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DIY fire extinguisher

After a successful website launch in February, dooiy.org is hitting the ground running to empower communities with hacks that make their lives easier.

One of these hacks is an effective do-it-yourself foam fire extinguisher that could help to tackle one of the biggest challenges in South Africa’s informal settlements: the constant threat of fire. In 2019 alone, 5544 fires in informal settlements were reported in South Africa, leaving thousands of people devastated and homeless. Most residents do not have the means to fight the fire. The do-it-yourself fire extinguisher is a great alternative to put down small fires and stop the spread to neighbouring houses when one cannot afford an industrial fire extinguisher.

On dooiy.org, you can find an easy-to-follow step-by-step instruction on how to make the foam fire extinguisher with a few household items. All you need is a 2-litre cool drink bottle, vinegar, dishwashing liquid and bicarbonate of soda. Besides that, the dooiy team has started to run on-site workshops around Cape Town to make communities safer. For example, the team built more than 100 fire extinguishers in one day, working together with the community of Siqalo/Mitchells Plain, recently.

After the successful launch party held at i-Afrikayam Garden in Zola/Strand earlier this month, dooiy is ready to make an impact in the lives of South Africans. Besides the fire extinguisher, dooiy.org provides all kind of fun hacks – from growing your own food to building furniture with inexpensive tools and materials – coming from makers, NGOs and universities from all over the world. dooiy is free of charge, consumes little data, is battery-friendly and intuitive to use. “In the near future, we will also allow offline use, support low-literate users and provide community translations in many languages”, says dooiy co-founder Christian Fuss.

Find out more at https://dooiy.org/fire-fighting.

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