Design that Matters Field Journal

Electric Bamako

This afternoon, we took a tour of the electronics industry in Bamako, looking for components and technicians. This is part of our general search to determine the feasibility of manufacturing devices like the Kinkajou locally. With Mustafa's help, and a reference from Ibrahim Togoloa at the Mali Folkecenter, we hit the jackpot. The electronics market near Dabanani in the Grand Marche had everything we could ever want in terms of components. If they didn't have the original part, given an example they could scavenge pretty much any part we would need from the handy piles of junk circuit boards and other discarded components.

This shop in particular was very well organized, with tiny labelled drawers of components stacked up to the ceiling.

We only had time for a brief survey of local electronics talent. These gentlemen fixed TVs, VCRs and other consumer electronics--parts that if broken in the States would more than likely be thrown away.

According to Ibrahim at the MFC, Malian technicians are incredibly resourcesful when it comes to resurrecting broken components. He's also confident that if we could provide the assembly drawings, we wouldn't have trouble finding people who could put them together locally.