Coventry University graduate Daniel Sheridan is helping Africans produce their own energy via playground equipment. Sheridan’s company PlayMade Energy piloted the Energee-Saw kit in 2008 in Uganda.
The Energee-Saw is designed to be supplied in kit form with local materials then used to build the main structure of the seesaw, reducing logistical costs and the carbon footprint of transportation. The product is intended to power low-drain electrical appliances at schools such as LED based lighting, mp3 devices, mobile phones, and radios. These items may be small, but can have an impact on a school’s curriculum (ie using music to teach a lesson and LED lighting for studying once the sun has set).
After the Uganda pilot scheme in March/April 2008, a year and a half later a revised Energee-Saw installation kit was sent to Malawi.
Sheridan volunteered in Kenya and Tanzania in 2007, which was the catalyst that initiated his focus on Africa with his “Power through Play” initiative. He pitched his idea to the university’s student business ideas competition which won him the award for Most Innovative Product and later the overall 2008 Bizcom award. The prize money, totaling £1000, was used to design and install the first Energee-Saw in Uganda.
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