Chukudu, the Wooden Makeshift Scooter

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In this article you can find some information about Chukudu and also download a 3D model of it. You can visualize the 3D model here as well.

This rather primitive looking device can help you support a family by working as a goods carrier. A large Chukudu can carry up to 1000 kilograms of weight. In a country damaged by one of the most cruel examples of colonial exploitation in its history, plus modern day wars, sometimes such a vehicle becomes your only option for an honest work. It is not too expensive that it might be a target for theft, but it is sturdy enough to work as a goods carrier. It is not an example of primitiveness but of tenacity and struggle.

Its design and make reminds us of evolution at work: Survival to the fittest selection applied to a vehicle in Central African socioeconomic sphere. You might look at this vehicle and think; I can import bunch of motorcyles in this country and get rich. Well, if you import enough, a badly aligned actor will utilize the vehicles to wage their next war. In such an equation, sometimes all you can do is produce a vehicle that is good enough for transportation of goods, but not good enough that you can war with it.

This is what brings us this ingenious vehicle, the Chukudu. I want to use this vehicle as a subject of my first Blender tutorial on this blog, while at the same time providing some basic facts about it. I have come across some nasty comments on the Internet about this vehicle, particularly focusing on comparing it to the stigma that Africa is a primitive place. Not only could this point of view be farther from the truth, but it is straight up ignorant and shows that people have no idea what African countries struggle with, and what they achieve the best. Instead of arguing with random strangers in the Internet, I decided to write this blog post. This way I could both explain my opinion as detailed as possible, while at the same time showing my support and solidarity with Congolose people, and those particularly living in Goma, Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo).

How does a Chukudu work?

A Chukudu is powered by its human operator. The rider pushes the ground to propel the Chukudu forward, much like any other scooter. When the Chukudu is empty, i.e., when it is not carrying any load, the operator can put their knee in the middle and use their other leg to push forward. To support the operator's knee, there is usually something nailed in the middle of the deck. This can be something as simple as the bottom of a shoe. At the back wheel, there is a piece of thick plastic which functions as a break.

Contrary to popular belief, the suspension spring in the front is actually functional. The top part of the suspension spring can be attached to a nail. This way, the Chukudu actually gains shock absorption capacity when it is heavily loaded.

This part of the suspension is thus attached to the steering column. The bottom part of the spring is attached to the deck. Thanks to this basic mechanism, the spring can lift the deck up with its tension. When the Chukudu is heavily loaded, the spring dampens and the deck will be lowered. When the Chukudu moves over rough terrain, bumpy surface etc., the spring will absorb part of the shock and move the deck to correct its movement for the terrain.

A typical heavy load Chukudu will be seen with strings (rubber bands etc.) wrapped all around it. The operator uses these strings to secure their payload. Chukudus can also have a hole drilled in the middle of the their deck. The operator can insert a stick in this hole for extra attachment and to further secure and stabilize payload.

"Africa is living in the stone age"

I was fascinated when I saw this wooden scooter online. I went out to watch every video I could find on the topic. Along the way, I have come across quite a lot of nasty comments on the state of Africa. A lot of people are basically making fun of the situation in Africa.

It was very disturbing to read these comments. Why are people making fun of people who work very hard to survive? Chukudu is, without a doubt, a symbol of hard work and tenacity. It is a symbol of perseverance of people who know how to navigate hard times.

We can talk about why someone is poor or why a country is poor all day long. But looking at the life of these poor people and then making fun of their situation simply reflects the poor personality of the commentors. They go on to justify their comments that even if Africa did not have a colonial past of exploitation, they would still be poor and underdeveloped, because of their culture or something. They cite studies published by the colonizers to justify their claims. Ah, yes. Age old attempt by the colonizers to justify their past and current day exploitations.

If we specifically talk about Congo, I would like to remind everyone that Patrice Lumumba walked this wretched world. He wanted to create an independent Congo whose riches would be put to use to develop the livelihood of Congolese people. What would you guess that happened to him? Assasinated, of course. By hands of the Belgian mercenaries, following the kill order from their Belgian masters. Ah yes. Civilized Europeans doing everything they can to help poor African nations develop. But alas, African culture is preventing that, right? Well, HOW ABOUT you stop murdering African leaders who wishes to rid their nation from the scars of their colonial past? Nope, I guess that is too much to ask for.

Since we are talking about Chukudu's, I would like to tell you when was Chukudu's invented. Let's read from Wikipedia:

"Chukudus first appeared in the 1970s in North Kivu, during the difficult economic times under Mobutu Sese Seko."

Mobutu Sese Seko... Hmm... Where do I remember this name from? Oh, yeah, now I remember. He was the Belgian backed dictator who illegally ended the term of the democratically elected Lumumba and then helped carry out his assasination.

Does not everything become very, very clear once we read the history a little bit? The primitive looking device that is Chukudu was invented because of the hard ships brought upon Congolese people by a dictator supported from Europe! And now to read on the Internet the clueless comments from westerners who make fun of Congolese people, using their electronic devices whose crucial components were mined in Congo. Let's exploit Africans as hard as we can and then let's make fun of their poverty. I applause this kind of people for their absolute moral bankruptcy.

The Lie that a European invented the Chukudu

Reading a lot of comments on the Internet on Chukudus, I have come across several times the claim that the Chukudu was invented by a European living in Congo. All the people who spread that misinformation cited the Wikipedia article for Chukudus. Of course I went over to Wikipedia to read it myself.

Much to my suprise, I simply could not locate that claim on Wikipedia. So I went to the revision history. And check out what I found out:

So basically this person edited out the claim that Chukudu was invented by a European. Indeed, there was no citation or a reference of any kind for that claim. This false claim stayed in Wikipedia for up to 2 years. Unfortunately unbothered journalists who use Wikipedia as their main source of information already did the damage and included this misinformation in their articles. For example this article from African Leadership falsely uses this claim. In fact, the magazine's article uses the exact wording from the false claim that once existed on Wikipedia. Great, hard working journalism at work there, lads.

I got more curious. I wanted to find out who in the first place added that claim to Wikipedia. After browsing through the revisions, I found that the false claim was added on 8 March, 2022 by a user whose only contribution to Wikipedia was adding this lie. The person basically opened their mobile phone, registered to Wikipedia, typed out their lie, and never visited Wikipedia again to contribute something. I guess that's a blessing.

That lie basically claims that Chukudus was invented by a Portuguese national who was living in Congo. The Wikipedia username of the person who added that claim is "Lisboa59". I am not saying anything here, just stating the facts that I observed.

Final Words

So this is basically it. In this blog post I wanted to clarify some of the issues revolving around this wooden scooter. It looks simple, but it symbolizes everything wrong about this world. It symbolizes every wrong that we commit against Africa. More importantly, it symbolizes the enduring spirit of African people.

I will use this amazing device as the subject of my first Blender tutorial. The simple shape and low amount of parts of Chukudus make them a perfect and fun candidate to learn and practice Blender. So, we will do exactly that. In the next blog post, we will learn about basics of Blender by building this scooter from scratch.

Thanks for reading and see you next time!