The Great Competition
Is a national design challenge for undergraduates, it aims to promote greater industrial innovation and multi-disciplinary collaboration between design and engineering, encouraging students to develop innovative solutions to today’s most pressing social and environmental issues. The competition is organised by London’s Design Museum delivered through the generous support of The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.
Team OCCO (Elisa Puccinelli, Joseph James & Luke Kingham) used this competition to explore areas of personal interest while also considering 'the Bigger Picture’. With a focus on Circular Economy and Sustainability, conceptual research consisted of finding both current and future issues that the team could address. The team gravitated towards topics where an application could been found for manufacturing bi-products, making the most of under-utilised materials.
The project idea aims to use the bi-product of coconut farming in a circular economy and help children to engage more effectively at school. This led to the creation of the ‘OCCO Schoolbag’ made from 100% coconut husks aiming to improve the education of children in Developing Countries.
The bag allows children to transport important items to /from school and includes a built-in worktop, meaning children can study anywhere on the go. Being made from coconut husks it means the schoolbag can be produced at an affordable price for poor communities.
OCCO's built-in worktop is a 10mm layer of Coconut MDF board, a lightweight solid surface solution to work on. When furniture is unavailable, the bag includes a padded cushion so a child can work comfortably, therefore boosting their confidence and concentration.
