DESIGNING WITH EMERGING MARKETS
Almost half the world — over 3 billion people (the base of the economic pyramid, BoP) — live on less than € 2 a day. A substantial part of this BoP live in countries like Brazil, Russia, India, and China which are often termed as Emerging Markets. With an intention of inclusive growth and equitable economy for underserved population that predominantly resides in emerging markets, many stakeholders including academic or non-academic organizations are involved in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) that were proposed by the United Nations in 2000. Delft University of Technology Landbergstraat 15 2628 CE Delft, The Netherlands www.io.tudelft.nl/bop p.v.kandachar@tudelft.nl j.c.diehl@tudelft.nl Phone: +31 (0) 15 278 3034 Fax: +31 (0) 15 278 1839
Industrial Design Engineering
This book describes projects concerning products and services that were designed for the emerging market context. This is the third publication in the series of graduation and other Masters’ program projects at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology.
Design of Products and Services - 2011
Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering
2011 EDITION
One of the approaches to achieve MDGs is to focus on the needs of people in their own environment and then propose contextually aware product- service solutions. In particular, propose solutions that add value to user’s socio-cultural environment in emerging markets. The projects reported in this book underscore the strength and uniqueness of human centered approach to design, embraced by the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering.
Designing with Emerging Markets
Designing with Emerging Markets Design of Products and Services (2011 Edition)
Prof. Dr. Prabhu Kandachar Dr. Ir. Jan Carel Diehl Dr. Vikram S. Parmar Ir. Chetan Kaanadka Shivarama
Colophon
Printed on FSC certified paper Editors: Prof. Dr. Prabhu Kandachar Dr. Ir. Jan Carel Diehl Dr. Vikram S. Parmar Ir. Chetan Kaanadka Shivarama Cover design: Chetan Kaanadka Shivarama Designing with Emerging Markets, Design of Products and Services (2011 Edition) Edition
June 2011
ISBN
978-90-5155-077-1
Š 2011 Delft University of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any other information storage and retrieval system without explicit written permission from the authors. Delft University of Technology Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering Landbergstraat 15 2628 CE DELFT www.io.tudelft.nl/BoP Phone +31 (0) 15 278 3034 Fax +31 (0) 15 278 1839 E-mail p.v.kandachar@tudelft.nl j.c.diehl@tudelft.nl
1
Project Focus
Education
Each project in this booklet is performed with thought for all three pillars of responsible business: People, Planet and Profit. Sometimes however, a more nuanced focus is
Health
distinguished. This distinction is indicated for each project on the upper left side of the page, using the following symbols.
€
People
Food & Nutrition
Planet
Water
Profit
Energy
Legend
Housing
On the right side of the pages with project summaries, the specific domain(s) of the project are indicated with use of icons. On the right side of this page all icons are shown with
Materials
the corresponding domain in words. This can be used as a reference throughout this book, or as a search tool for cases in a specific domain. €
Company
Graduation date
Kamworks
December 14, 2007
Connectivity
www.kamworks.com
Mobile Solar Kiosk for Micro-Entrepeneurs Miriam Reitenbach Despite recent progress, the Cambodian economy still has to reconstitute from the effects of the civil war. The
eye-catching form of the carrier could be achieved.
population often lacks education and productive skills,
revealed that Cambodians were not yet familiar with solar
In the context of a holistic approach this project did not
energy in general and that the way of communicating and
only focus on the design and construction of the kiosk, but
the countryside. About 40% of the population lives below
explaining products forms a major criterion for the success
also presented recommendations on how to communicate
poverty line and has to live of less than 1$ per day. As
of the sales results.
to the local customers in an effective and adequate way,
90% of the Cambodian population does not have access
The outcomes of this research were translated into a final
such as a LED display and posters explaining the benefits
to a secure electricity infrastructure, economic and social
concept that was refined by means of iteratively building and
and cost savings of solar products. Additionally, a new
progress are slowed down as well.
