骆驼大改造 变身太阳能迷你冰箱

Kenya’s camels recently started sporting some unusual apparel: eco-friendly refrigerators! Some of the African country’s camels are carrying the solar-powered mini fridges on their backs as part of a test project that uses camels as mobile health clinics. Organizers hope the eco-friendly transport system will provide a cheap, reliable way of getting much-needed medicines and vaccines to rural communities in Kenya and Ethiopia.

肯尼亚的骆驼们最近穿上了一身“奇装异服”—环保冰箱！作为骆驼移动诊所计划的一个部分，非洲一些国家开始给骆驼“穿上”靠太阳能发电的迷你冰箱。该计划的组织者希望这种环保运输的方式能够价廉、可靠地为肯亚以及埃塞俄比亚的乡村地区运送当地急需的药品和疫苗。

For the past decade, Nomadic Communities Trust has been using camels as mobile health clinics in Kenya’s Laikipia and Samburu districts, isolated areas with few roadways. While the camel convoys provide a cost-effective method of traversing the harsh terrain, the group had no way of delivering medicines and vaccines that required refrigeration — until now. In 2005, Nomadic Communities Trust partnered with California’s Art Center College of Design’s Designmatters and Princeton’s Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM). Together, the groups created a lightweight and durable solar-powered refrigerator that can be strapped to camels’ backs in order to transport chilled medicines and vaccines.

在过去的十年里，除了一些交通不便的地区，游牧社区信托基金组织已经在肯尼亚的莱基皮亚和桑布鲁等地使用骆驼作为移动诊所了。虽然这些骆驼护送队，经济有效，能够穿越路况恶劣的沙漠地区，但是直到现在他们还没有办法运送需要冰箱冷藏的药品和疫苗。2005年，游牧社区信托基金组织与加利福尼亚艺术中心设计学院和普林斯顿材料科学与技术研究所合作，共同设计出一种质量轻、靠太阳能发电的冰箱，这种冰箱可以绑在骆驼的背上，用来运送那些需要冷藏的药品和疫苗。

The mini fridge is housed in a bamboo saddle that is lightweight and durable enough for camels to easily carry it across miles of rough terrain. The device itself is covered with crystalline solar panels that provide power for the compartmented fridge’s generator. The solar panels themselves can also be used by the mobile clinics for lighting and refrigeration in the field.

迷你冰箱被装在一个轻便坚韧的竹制骆驼鞍里，骆驼们可以载着它轻松穿越环境恶劣的沙漠。冰箱上覆盖有水晶太阳能面板可以为冰箱的发电机提供能量，同时还可以为夜间照明提供电力来源。

Mariana Amatullo, Designmatters‘ executive director, said the project was designed with a budget of only a few thousand dollars. To save money, designers tested the device on the Bronx Zoo’s camels so people wouldn’t have to fly back and forth to Kenya.

加利福尼亚艺术中心设计学院的行政主任玛丽安娜说，这个计划的预算只有几千美元，所以为了省钱，设计者们起初用纽约布朗克斯动物园里的骆驼检验装置，省去了往返肯尼亚所需的费用。

The solar-powered fridges are currently being tested on camels in Kenya and Ethiopia, but Amatullo says the system could be used by any rural communities with access to camels. If the project secures enough funding, it will be implemented in earnest in 2010. Let’s hope the eco-friendly venture receives the money it needs — in the Laikipia and Samburu districts alone, 300,000 people do not have access to the mobile health clinics.

最近这种太阳能冰箱正在肯尼亚和埃塞俄比亚的骆驼身上接受检验，但是玛丽安娜说这个装置可以在允许骆驼同行的任何乡村社区使用。如果该计划能募集到更多资金，就会在2010年全面实施并普及。目前仅在莱基皮亚和桑布鲁地区就有30万人无法享受到移动诊所的救助，所以让我们共同祈祷这种环保冰箱能够得到足够的资金支持吧。