Elmish told Israel 21C that the wheelchair will be made out of less than $10 worth of durable recycled cardboard, plastic bottles and recycled tires, materials.

He added that anything that can be made out of wood, plastic or metal can be made with their material as well, including toys, wagons, chairs for airplanes and cars.

“We’re not building cars yet,” he told the paper. “But I say, ‘yet.’ We believe that nothing is impossible and anything is possible.”

At present, the non-government organization that distributes wheelchairs to people in Africa who can’t afford to buy their own spend $6 million each year purchasing 120,000 metal chairs from China.

Elmish said that they can build a factory for that same amount of money, but then, once it is running, the plant would be able to spin out wheelchairs for next to nothing. Plus, the factory could be staffed by disabled people.

As long as it is easy enough to access old car tires, and we all know there’s no shortage of those in Africa, along with plastic and cardboard recycling plants, the venture could work.

The cardboard wheelchair weighs less than 20 pounds but supports up to 400 pounds, it can resist both moisture and humidity, and there is no maintenance required.

This, the cardboard bicycle, a youth bike and a cardboard electric vehicle are all expected to be rolled out in exactly one year.

:: Israel 21C

Image: silhouette of a wheelchair, Shutterstock

The post Israelis Design Cardboard Wheelchairs for Africa appeared first on Green Prophet.

Could it be a world-changer? A cheap solution to help African kids get to schools and clinics? Israel’s Izhar Gafni (who we interviewed here) had an outlandish idea to create a durable cardboard bike from scratch with raw materials sum totalling about $9. Add in some labor costs and you can get a pretty cheap ride, one worth buying in a world where bike theft is rampant.

News reports are circling around the world that Gafni’s cardboard bike (see photos here) is headed to market. No doubt after articles and videos about his project infected the world’s media. Reuters is reporting:

“When we started, a year and a half or two years ago, people laughed at us, but now we are getting at least a dozen emails every day asking where they can buy such a bicycle, so this really makes me hopeful that we will succeed,” he said.

Hus business partner Nimrod Elmish, Gafni’s business partner says that by using cardboard and other recycled materials there can be a huge change in production norms. Companies could get grants and rebates for local production, offering no real reason to make them in poor and cheap labor markets.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txSboSNQINs[/youtube]

At a cost of about $20, and made on automated production lines, the workforce could employ pensioners and the disabled, while the business model he has penned could work a lot like Tom’s shoes, which gives away a free pair of shoes for every pair sold to a western buyer.

Estimated to last 10 years, the cardboard bike will also weigh two-thirds the weight of a regular bike. If it breaks or melts you can recycle it and buy a new one.

Millions of people are emailing us for Izhar Gafni’s cardboard bike contacts. Please reach out to him via his Facebook page. Ride on Gafni! We are rooting for you.

The post $9 Cardboard Bike from Israel Going to Market appeared first on Green Prophet.

Izhar Gafni, inventor of innovative cardboard bike plans to keep production local, he tells Green Prophet: “I’m not interested in selling to some huge concern that will slap a “Made in China” label on the bike,” he says. “I’d like production to take place in local factories, ones employing challenged or special-needs people.”

Gafni’s green vision expands to encompass, “One hundred future projects made out of cardboard.” Even a cardboard car using solar and human energy.

Why not? ‘Obstacle’ doesn’t seem to be a word that this mechanic without limits recognizes. (Israeli ingenuity with cardboard has already produced no-tools-needed furniture.) “I want to help stop our dependence on petroleum,”  Gafni adds. Since our first post on the cardboard bicycle, readers have been asking questions about it. Read on for answers.

GP:Are the bikes on the market yet?

Gafni: No, my partner and I are still negotiating with investors. We hope to sell in Israel, Europe and the US, when we start production. I want to see the bike anywhere I travel.

We assured Gafni that the cardboard bike already has fans just waiting to snap some up.

GP: How long did it take to produce the bike?

Gafni: It took six prototypes and three years. There’s very little scientific knowledge about cardboard’s engineering and structural limits. I had to find out everything myself, through experimenting. For example, the bike’s water resistance isn’t due to the painted-on colors. It’s due to the cardboard itself.

GP: One reader asked if the bike’s seat is comfortable. What can you tell us about that?

Gafni:  I designed it for comfort. It’s modeled on the British Brooks leather seat. The design may still be modified, or an option such as a bucket seat may be offered. We are working on making the seat height adjustable too.

GP: How long is the bike’s expected life?

Gafni: Two years, maybe longer.

GP: Two rainy winters too?

Gafni: (laughing) Oh yes, it should get through two winters also. Its life will depend on how it’s used, like any other product. It hasn’t been around long enough to say for sure, but I’m confident that each bike will last two years at least.

GP: What other advantages does the bike have to the consumer, beside the low cost?

Gafni: It’s a low-carbon vehicle and good for the environment. In addition, it doesn’t need pre-assembly and doesn’t even need maintenance.

GP thinks: Can this be the end of punctured tires and bicycle pumps?

GP: Tell us a little about previous projects you’ve worked on.

Gafni: I lived in California for years, where I designed the robot that sewed the New Balance company’s shoes. I like to say I sewed President Clinton’s sneakers. In Israel, I put together a press to extract pomegranate juice for the boutique winery Rimon. These are just some of my past projects.

GP: Did you study engineering and design?

Gafni: I taught myself almost everything I know.

Thanks, Izhar Gafni, and we’re holding our breath till the cardboard bike hits the road.

Previous posts about cardboard design on Green Prophet:

• The $9 Cardboard Bike From Israel: Photos
• Cardboard Mounted Deer Heads for the Eco-Conscious Decorator
• Sanserif Creatius Carves a Cardboard Table with Arabic Devotion

Photograph: Uri Ackerman

The post Interview with Izhar Gafni, Inventor of the Greenest Cardboard Bike appeared first on Green Prophet.

Gafni experimented with several prototypes before coming up with the winning design.

Made out of corrugated cardboard sheets, the bicycle can withstand up to 140kg.

In some cases, the cardboard is rolled up to give it strength.

Engineers told Gafni it would be impossible to build a bicycle out of cardboard, but he persevered (at his wife’s behest.)

In Israel, bicycles are regularly stolen. Gafni’s design is so cheap that it’s not worth stealing, he told local media.

Early prototypes looked like delivery boxes on wheels, he said. But the final design, for cardboard, is pretty darn sleek. At least we think so.

This is definitely not a winner!

But this one is.

Although it costs only 9-12 USD in materials, Gafni sells his cardboard bike for USD 60; still, that’s a steal for a simple whip around.

Izhar Gafni: the man who defied the naysayers and followed his dream.

Photography: Uri Ackerman

The post The $9 Cardboard Bike From Israel (PHOTOS) appeared first on Green Prophet.