testing the prototype to guarantee not only the technical
bilingual brand name and logo was created that made it
feasibility of the mobile store, but also acceptance among
possible to communicate with Khmer customers as well as
These circumstances set the framework of Kamworks’ business idea: securing sophisticated energy and light the country receives approximately five full sun hours each day, solar energy is one of the promising technologies. The objective of this graduation project was the design and development of a mobile solar kiosk for Cambodian microentrepreneurs,
enabling the setup of a self-sustaining
business by distributing solar products to the rural area of Cambodia, in continuation of the intensive collaboration between Kamworks and Delft University of Technology, see
56
Interviews with potential customers of the solar products
application of glass fibre reinforced plastic an attractive and
which leads to a high unemployment rate, especially in
supply and creating new jobs for young Cambodians. As
In order to get an understanding on how the anticipated customer reacted on the mobile store, the Cambodian translator was asked to drive around the rural areas to obtain feedback. In the first place he acted as microentrepreneur who sells products, consequently he interviewed the potential customers.
technical requirements.
page 116 .
Extreme road conditions
the future users - the micro-entrepreneurs.
Biking without pedaling
Designing & Tools
Western stakeholders and contributes to a quality image of the mobile solar kiosk.
The final design was a three-wheeled electric bicycle that
Local Production and maintenance
can be recharged by solar energy. By making use of this
When designing the mobile kiosk, only locally available
renewable energy technology and being remarkably lighter
materials and production techniques were considered in
than existing mobile stores, this vehicle is less polluting than
order to generate local income, as local manufacturing was
traditional motorised stores and can contribute to promote
one of the greatest requirements for the design. These
sustainable energy in an effective way. User tests showed
manufacturing experts of the kiosk would also be able to
that an electric bike caught the attention of the customer
take care of the maintenance and reparations, keeping all
immediately as most rural people never saw someone
the work and the money local.
driving on a bike without pedalling before. In order to cope with the bad road conditions a new
Through intense user and context research in Cambodia,
suspension system was developed that can damp the
technical and usability criteria were defined, as well as
wheels individually which makes it much easier to drive and
social and cultural influences. These formed the framework
steer the vehicle, even on bumpy and unpaved roads.
of this project. The first constraint was the underdeveloped
In the front part of this mobile solar kiosk a yellow carrier
road network and the extremely bad road conditions. Also,
is mounted that serves not only to transport the solar
with heavy rain seasons from May until October the road
products, but also as a store front when the lid is opened.
conditions get even worse which poses a challenge to the
Due to the, for the local context, innovative material
€
The bilingual logo on the side of the glass fibre reinforced carrier.
Entrepreneurship
57
2
€
Photo: Jimmy Ho
3
Rice Fields near Culik Bali, Indonesia
4
Preface Base of the Pyramid projects executed all over the world by students from Delft University of Technology, in the time period between 2004 and 2009.
The number of student projects at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering relevant to the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) has increased enormously since 2002, when the course “Advanced Products” for Master’s students started a small experiment with projects focused on developing countries was started. The increase of projects is due to several reasons. Firstly, students of our Faculty have shown great interest and enthusiasm to design products and services to meet the needs of the citizens of the BoP. Secondly, the concept of BoP has attracted the attention of many Dutch and European entrepreneurs, leading to several assignments for our students, often in collaboration with people living at the economic BoP. Thirdly, the supervising staff of our Faculty is equally active in supporting such initiatives. And lastly, more and more Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), both in the Netherlands and in some BoP countries, have been opening up their doors to such trials. But what is this BoP? Base of the Pyramid (or Bottom of the Pyramid, as it is sometimes termed) refers to the 4-billion plus poor mostly in non-western countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, living on incomes less than $32601 per year. Some parts of these geographical
regions,
such
as
China, India, Brazil, Russia, have markets experiencing phenomenal economic growth not unnoticed by the affluent west. Although the BoP strategy to 1 Monica Touesnard, http://www.bopnetwork.org/
5
Millennium Development Goals
countries, has attracted the attention of scientists and
The extensive response to these ideas is likely due to the
entrepreneurs worldwide, the scientific publications in this
limited success of developmental assistance to alleviate
area until now are often from management sciences, often
poverty in the past 50 years. For more than 50 years, the
extending the concepts of corporate social responsibility,
World Bank, donor nations, various aid agencies, national
sustainability, etc.
