Mali, a West African nation of 10 million people, is on the edge of the Sahara desert. It is a very poor country; with an average GNI of $240, labor is cheap and mechanized equipment is very expensive.

One of the biggest challenges the Malian people face is water supply; some villages have to dig as deep as 120 meters (400 feet!) to hit water. These precious resources need to be carfully protected from erosion and contamination.

One technique, promoted by the U.S. Peace Corps, uses "Dutch Bricks" to reinforce the well. These bricks, made on-site from locally mixed concrete, are very solid and designed to prevent collapse.

As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I trained local teams to reinforce wells with Dutch Bricks, and came to understand some of the difficulties involved. As a result, I designed "The Claw", which simplified and accelerated the brick installation process while minimizing the back-breaking work for the mason.