it be a car, computer, desk you name it. Why should we be increasing the need for production of more and more when the items in circulation are good enough.

I don’t go around hugging trees regularly nor am I obsessive about every last purchase or action, but a few simple life principles naturally reduces the impact I make as an individual. What are you doing to make a difference? I could do with a few extra bits of advice.

Earth Mosaic celebrates Earth Day in Photos

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April the 22 is not only election day in South Africa but also one of the days set aside to celebrate the Planet, Earth Day. An inspiring project called Earth Mosaic aims to celebrate a day in the life of Planet Earth with an International Earth photography project.

Calling all photographers and Earth-lovers … Help us record a day in the life of our planet, in pictures.

earthmosaiclogo
If you’re into all things environmentally friendly or just want to celebrate the beauty of this wonderful planet we call home, take a few snaps of your little corner of Earth and submit itto the Earth Mosaic Project!

Vote with your light switch – Earth Hour 28-03-09

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The fact that we are in the middle of a climate crisis might have slipped the mind of a few of us due to the economic crisis currently hitting us, so Earth Hour comes along as a nice little reminder while we’re all distracted by all the other challenges we’re grappling with.
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2,848 cities, towns and municipalities in 84 countries have already committed to VOTE EARTH for Earth Hour 2009, as part of the worlds first global election between Earth and global warming. – www.earthhour.org

The concept is simple, at 08:30pm on Saturday 28 March, if you’d like to cast your vote for the planet, switch off all your lights and go without electricity for an hour to do your little part for the environment.

Springwise: See-saw power for schools

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seesaw

Human powered energy generators are on the rise and many different designs have been surfacing in the last year or so. This one uses an existing fun activity to produce some much needed energy.

Daniel Sheridan, a student in consumer product design, won three separate awards amounting to GBP 5,500 earlier this year for his see-saw design, which can create enough electricity to power a classroom by capturing the energy generated when children play on it.

What more can I say, brilliant idea, South Africans could do with a combination of sober entertainment & energy production all rolled into one.

Check it out here