governments, and civil society organizations have all fought
The uniqueness of our Faculty of Industrial Design
the good fight, but have not been able to eradicate poverty
Engineering lies in its human centered approach. Needs are
yet. The adoption of the Millennium Development Goals
the central driving force uniting technology and business.
(MDG) by the United Nations only underscores that reality.
By tradition our Faculty has propagated the practice of
Poverty has remained one of the world’s most daunting
designing products and services to meet the human needs.
problems even as we enter the 21st Century. Prahalad
The BoP strategy has stimulated us to look also at the needs
advocates an alternative approach to help the poor.
of the underserved, which represent a huge market and was hitherto unattended. The foundation for the BoP strategy was laid by Prahalad & Hart2, in their publication published in the first quarter of 2002, promising fortune for entrepreneurs and at the same time offering perspectives to the poor world majority to escape from the poverty. This caught public attention and unleashed an extensive response from academics, businesses, NGOs and others. Prahalad’s book3 delves in depth by proposing a framework for the active engagement of the private sector and suggesting a basis for a profitable win-win engagement. This vision of untapped great wealth in the world waiting to be explored & exploited by human ingenuity, by designing products and services to meet the needs of the world’s poor, and then efficiently manufacturing & distributing by the capabilities of the modern corporation,
Preface
serve the underserved, namely the poor in developing
Science Spread over the World The projects described in this book are a result of several students, entrepreneurs and academic staff stimulated by this strategy. The BoP concept is spreading to all parts of the world, both within the rich and in the poor countries. This is also reflected by the geographical spread of the projects executed at our Faculty, as can be seen in the picture on the opposite page. It can also be observed that the projects cover very diverse needs, from Water to Energy, from Healthcare to Education, and more. These projects could not have been executed without the involvement of students, companies, NGOs, and professors. Together they have set up a base to develop a new knowledge domain full of challenges and opportunities. Thank you all!
Prahalad contends, needs innovations.
2 The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, Strategy+business, issue 26, First quarter 2002, p. 1- 14 (Booz Allen Hamiliton) 3 The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits, ISBN-10: 0-13-146750-6; ISBN-13: 978-0-13146750-7 (Published 2004) Pages: 432.
Prof. Dr. Prabhu Kandachar Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering Delft University of Technology May 2011 6
Table of Contents 7
Project Focus 2 Preface 5 Introduction
Prabhu Kandachar
Challenges for Industrial Designers
11
Designing with Emerging Markets: Education
27
Annemarie Mink
April, 11
Progress- Redesign of Silk Reeling Machine
31
Antonio RĂŠcamier Elvira
Feb 28, 11
Tools for Prosthetic Device Fabrication
33
Guido Kisman
Feb, 11
Low Voltage Powered Television for Rural Cambodia
35
Chetan Kaanadka Shivarama Aug 26, 10
Strategy to Automate CDM Monitoring Process
37
Nicolas Vorzee
Jul 12, 10
