One of the best educations for me about doing appropriate technology work came from simply watching and listening to Aaron ask questions.
So here I present the list of questions we wrote down to ask the kids before and during the design process of the machine. Hopefully this sort of thing will serve as a good start for someone else's project in the future...
What is the range of clothes we're washing?
What are the step-function sizes? (Or, in other words: what are the 5 most common sized of laundry loads?)
How much water are you currently using for that amount of laundry?
How much water are you willing to use?
How long does that amount of laundry take?
For the machine, how many people should be able to add energy at one time?
Should that be done via feet, hands, both, or something else?
Is it acceptable for women to use bicycle pedals?
If so, is there something better?
If not, what is more acceptable?
How long are you willing to pedal (or crank) for?
Do you think a machine for laundry is a good idea?
What does a machine for laundry need to do? (E.g., stain-removal, washing, drying, sanitizing, etc.)
What are the advantages to a machine?
What could be fun about it?
How to you want to run the machine?
How might the machine work?
Who will use the machine? Who does the majority of work--age, gender, size, etc.?
What do you do when the machine breaks?
More specific questions:
How should we get water to it?
Where should the waste water go?
How should the clothes get in and out?
How should the soap get in and out?
How do you know when the clothes are done?
How many people should it take to move the machine? Should it be in a fixed location or mobile?
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