When nature calls the ‘Shewee' is the novel way to go
Hannah and Zoe from the Earthwatch Europe office had an adventure of their own discovering cool gear and tips for travellers at London's Adventure Travel Show in January.
Taking time off from chatting to visitors to the Earthwatch stand, Earthwatch colleagues Hannah and Zoe unearthed some great ideas for Earthwatch volunteers among the exhibits.
One handy device (particularly if you're female and caught short in the remote bush on an Earthwatch expedition), was the innovative Shewee, an award-winning portable device which allows women to urinate while standing and without removing clothes.
The Shewee's twenty nine-year-old inventor, Samantha Fountain, developed her idea initially as part of her university degree, the idea having come to her while backpacking around Europe.
She explains: ‘It struck me how much easier it was for a guy to go to the toilet in a place where there were no facilities or nowhere to squat behind, so I came up with a way of effectively urinating like a man. Men could just stroll up and be on their way in a few seconds, while women had to take off backpacks and clothing and then attempt to find somewhere to squat, all the time worrying about touching things for fear of germs or ticks, keeping their dignity and keeping warm. Shewee does away with all of this fuss."
Visit http://www.shewee.com/ for more details.
At the show the Earthwatch colleagues also discovered a portable gadget which can charge mobile devices and batteries by capturing solar energy. The device is useful for powering mobiles in the field, when conventional power sources may not be available. Visit http://www.purssang.com/etb.html.
And at the Wanderlust stand, Hannah and Zoe discovered the appeal of Wanderlust's travel writing and photography weekends - a useful way to hone your creative skills before the start of your Earthwatch expedition. See http://www.travellerstales.org/ for more details.
Editors Notes
Image © Hannah Rooley