Water Purification by Solar Energy
39
Solergy
Jun, 10,11
Rural Electrification
43
A.M. Eckhardt
Jun, 10
Business Model Design for Solar LED Products
45
Anne Beeftink
March, 11
Redesign of a Posture Support Wheelchair
47
African Bicycle Design
Feb 4, 10
Bicycle Project Kisumu
49
Tanzaniaqua
Feb 4, 10
Water Filter for Tanzania
51
Clarie-Marie Landre
Feb , 10
Mobile UI Design for Semi-Literate users
55
Leonard Schurg
Jan 28, 10
A Low Cost Solar Refrigeration System
57
Peepoople
Jan 26, 10
Peepoo implementation for Kibera Slum
59
Watt next
Jan, 10
Toughstuff LiNK Light
61
Olav De Mello
Aug 26, 09
Electricity from Biogas for Rural Households
63
Marjolein van Houten
Aug, 09
Household Treatment of Turbid Water
67
Design Initiatief
Jun 15, 09
Savera
69
Indus Technologies
Jun 15, 09
Solar Refrigerator
71
Base
Jun, 09
Redesign of HEBI
73
Philips
Jun, 09
Philips Repelamp
77
Peter De Graaff
Jan 29, 09
Renewable Lighting for Sub Saharan Africa
79
Tomas Schietecat
Jan, 09
Trikademik
81
Aparna Bhasker
2009
India Moves: Economic Empowerment of Rural Disabled
83
Education
Designing with Emerging Markets: Research
87
G. Groeneveld
Dec, 08
Mobile Primary health Information System
91
D. van Oene & E. Kingma
Dec, 08
Maternal & Child Health Care in Rural India
93
Inge van de Wouw
Dec 8, 08
Insect Repellent Lamp for Indian Market
95
Ambika Samabasivan
Oct 30, 08
Global Opportunities in Renewable Lighting
97
Lieke Pijpers
Oct 24, 08
PRO-PORTION Affordable milk for kids
99
Sierk Hennes
Sep 23, 08
Design a PSS for drinking water
103
Kirsten Rijke
Aug 26, 08
Solar shop in rural Cambodia
105
Tom van Diessen
Aug 22, 08
Solar Home System for rural Cambodia
107
Linda Schnieders
Jul 28, 08
Redesign of a Smoke free Batana Extractor
109
Lumen
Jun, 08
LUMEN light solution
111
Judith Goor
Apr 04, 08
A battery charging system for youngsters
115
Jan Willem Findlater
Feb 8, 08
Culturally appropriate coffins for Botswana
117
Water4Kenya
Feb, 08
Water4Kenya
119
Alexander van der Kleij
Feb 1, 08
Comparing Contexts; Solar Dew Technology
121
Miriam Reitenbach
Dec 14, 07
Mobile Solar Kiosk for Micro-Entrepeneurs
123
Koos Munneke
Oct 24, 07
Better Brace Project
127
Bernard Hulshof
Oct 19, 07
Affordable Solar Lighting for rural Madagascar
129
Rutger Bonsel
Oct 12, 07
Holy Cow or Cash Cow
131
Hoi-Kee Wong
Aug 8, 07
Cooking in rural China
133
Fire4India
May, 07
Fire4India
135
Annemiek van Boeijen Design & culture in the BoP Domain
139
Culture & Design Yu-Kuan Chang
Nov 27, 06
Knowledge Gaps in Product Development
145
Annemarie Mink
Nov 10, 06
Reeling Machine for Silk Yarn Producers
147
Marion de Groot
Sep 21, 06
Support Tool for the Chinese Village Doctor
149
Cathelijne Huis in ‘t Veld
Aug 31, 06
Design of a Malaria Diagnostics Device
151
Roelie Bottema
Aug 4, 06
Personal Water Purifier
153
Mijntje de CaluwĂŠ
Jul 29, 06
Knowledge Framework: Design4Billions
157
Elselien Epema
Jul 7, 06
Product Service System for Plant Oil Stove
159
GhanaMoves
Jul, 06
Tricycle for Disabled Entrepreneurs
161
Willem Glasbergen
Jun 21, 06
Human Powered Bamboo Splitting Tool
163
Table of Contents
Research
8
Table of Contents 9
Marike Bijtelaar
Jun 16, 06
Improving the Climate of Cooking Areas
165
Maria Nguyen
Apr 28, 06
Safe Drinking Water
169
Leonie Ideler
Apr 4, 06
Adoptable Woodstove
171
Fernando Del Caro Secomandi Apr, 06
Water Supply in Slums: P.I.P.A. System
173
Jon Rodriguez
Feb 3, 06
Contextualizing Products
175
