SKIRMISHER

Here’s an example of how the Third World might cash in on First World technology–handmade devices.

These are USB flash cards housed in intricately carved wood, which is a business that gives the honest, hardworking people of Sao Tome e Principe–who probably don’t have any idea what in hell USBs are–to earn enough money to sustain their families’ needs.

Sao Tome e Principe is a West African country with a population of about 150.000, located on the Guinea Gulf along the Equator. SEED 2006, a Design and Social Economy project financially supported by the Portuguese Cooperation and developed by designer Pedro Alegria, introduced USB flash card design to local craftsmen, all of whom had never seen or heard of such things before. The end result merges traditional “forgotten” craft with hot technology on the rise, sustaining the working families’ needs and offering unique craft-designs to the masses.

If you want to distribute this stuff in your country, contact these guys:

Pedro Alegria @ pedro.alegria-at-gmail.com

or

Patrick DeCarvalho @ patrickdecarvalho-at-yahoo.fr

Stumble it!