Kickstart Kamper - we need your help!
Follow article
Dave from DesignSpark
How do you feel about this article? Help us to provide better content for you.
Dave from DesignSpark
Thank you! Your feedback has been received.
Dave from DesignSpark
There was a problem submitting your feedback, please try again later.
Dave from DesignSpark
What do you think of this article?
What is Kickstart Kamper?
Kickstart Kamper is a sustainability project in the form of a campervan conversion, with a mission to explore the feasibility of alternative lifestyles and emerging technologies in response to the escalating climate crisis. Using an old Iveco Daily as a starting point, the project aims to document the process of replacing old fossil fuel-based solutions with sustainable ones in pursuit of net zero!
Kickstart Kamper was founded by Josh as a method of empowering people to take informed action against climate change and rising inequality. Owing a lot of its inspiration to recent trends in remote working, as well as the digital nomad and vanlife movements, the project specifically aims to explore the off-grid lifestyle that is enabled through engineering, and explore the positive impact we can have on both the environment as well as our own wellbeing.
Join in the discussion with the new discord server!
Where to start with sustainability?
Sustainability is a holistic topic that needs exploring on a much greater scale, but this cannot be done alone. Therefore, I have decided to team up with Grassroots Education as their new Sustainability Ambassador, to engage with engineers and makers to help find the solutions that will contribute to the mutual resilience of the planet and its inhabitants.
Having already made solid progress with off-grid solar, wind and water systems on DesignSpark, I am always looking for opportunities to make improvements and expand the scope of the project. I have therefore compiled a roadmap of areas I am looking to explore, and I openly invite contributions from the DesignSpark and Grassroots communities.
The roadmap
The starting point - an old Iveco Daily.
The road to net zero is a long one but engaging directly with legacy fossil fuel technologies like an old diesel van will help address the challenge of retrofitting global infrastructure more efficiently. To this effect, I have identified the key areas that will contribute to the success of the project, these include:
- Sourcing clean energy and expanding my current array of renewables.
- Heating and cooling the van efficiently, including cooking and refrigeration.
- Improving remote internet connectivity and collecting environmental data.
- Reducing the emissions from driving and sourcing of clean fuels.
- Sourcing or producing food and water resources remotely and sustainably.
- Reducing landfill waste and improving recycling, upcycling, and processing of greywater.
Who can get involved and how to do so?
Kickstart Kamper is all about developing the future solutions to sustainability now, so if you have an idea that can help us on the road to real action, we can help you “kickstart” it. This project is all about involving people from a range of backgrounds so let us know if you have an interest in the following:
- A familiarity with common platforms like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BBC Microbit, Pycom etc.
- Software skills that include automation, web applications, networking or IoT.
- Mechatronic hardware skills that include pumps, relays, motors, or dynamos.
- Practical skills for mechanical prototyping including mechanical CAD and 3D printing.
- Any specific interest in sustainability, renewables, or earth sciences like meteorology.
Getting Started
If you have an idea for a project, let us know on our new discord server below. Show us any prototypes, CAD mock-ups or breadboards and we can discuss how we can take it off-grid! We have even included some example projects below to get you thinking:
- Trendy wind power: Design a super simple wind turbine for the masses that can charge a 12v leisure battery and make wind-based microgeneration more desirable.
- Micro agriculture: Design an automated grow bed in the spirit of vertical farming for growing small crops indoors.
- Grey matter: Design a compostable greywater filter or find a way to recycle greywater.
- Dude where’s my van: Design an IoT datalogger that can send periodic GPS location data over Wi-Fi or ethernet to the cloud.
Follow Kickstart Kamper
If you’re interested, you can follow the project on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or GitHub.
Join in the discussion with the new discord server!
Check out the official website for updates and learning resources!
Subscribe to the YouTube channel for video updates!
Don’t forget to also follow me on DesignSpark!
Comments