Cale Thompson
Sep 14, 06
Online Microfinance: into(context)
177
Jonathan Stranders
Dec 23, 05
Creating Market Insight for Designers
181
Suzanne Hendrikse
Nov 11, 05
Device for Early Oral Cancer Detection
183
Stephen Boom
Oct 28, 05
Solar Lighting
185
Roseliek van der Velden
Oct 21, 05
Adoptability of the U-Specs
187
Joan Boekhoven
Oct 18, 05
Natural Fibres in Doors and Windows
189
H.S. Smallenbroek
2004
Small scale cassava starch processing
191
Epilogue
Dr. J. C. Diehl
The First Learning Experiences of
Designing with Emerging Markets 195 Acknowledgements 200 About the Editors 201
Front loader bicycle for street vendors Kisumu, Kenya
Team African Bicycle Design
Cover
Rice Fields near Culik
Bali, Indonesia
Jimmy Ho
4
Nomadic girl washing dishes
Bengaluru, India
Chetan Kaanadka Shivarama
26
Food for all: Kid with pets
Vietnam
Yu-Fang Teh
30
Village water supply
Gujarat, India
Nicolas Voorzee
42
House of Prayer - A humble church
Nairobi, Kenya
Bastiaan Tolhuijs
54
A market place
Vietnam
Yu-Fang Teh
66
Fishing harbour of lake Victoria
Kisumu, Kenya
Team African Bicycle Design
76
Curious monk watching a boy
Spiti Valley, India
Chetan Kaanadka Shivarama
86
Students crossing Sewage
Nairobi, Kenya
Bastiaan Tolhuijs
90
A busy market street
Chennai, India
Deniz Arik
102
Man Fishing on Citarum River
Java, Indonesia
Kees van Gastel
114
Man and horse at work
Java, Indonesia
Mirjam Lindgreen
126
Market for Holi Colours
India
Prabhu Kandachar
138
Boats
Cambodia
Stephen Boom
144
Girl Getting Water in Favela
Rio de Janeiro
Ferry
156
Girls in Favelas
Rio de Janeiro
Linda Schnieders
168
Man at Home
Chongming Island Jaap Daalhuizen
180
Toilet in a Rural Village
Chongming Island Jaap Daalhuizen
194
Table of Contents
Photos
10
Introduction
Challenges for Industrial Design Engineers Prof. Dr. Prabhu Kandachar About two thirds of the world’s population of 6 billion people spend their lives searching for food and shelter, fighting for physical survival, and fearing for the future. These are the individuals who earn less than two dollars per day: the people living at the economical Base of the Pyramid (BoP). This does not go unnoticed. Global poverty, its extent and distribution, is of daily news screaming for the attention of all world citizens. The challenge at world level is enormous. In Africa alone, poverty and hunger, unemployment, disease, malnutrition, lack of shelter, gender inequity and environmental deterioration are some of the main
Millennium Development Goals Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Goal 5: Improve maternal health Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Millennium Development Goals The developments in the last century have attracted the attention of world leaders. At the Millennium Summit in September 2000 the largest gathering of world leaders in history adopted the UN Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and set out a series of targets with a deadline of 2015, which have become known as the Millennium Development Goals1. The image on the left shows the eight goals. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the world’s time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
poverty in its many dimensions - income poverty, hunger,
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
promoting gender equality, education, and environmental
Eight Millennium Development Goals, to be achieved in 2015.
