The best discussion reviews from latest weeks about Mine Kafon

Bron: Scidev
[AMSTERDAM] An Afghan designer has developed a wind-powered device that could substantially lower the risk to human life and financial cost of clearing landmines.

The 'Mine Kafon' was created by Massoud Hassani, who is based at the Design Academy Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Built out of inexpensive, prefabricated materials, the device consists of a heavy plastic core containing a GPS (global positioning system) tracker, which is attached to bamboo sticks with plastic feet at each end that enable it to 'walk'.

All it needs is a windy day to move across a minefield, Hassani explained.

"If it hits a mine, [the mine] will explode," said Hassani, adding that if the device is damaged or destroyed, the cost of repairing or replacing it is far lower than traditional mine clearing approaches.

"One Mine Kafon costs US$40, which is a lot less than the US$1,000 currently spent on removing a single mine," he said.

read more on SCIDEV

Bron: Green Prophet
It is uncertain whether government agencies in the country have commissioned the ingenious minesweeper, but Hassani will be available to talk about this and other designs at the upcoming Design Indaba in Cape Town that starts on February 29th, 2012.

According to Design Indaba, the talented designer from Afghanistan will also discuss his latest project, “..a series of cooking products called “Silk Cooking”, inspired by Afghan traditions.”
reed more on Green Prophet

Dam nation Magazine
Here's a guy who is not shy about flaunting his wares. As an Afghan who has landed up in Holland via Pakistan and Uzbekistan, he has gained quite a perspective on the world and its issues. With a keen interest in eliminating landmines running in parallel with the launch of a range of kitchen utensils based on an entirely new way of cooking he's developed, he has rather a lot of fish to fry.
see more

latest news on google

Latest radio interview with RNW

Here you can listen to our latest radio interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide.
interview starts from 2:30 seconds

Why we need a device like Mine Kafon?

Afghan Paralympic swimmer heading to London. This kid was injured by two landmines at the neighborhood of Kabul Airport. The exact place where we lived in Kabul.


These are the flat landscapes where Mine Kafon can do it's work at his best. It can make the lives of UN peacemakers much saver and easier.

Meeting with Theo Jansen - Leondardo Da Vinci of our time

Recently had a meeting with Theo Jansen again. I needed his advice for the new Mine Kafon that we are working on. It will be better and smarter in many ways.

4th of April, Lend Your Leg, NO MORE LANDMINES

Today, April 4th.Is an International day for Mine Awareness. Lend Your Leg to support this project.

foto is made at the workshop where we are building the new Mien Kafon - Anti land mine ball, to clear the land mines on effected countries around the world!

    
  
No philosophy or revolution. No religion or politics. No war or search for peace. No. Nothing justifies almost 5000 recorded people dead or injured last year alone because of landmines. Nothing justifies that vast areas of land are still infested with landmines waiting to hurt someone. Yet everyday, someone, somewhere, falls. This is why, next April 4th, when you go out to the street, lend your leg. By lending our legs, we will join our voice with the voice of humanity, the voice of compassion, the voice of reason. They will know it´s time to stop the violence, to stop breaking what they can´t fix, it´s time to stop using landmines. Through spreading conscience we will encourage the remaining 37 countries to join the Mine Ban Treaty and become examples to those who continue to use this insidious killers. From all corners of the world we´ll say using them is hideous and cowardly. It´s enough: the days of apathy are over!
Join the world, join that great voice that shouts: NO MORE LANDMINES.
April 4th. International day for Mine Awareness.
Lend Your Leg.
www.lendyourleg.org

short review on BBC and Discovery Channel

watch it here on BBC
watch it here on Discovery Channel

Designs of the Year 2012 - Design Museum London

Last week, Feb 8th, was the opening of Designs OF the Year 2012. Mine Kafon is nominated in Product category along some established products. It is really a big honor for us to be nominated. We are glad that people are now aware of land mine problems in the world. There are 270 million landmines spread across a lots of countries. If we get all those effected areas in the world and put them next to each other, that will create a whole continent by it self which is not useful for human beings and animals. Its a wasted land. Still don't understand, how is it possible to get this far, producing this amount of explosives to injure innocent people including kids and animals.

However, we are now working on an improved version of Mine Kafons. This will be better in many ways and cant wait to test them and use them in the real life.

We still need lots of support and help from organizations/governments to fund this project in one way or other.
Looking forward for a better and a safer future. Using a tool like Mine Kafon to remove landmines in countries like Angola can help repair and rebuild economic opportunities in wasted deserts, allowing people to work and live the safe life that they deserve, like every person on this planet.
Best,
Massoud

www.designsoftheyear.com
As the Designs of the Year opens to the public, online reviews and previews of the exhibition come in from:
Financial Times
The Guardian
BBC
Creative Review
It's Nice That
Azure
Dezeen
Core 77
Design Academy
Mine Kafon Facebook

