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History of the Wheelchair
For a wheelchair the basic need is a chair. He selected the least expensive one he could find... a molded plastic patio chair. Perfect! It’s waterproof, durable and it’s comfortable to sit in for long periods. It’s washable. It’s made in many countries and you can easily drill holes in the arms and legs so that it can be mounted onto a metal frame.
A wheelchair needs wheels! After careful research he selected 24 inch bicycle wheels. For added durability he chose wheels made for mountain bikes. The difference between the ones we normally use and those on millions of bikes around the world is a special wheelchair hub. Ours is considerably stronger. The mountain bike tires allow the chair to transverse rocky, uneven, and even muddy terrain that would be impossible in a regular wheelchair. Inflatable tires allow movement over terrain that would be impossible with a solid tire and there is almost no place on earth where the tools to repair a flat tire aren’t available. In addition, each new Wheelchair comes supplied with a puncture repair kit.
The small front wheels are 8 inch diameter casters that are inexpensive but rugged enough for this wheelchair.
The metal frame started with a steel conduit because he couldn’t bend it himself. Later, Don took it to a steel fabrication company where Gonzo Viana used his creativity and years of experience to turn Don’s crude design into something that could be mass produced. The bends in the single piece frame follow the contours of the molded plastic seat and it is now made inexpensively in the Chinese factory.
One of the main reasons for producing in China, apart from cost, was because we found a new wheelchair supplier and they’ve made upgrades to the wheelchair making it more effective and comfortable for a large number of users.
Among the improved design features are side panels placed alongside the the seat of the wheelchair, giving more protection from anything thrown up from the ground by the movement of the chair. The wheel has been fitted with a hand-rim to make the propelling of the chair easier and cleaner; the footrest has been repositioned for easier entry into the chair; the brakes are better and the axle is stronger creating more strength and durability and propulsion once the chair is in motion. The wheelchair is still relatively lightweight and is now more rugged and suitable for the locations where it is being used.
After seeing many thousands of the chairs in action, we made some revisions to the design in 2004. It is now in full production and so far over 100,000 disabled people have benefited and had their lives changed by this simple piece of engineering!
£50 includes the manufacture and shipping to a developing country. The chairs are shipped in kit form for two reasons. One is that they take up less space that way (we can pack 550 chairs into a standard 40 foot container. The second is that in the recipient countries labour costs are low and with a little training, someone can assemble three wheelchairs an hour! The assembly instructions come with photographs so that someone who cannot read English can learn to assemble these kits. We supply an assembly tool kit (5 simple wrenches and one air pump) with every 20 wheelchair kits.
Sometimes the answer to a problem is simplicity. Don has achieved this in the design of this wonderful machine and all it takes now to mass produce 130 million units is the generosity of people like you!
TOGETHER WE CAN BUILD THE DREAM!