11
challenges in addressing poverty.
disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion - while sustainability. Also included are basic human rights - the right of each person on the planet to health, shelter, and 1 http://www.undp.org/mdg/basics.shtml
beyond the immediate horizon and opportunities, and for
mortality, AIDS, Malaria and other diseases.
having a voice in public decision making. A sustainable
The MDGs are an agreed set of goals that can only be
end to world poverty as we know it, as well as the path to
achieved if all actors work together and do their part. Poor
peace and security, requires that citizens in every country
countries have pledged to govern better, and invest in their
are empowered to make positive choices and provide for
people through health care and education. Rich countries
themselves and their families. This can only be achieved
have pledged to support them, through aid, debt relief, and
if everyone is given a chance to learn in a high-quality
fairer trade.
schooling environment at least through primary school.
As an institution which is an expert in designing products
At a country level, education is considered to be an
and services to meet human needs, it could be that some
important determinant of economic growth and is frequently
of the needs of the population at the Base of the Pyramid
hailed as one of the primary contributing factors to the
are addressable by the expertise available at the Faculty
dramatic economic growth in East Asia. Individuals with a
of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of
strong educational attainment also have good earnings. A
Technology. Most problems can be grouped in the domains
greater access to good quality education is a key poverty-
of education, healthcare, food & nutrition, water, energy, housing, materials, connectivity, designing & tools, and entrepreneurship. Each of these domains will be discussed, giving an overview of the needs and problems. The rest of the book presents student projects that aim at solving problems within one or more of these domains, with two different chapters: on page 74, an insight is giving on “design and culture at the BoP�, and the epilogue on page 126 reflects on the student projects and draws some preliminary conclusions about the lessons learned.
Education
Introduction
security and there are specific aims at combating child
reduction strategy advocated throughout the developing world. More and more children, youth and adults have a chance to learn and the number of children in school continues to grow. In 2008, 696 million children were enrolled in primary schools around the world. Yet, a lot more still needs to be done. More than 100 million children, over half of them girls, never get a chance to see the inside of a classroom. Furthermore, the poor quality of education provided, resulting from irrelevant and obsolete curricula, overcrowded classrooms, untrained teachers, etc., causes high incompletion rates.
An essential ingredient for the full realization of human
Literacy empowers and nurtures inclusive societies and
capacity, education is considered to provide everyone the
contributes to the fair implementation of human rights. In
opportunity to make a better life for themselves. Education
the case of mothers, literacy leads to an enhanced quality
provides the basis for making informed choices, for seeing
of life for their families and improved education outcomes
12
for their children. Parents’ education, and particularly mothers’ education, is seen to result in lower fertility, lower maternal mortality, and better child health and nutrition
World Income Distribution 2000
status. It is also suggested that individuals with at least some education respond better to HIV/AIDS prevention messages. Nevertheless literacy remains a low priority for national governments and the donor community. According to the Global Education Digest (2010), worldwide, 796 million adults were illiterate in 2008 and 72 million children of primary school age were out-of-school in 2007. A large number of those who enrol drop out before attaining literacy skills and some of those who complete primary education remain illiterate. Literacy is an indispensable means for effective social and economic participation, contributing to human development and poverty reduction. Goal 2 of the Millennium Development Goals has set out by the year 2015 to ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling. The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in and for education is rapidly expanding in many countries, and is now seen worldwide as both a necessity and an opportunity. In different countries policies and strategies to integrate information and communication technologies in education are being developed. While ICT use in education in developing countries is relatively recent, it has nevertheless made an impact on the education system. It has generated a wealth of experience, good practices and lessons for the benefit of countries where ICT application and integration in
Everyone knows the resources in the world are not divided evenly over the entire population. This inequal distribution of money and power needs action.
