A group of Purdue University engineering students are heading to Africa to show residents in Cameroon how to build trucks almost entirely from trees.

The students leave May 10 for Cameroon to set up a basic manufacturing plant in a northern village near a forest. There, they'll show locals in the West Africa nation how to build trucks from cheap, readily available materials using the most basic tools and skills.

The students say that the frame and body of their truck can be made from African hardwoods like mahogany.

They say their truck is affordable and sustainable and can haul at least eight passengers. The all-terrain vehicle about the size of small pickup can travel on small roads or cross-country, carrying up to 1,200 pounds.