Modelling the development of appropriate equipment to support: labour-based technology: the case of Tanzania

Literature has revealed that labour based technology (LBT) Is technically feasible for a wide range of road construction activities and can generally produce the same quality as equipment based methods. However, there are activities that are very difficult to do with labour because they are time consuming and uneconomic. For such activities, the use of equipment is recommended to support human labour. There are clear advantages of producing such equipment locally, especially in less developed countries such as Tanzania. Although local capacity and technology exists, previous attempts of producing such equipment In Tanzania have not been successful mainly due to lack of coordination, cooperation and government support. Previous studies have not addressed this problem. To address this situation, action research was used. Over 270 individuals from institutions within eight clusters of stakeholders were contacted in order to formulate a model which can guide equipment developers to develop equipment for LBT locally. The model was validated through a pilot study, which established compaction as a priority activity to be supported by equipment; and, a vibratory compactor as the appropriate piece of equipment. The compactor was developed successfully; and, its market was predicted satisfactorily, which validated viability of producing and commercializing the equipment in Tanzania.