13
education are being established2. 2 http://portal.unesco.org/en/
Healthcare Differences in health standards between rich & poor countries are very high. Life expectancy varies between 36 and 85 years. A child born in a rich country receives
Shortage of Health Service Providers
vaccinations, adequate nutrition and good schooling. When a girl becomes a mother she will benefit from high-quality maternity care. Growing older, she may eventually develop chronic diseases, but excellent treatment and rehabilitation services will be available. On the other hand, a child born in a poor country has little chance of receiving immunizations and a high probability of being underweight throughout childhood. She will probably marry early and give birth to many children without the assistance of a trained birth attendant. One or more of her babies will die in infancy, and she herself will be at high risk of death during childbirth. If she survives middle age she, too, will develop chronic diseases but, without access to adequate treatment, she will die prematurely. This illustrates what medicine and public health can achieve, and shows unmet needs in a world of vast and growing health inequalities. The key task of the global health community is therefore to close the gap between such contrasting lives. Real progress in health depends vitally on stronger health systems based on primary health care. Attention is needed across all levels of the health care system to integrate health promotion and disease prevention on the one hand and treatment for acute illness and chronic care on the other. Experiences from past decades, fighting against diseases across the world, show that there are no easy solutions to
Countries with a critical shortage of health service providers (doctors, nurses and midwives) are coloured dark. [World Health Organization, Global Atlas of the Health Workforce http://www.who.int/hrh/whr06/en/index.html]
14
Food Security and Undernourishment
the challenge of providing access to sustainable healthcare in developing countries. Money is the single biggest barrier to improving healthcare in the developing world. In many countries people do not have enough food or access to a clean water supply, no hospital or clinic in which to receive treatment and few healthcare professionals to care for them. Often the governments of these countries simply do not have the resources needed to address the healthcare needs of their people. The World Bank estimates that an annual healthcare expenditure of $14 per person is the minimum needed to provide the most fundamental services. Yet the average expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa, for example, is
Number of hungry people has increased since 1995-97. [http://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/en]
currently only 6 USD3.
Food and Nutrition Food security and insecurity are terms used to describe people’s access to sufficient quality and quantity of food. They are affected by factors such as poverty, health, food production, political stability, infrastructure, access to markets, and natural hazards. Improved food security is important for global reduction of hunger and poverty, and for economic development. One aim of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) is to eradicate poverty and hunger, including “to reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger” between 1990 and 2015. The most recent estimate, released in October 2010 by FAO, says that 925 million people (13.6% of world population) are undernourished. As the figure below shows, the number of
925 million people (13.6% of world population) are undernourished. [http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20 facts%202002.htm#Number_of_hungry_people_in_the_world]
15
hungry people has increased since 1995-97. The increase has been due to three factors: 1) neglect of agriculture relevant 3 The World Health Report 2006, http://www.who.int/
to very poor people by governments and international
severe. For example iron deficiency anaemia remains a
agencies; 2) the current worldwide economic crisis, and 3)
major health problem and can negatively impact on health,
the significant increase of food prices in the last several years
life expectancy, work productivity and economies. It has
which has been devastating to those with only a few dollars a
been estimated that iron deficiency impairs the mental
day to spend. It is predicted that many regions will not reach
development of 40 to 60% of children in developing countries.
their MDG targets, particularly sub-Saharan Africa where
Also, vitamin A deficiency affects 40% of children, and is
a third of the population is food insecure and there is an
a factor in 1 million child deaths per year. Thirdly, iodine
actual increase (through population growth) in the number
deficiency during pregnancy causes mental impairment in
of hungry people. Southern Asia is also not expected to meet
18 million babies born every year. Several strategies have
its goal, with increasing numbers of undernourished people
been proposed to address these problems. They include food
in countries such as Bangladesh and Nepal.
fortification, dietary diversification, dietary supplementation,
The factors affecting this problem include: (1) availability
nutrition education, and public health measures to control
of food, or the amount of food that actually exists (local
intestinal parasites and other infectious diseases. Also, when
production and other sources) (2) people’s physical, economic
people do have access to food, more efficient and healthy
and social access to food (3) the quality or nutritional
food preparation methods and tools can address the problem
adequacy of that food; and (4) people’s ability to utilize
of unhealthy preparation.
this food, including the patterns of control over who eats what and the physical ability to absorb nutrients (affected by health status factors such as intestinal parasites). Malnutrition, a widespread problem, is caused by deficiencies or imbalances in energy, protein and/or other nutrients.
