MacGyver-In-A-Box Challenge
Winners Announced
MacGyver-In-A-Box Challenge
MacGyver In A Box Challenge Winners Announced
In partnership with MAKE Magazine, the MacGyver Foundation launched the MacGyver In A Box Challenge to inspire innovative sanitation solutions for rural communities in Guatemala. Participants were challenged to think like MacGyver: work with limited materials, prioritize practicality, and design solutions that are affordable and locally buildable.
The response was inspiring – Submissions came from students and innovators across the country, each bringing thoughtful ideas and real ingenuity to the challenge. After careful review, one standout design rose to the top. Here are the winners:
1st Place: Devanshi Guglani
Devanshi Guglani, 22, is a graduate student at Columbia University studying Computer Science. She loves finding ways to use technology to help people — whether that’s creating tools to help those with vision loss see better, or using AI to study insects in ways that could save lives. Outside of tech, she’s passionate about art, debate, and startups.
A Closer Look at the Winning Design
Devanshi’s design stood out for its practicality and thoughtful use of resources. The system is low-cost, functional, and sustainable, while also incorporating composting — turning waste into a resource that can benefit local agriculture.
She titled her concept the “Porta-Squatty” and describes it as “a portable, indoor, squat-style dry composting toilet that operates without water, plumbing, electricity, or fixed infrastructure. The system combines a squat pan, a sealed removable waste container, dry carbon cover material, and a passive vertical ventilation pipe to provide safe sanitation within rural homes.”
“The design is inspired by proven squat sanitation practices in South and East Asia, refined into a minimalist, modular form that can be fabricated, repaired, and maintained using materials readily available in rural Guatemala. The toilet is intended for indoor use, restoring privacy and hygiene while eliminating exposure to open pits, standing waste, or contaminated water sources,” which she explains in her submission.
What makes this design particularly powerful is not just its simplicity and use of locally sourced materials, but the way it goes beyond the original scope of the challenge. By incorporating composting, it transforms waste into a resource – extending its impact beyond sanitation to support local agriculture and long-term sustainability.
Devanshi’s design shows strong potential for implementation in the communities the challenge was designed to support. The MacGyver Foundation and MAKE Magazine are currently exploring the possibility of bringing the design to Guatemala, where it could be tested and implemented locally.
Thanks to All Who Participated
Selecting the top entries for the MacGyver In A Box Challenge was a challenge in itself, with so many thoughtful and impressive designs submitted.
Second place was awarded to 17 year old Sylvie Temple, a high school senior who plans to attend the University of Tennessee Knoxville in the fall for biology to pursue a career as a genetic counselor.
In third place was Charlie McComas, 18, who attends the University of Tennessee and majors in engineering. His career goal is to help combat global warming.
We extend our gratitude to everyone who participated in the MacGyver In A Box Challenge and helped demonstrate the power of ingenuity in action! The MacGyver Foundation looks forward to seeing how the winning design may one day improve daily life for communities in Guatemala and beyond.
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