Independence through Mobility A GUIDE THROUGH THE MANUFACTURE OF THE ATI HOTCHKISS WHEELCHAIR by Ralph Hotchkiss edited by Lindi Ramsden A PROJECT OF APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL Disabled people in the Third World are fighting to become actively involved in their communities more mobile and economically independent To accomplish this they need wheelchairs that are strong enough to withstand the stresses of maneuvering over rugged terrain yet light and compact enough to be agile and easily portable These wheelchairs must be affordable and designed to be repaired locally With four years support from Appropriate Technology International and the assistance of wheelchair builders in over 20 countries Ralf Hotchkiss has designed a sturdy wheelchair that is ten pounds lighter than similarly featured commercial models It can be manufactured locally by small groups of skilled mechanics in areas with access to thinwall steel tubing and simple welding equipment It costs approximately 80 U S for materials plus the cost with overhead of less than a week s work by a skilled mechanic This book contains detailed instructions for making the ATI Hotchkiss Torbellino wheelchair plus detailed information on the establishment and operation of the successful small businesses which have manufactured and sold the Torbellino wheelchair Table of Contents Credits Cover was done by Graphic Artist Lily Kaplan Caricatures were drawn by Cartoonist David Bilbrey Computer Programming was done by Mieke de Neef Mechanical drawings were done by Ramsden using pen and ink and by Hotchkiss using AUTOCAD Computer Aided Design Software on an IBM PC with a Houston Instruments Plotter Photos by Hotchkiss and Marc Krizack The galleys were produced on an IBM PC Computer using Magic Print Software a Diablo 620 Printer was used with Boldface PS type Printing Software was provided by Amy Kelly and Henry Dakin Washington Research Institute San Francisco This book was printed by GRT Book Printing Oakland California Published by Appropriate Technology International 1331 H St N W Washington D C 20005 U S A ATI implements its mission with public funds made available by the United States Congress through the Agency for International Development ATI s program is carried out in cooperation with the Employment and Enterprise Development Division of the Office of Rural and Institutional Development within the Bureau of Science and Technology of the Agency for International Development Upon request Appropriate Technology International may grant permission to copy or otherwise reproduce this manual or any portions thereof A copy of any publication in which a portion of the text or illustrations is included must be sent to Appropriate Technology International at the above address Copyright 1985 by Appropriate Technology International Center for International Rehabilitation Foreword The system of mass production presupposes that you are already rich for a great deal of capital investment is needed to establish one single workplace The system of production by the masses mobilizes the priceless resources which are possessed by all human beings their clever brains and skillful hands and supports them with first class tools and the training instruction to fully utilize these resources E F Schumacher Small Is Beautiful 1973 Technologies that are small simple and capital saving are more appropriate to the needs and resources of poor countries than are the large scale labor saving technologies developed in the West during their heyday of cheap energy The only sane alternative lies in the direction of technologies that are relatively small simple capital saving and non violent and economics as if people mattered George McRobie Small Is Possible 1981 These two quotations from the founders of the appropriate technology field reflect both ATI s philosophy and the raison d tre behind this production manual People do matter to ATI and to Ralf Hotchkiss We share the belief that utilization of appropriate technology technology adapted to the local resource endowment can increase income and improve the quality of the lives of the users of these technologies and consequently awaken these people to their own potential for further development We have made this production manual available so that small entrepreneurs and shops run by and for the disabled can construct the ATI Hotchkiss Wheelchair with a minimal capital investment This wheelchair designed under an ATI grant and subsequently field tested throughout Latin America is lightweight durable extremely well balanced it can be fit to the individual and can be manufactured locally at one third the price of many imported chairs This production manual should play an important role in increasing the availability and thus lowering the price of high quality wheelchairs in the Third World People seeking to buy wheelchairs in many small countries have found themselves to be captives of a single importer As Adam Smith put it in Wealth of Nations in 1776 monopolists by keeping the market constantly under stocked by never fully supplying the effectual demand sell their commodities much above the natural price The resulting price is the highest which can be squeezed out of the buyer By increasing competition in the wheelchair market we hope to urge the prices of quality wheelchairs down toward their natural level As the prices drop more and more disabled people will be able to obtain state of the art wheelchairs This could be the first step in permitting them to exercise their options and to begin working toward the fulfillment of their dreams Ton de Wilde Executive Director Table of Contents Center for International Rehabilitation Introduction Disabled people throughout the world together with their families and friends are beginning to change the ways that they live work and participate in their communities Refusing to be defined by the attitude that they are a burden on society and no longer willing to remain hidden from others disabled people are fighting to become actively integrated into schools regular jobs places to live and public life They know from experience that they can do many things well they know that being successful does not have to be the exception for disabled people They intend to live with independence and dignity and are rapidly overcoming the obstacles that stand in their way Just as a blacksmith needs high quality tools to do a specific job disabled people need the highest quality
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