Royal
Khmer
CAMBODJA
Cambodian History is dominated by the Khmer Rouge communist genocide. Between 1960 and 1999 over 3 million Cambodian citizens were killed.
Included in this genocide was most of the skilled workforce, essentially stripping Cambodians of their ability to prosper.
ERGONOMIC COMPANION
SET
The Royal Khmer companion set comprises of a brush, pan & poker.
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All three utensils are designed to encourage healthy hand position and relay little stress onto the joints.
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Because of this careful design the utensils are inclusive to almost anyone.
Handmade
Designing the set for manufacture meant recreating the limitations of the workshop in Phnom Penh.
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My designs relied on Jigs which I made to measure angles.
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I also incorporated some light anvil work as it gave an interesting finish and could be taught as a new skill.
Brush Up
The first research project. I set up the brush and tray as shown and asked people to brush all of the herbs from one side of the tray to the other against the clock.
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As incentive the winner was offered doughnuts.
I noted down details of how each person moved.
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The handle was formed out of Plasticine which adapted to the grips as the day progressed.
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The image to the right shows the resulting imprints. The indents were translated into models.
Testing
Each design was tested against a mockup of a 5kwh log burner due to the gap in the market.
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The dimensions were averaged from the 3 most popular models.
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I had 5 individuals test.
The subjects were asked to sweep up a range of substrates from polystyrene to dirt.
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It became evident that tools with long handles were impractical.
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Getting into corners also proved hard, prompting my corner angle pan.
