Mok

A charger that converts lost heat to energy, assembled from salvaged components for less than 66 cents and spread through an open source community.

Above all, Mok is open source and accessible, creating a global community of DIYers that only begins with this solution.

Because of the economic mobility cell phones can provide, there is an exploding global population who own phones despite a very low family income. This is especially common in high density low-income communities, where a majority own phones, despite limited or no access to electricity in their homes.

Mok uses salvageable and extremely cheap components to convert lost heat in the home to usable energy. All components can be salvaged from electronic waste, or all three bought for a total of 66 cents. Salvageable components means ultimate customizability for the user to grow and change the design according to local materials and need, ending a saviorist precedent of Western designers shipping aid products globally that sit unused because of a lack of local understanding. This also means the Mok can shapeshift for a myriad of heat sources, from a hot roof to a wood-fed oven’s flame to anything in between. 

Components salvaged from waste also treats electronic waste as a resource, injecting forgotten value back into the economy, and keeping parts out of landfills in the process. An open source online hub of DIY instructions and user posted improvements decentralizes the conversation, with printable instruction booklets available to distribute according to local support structures if needed, and low character-count SMS instructions available as well. Possibilities for local improvements and entrepreneurship are all up to the people on the ground. 

This project was recognized by DAAPCares, an annual contest that features projects of social merit.