Selected for the Common Pitch in Cape Town on Feb 29th

Mine Kafon is a wind-blown, wooden, bamboo-spiked ball, based on homemade childhood toys, and designed to decommission land mines by blowing them up. The ball uses GPS to map its path along the way, creating a record of safe pathways. Thousands of square miles in countries all over the world are afflicted with land mines, rendering land useless and disrupting those who rely on it for their livelihoods. The country of Angola currently has nearly a 2:1 ratio of land mines to people: 20 million mines to 12 million people. Using a tool like Mine Kafon to remove landmines in countries like Angola can help repair and rebuild economic opportunities in wasted deserts, allowing people to work and live the safe life that they deserve, like every person on this planet.





http://www.commonpitchsa.com/

Mine Kafon project on Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel will broadcast a review about MK project on the Daily Planet in Canada.. So anybody in Canada??? turn your TV on.
www.discoverychannel.com




The pictures are made by Jeroen van Oirschot

DESIGNWORLD – DESIGNING THE NEW WORLD

Design Museum’s Spring Exhibition from 27 January to 6 May 2012 in Helsinki




How will design respond to the challenges and needs of our changing world? How can the means of design be used to address the problems of society or to improve the wellbeing and quality of life of individuals?

Produced by Design Museum and curated by the museum’s debuty director Jukka Savolainen, Designworld – Designing the New World considers various areas of contemporary design and the significance of the design sector at the levels of society, ecology and the individual. The exhibition addresses current issues and proposed solutions with reference to international and Finnish design concepts, projects and products. Design Museum’s exhibition schedule for 2012 is part of official programme of World Design Capital Helsinki 2012.
read more www.designmuseum.fi
photos by suomenkuvalehti.fi

Release of Disegno Magazine - a long interview about Mine Kafon project

Twice a year, Disegno releases a printed magazine. This biannual tome is dedicated to key events in architecture, design and fashion over the last six months. It is an essential read and flick for both laymen and professionals and gives a flavour of the current stylistic and intellectual preoccupations of architects, product and fashion designers.




http://disegnomagazine.com/magazine
fotos by http://renevanderhulst.nl/

MK2 @ DesignWorld Helsinki - Jan 27th \ May 6th 2012

On January 27th the Design Museum Helsinki opens “DesignWorld”, its first major exhibition for 2012.
A not unimportant fact given the Finnish Capital’s tenure as World Design Capital 2012.

And very much in keeping with the Helsinki 2012 Manifesto – if we can use such phrase, apologies if that’s going to far – DesignWorld asks how design can help, influence and improve man, society and the ways we interact with the world around us.

Featuring market products, prototypes and “concepts in development” DesignWorld looks at design in numerous contexts, such as sustainability, responsibility or safety.

DesignWorld at the Design Museum Helsinki runs until May 6th 2012. Finnish Design Unwrapped – A Deeper Look until Janury 29th



Picture by Jeroen van Oirschot

Design of the Year nomination

We are nominated for the Designs Of the Year 2012 by the Design Museum in London. It's really a great honor to be a part of this selection. It gives us more hope and trust to keep hard working on this project.

Here below you can see our latest test session with the Dutch Defense. We tested the antiland-mine ball with several explosions. It worked out pretty well. In the future are more tests planned to bring this project to the next level

Thanks
Massoud Hassani







Pictures are made by Jeroen van Oirschot

Six of the Best cultural highlights of 2011 @ Icon Magazine

Massoud Hassani’s Mine Kafon, a wind-powered land mine clearance device – which has garnered huge excitement since its Milan Furniture Fair debut – is without doubt this year’s stand-out piece. Made of bamboo sticks exploding out of a plastic centre with an integrated GPS device, it rolls over the land, deactivating mines and keeping check of clean paths. The designer hopes the product, which is cheap and easy to assemble, will help small communities in his native Afghanistan claim back land that is out of bounds at present.

word by Anna Bates

3rd testing day with the Dutch Defense

and we are off again!! today is our 3rd test session with the Defense and EOD (explosive special forces) from 10 o'clock we gonna blow things up, probably the big black ball will be gone... FEEL LIKE MYTHBUSTERS


Picture by Jeroen van Oirschot

@ gimmii magazine

Mine Kafon
De ´Mine Kafon´van Hassani is een anti-mijnen object die gebruikt kan worden om mijnen die ´in zijn pad rollen´ onschadelijk te maken. En elke vernietigde mijn betekent dat er minstens één leven gered is.



www.gimmii.nl

Picture by Jeroen van Oirschot

radio interview with Monocle 24 - by Emiel Elgersma

Mine Kafon reportage for Monocle Weekly by emielelgersma

Born and raised in Afghanistan, Massoud Hassani’s roots influences his work on a daily base. The graduate student of the Design Academy Eindhoven, is currently displaying his work. Monocle 24 reporter Emiel Elgersma visited the graduation exhibition at the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven and talked with Massoud about the two products he has on display these days: The Mine Kafon (pictured below) and Silk Cooking. (Play the radio reportage by clicking the orange arrow above. iPad-users can listen to the report on Soundcloud.)

(Aired on Sunday 30th October at Monocle 24 – list to the entire show as podcast. )

Russian national TV

RTL Boulevard

Check for video on RTL Boulevard

Dutch Design Week - Aflevering 1 - #ddw11