Luyanda Mazwi
Developing an eco-fridge for street vendors

Luyanda Mazwi (left) with Gladys, a street vendor in Brixton, Johannesburg © Thom Pierce 2023
In a small church in the Johannesburg suburb of Brixton, a rowdy crowd is singing along to Doo-Be-Doo by Freshly Ground, which is being performed by a small, enthusiastic choir. It is the last performance of a night of music and poetry that has been organised by Luyanda Mazwi, an astrophysics master's student from the University of Johannesburg. He has planned and funded the whole night for one purpose, to ask if anyone has a 3D printer that he can borrow.
Whilst still an undergraduate student, Luyanda and a friend decided to build a community farm in a village in Limpopo. They wanted to provide an alternative to the lack of food security in the area, to see if they could encourage the community to get involved. They didn’t think about it too hard, they just went and did it, and they made lots of mistakes. But it started a journey for Luyanda that centred around using his time, energy and education to help others.
Over the years, the idea of creating a small community farm has grown into a dream to overhaul the supply chain of fresh food, from organic community gardens to street vendors.
As a first step, Luyanda has designed a portable, electricity-free cooling system, made out of recycled plastic, that could provide street vendors with a cheap and efficient way to keep their fruit and vegetables from spoiling if they do not sell them all in one day.
It is a simple, water-cooled system, that could be developed and constructed at a minimal cost using materials that are readily available and already being collected by waste pickers around the city. His prototypes are promising, but the precision needed for the cooling system makes it difficult to produce by hand, hence the 3D printer. Using down-cycled plastic bottles, Luyanda wants to 3D print the prototype and develop it into a product that can be easily reproduced.
Together with small community gardens, the “fridge” could allow for a more productive supply chain that includes many other members of the community. The intention is not to make money, he wants to develop the product and then release the IP so that anyone can build could build and sell the fridges.
This is a big idea that could change the lives of street vendors and could be the starting point for job creation and a more inclusive supply chain. But for now, Luyanda just needs a 3D printer.
If you can help Luyanda to get access to a 3D printer which can print over 260 degrees Celsius and is not PTFE lined please let us know in the comments or get in touch.
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