Ryan Allan MyZA

Join Port Elizabeth and MyPE in congratulating Mover and Shaker, Ryan Allan from NMB Transition Network:

Shift, a Non Profit Organisation that aims to raise awareness amongst young South Africans about the role that design can play in developing practical and sustainable solutions to every day challenges, recently announced the sixteen finalist concepts for this year’s Fresh Talent Sustainable Design Competition.

Included in the finalists was Port Elizabeth based Ryan Allan for his design concept – RE:H2O

Now in its third year, this years competition commenced in September with a call to young creatives to submit proposals and designs that addressed the issues of sustainability under the brief Small Change, A World of Difference.

Re: H2O is a compact, low-maintenance biological greywater recycling system which consists of a series of small reed beds that clean the water and make it more suitable for reuse in the garden. It is intended primarily for use within low-income and impoverished communities where economic opportunities are limited. The greywater, once cleaned, can be directed to food, medicinal plant, fuel or bamboo production for example which could then provide an additional income source for the household. The reed beds themselves, while cleaning the water, also produce material for mat and basket weaving.

RE: H2O aims to address the issues of water shortages, declining natural resources and food insecurity, as well as poverty and unemployment. It has the potential to regenerate the landscape and be an important element in transforming impoverished communities into vibrant, locally resilient ones.

The sixteen finalist prototypes will be exhibited throughout the country in 2013 and will be featured in Shift’s exhibition in Sweden in the second half of the year. On 15 February 2013, three winners will be announced and awarded prizes to the value of R 7000 (first place), R 5000 (second place) and R3000 for the third place respectively. In addition the lucky finalists will also go on a knowledge exchange trip to Sweden to learn more about the Scandinavian ways of sustainable living and design.

Submitted by: Ryan Allan on behalf of NMB Transition Network.