Signs
include
wasting
(thinness),
stunting
(shortness), or being underweight (low weight for age due to wasting/stunting). Protein-energy deficiency is a leading cause of child death in developing countries. Deficiencies in micro nutrients (vitamins and minerals) can also affect mental and physical health. Micronutrient malnutrition is a major global public health problem affecting more than a third of the world population. Consequences of this malnutrition are widespread and
Water The most common substance on earth is water. Ninetyseven percent of it is seawater, unfit for human use. Of the remaining 3%, two-thirds is locked up in glaciers or ice and snow around the poles. Only 1% of the entire world’s water is available for human consumption. Even this small percentage should be enough for all, water being infinitely renewable. However, water is not distributed evenly. Canada, Austria and Ireland, have more water than they can possibly use; Australia, northern China and the Middle East, have too little. In India and Bangladesh, rainfall is highly seasonal: almost all the year's supply may arrive within a few months. Water is also heavy, which makes it costly to transport over
16
Households (%) That Lack Water
long distances. In many countries, millions of poor people (usually women) must walk for several hours a day to get
In-House Connection to Water
Improved Drinking Water
Improved Sanitation
China
41
23
56
matters worse. As much as 60% of the world's illness is
Russia
19
4
13
water-related. Water shortage is expected all over the world
Mexico
11
9
23
in the coming 20 years as shown in the figure on the right4.
Colombia
15
8
14
Peru
28
19
28
In China two-fifth of the households lack an in-house connection to water, almost a quarter lacks improved drinking water and more than half of all Chinese lack improved sanitation. [United Nations Habitat]
water; or they pay exorbitant prices to private water vendors. And often water quality is poor. Inadequate sanitation makes
One of the millennium targets requires that an additional 1.5 billion people gain access to some form of improved water supply by 2015, which is 100 million people each year (or 274,000 people each day).
Energy Energy is required for most of the human activities. In 2003, no less than 80% of the world's energy consumption came from fossil fuels. The extensive use of energy technologies,
The Global Water Challenge
especially when utilizing fossil energy resources, has also generated undesirable by-products, wastes and pollution that threaten human health, climate and ecosystems. The extraction, conversion to useful energy (such as electricity for a home or gasoline for a car), and combustion of fuels like oil, coal, natural gas, etc, releases into the atmosphere approximately 80% of human-induced (termed anthropogenic) greenhouse gas emissions. The environmental consequences are causing concern firstly from the reliance on natural resources, and secondly from the damage to global, regional, and local environments from emissions.
In developing countries, less than 10% of the naturally available water is withdrawn. [Adapted from Grey and Sadoff, 2006, The Global Water Challenge]
17
The global requirements for energy are increasing rapidly as the global population increases and the under-developed 4 Water Scenarios in 2025, WBCSD, August 2006, http://www.wbcsd.org/
nations become more advanced. Nearly two billion people in our world of rapidly approaching six billion people currently do not have access to commercial energy services. Understanding and assisting in putting to use the laws of nature for the transition towards a sustainable energy system is the fundamental challenge of today’s and tomorrow’s scientists & engineers. One of the greatest challenges ahead is to connect the 1.6 billion people in developing countries currently without access to modern energy services in an environmentally benign manner. Other challenges include the ongoing urbanization throughout the world creating higher and higher energy demand densities, increasing demand for mobility, especially in developing countries, and additional energy needs for new processes such as desalination. Clearly, meeting such a challenge requires a proactive & a co-operative contribution from all involved.
World Energy Consumption 1965 - 2007
In Africa, for instance, overcoming energy poverty is one of the main challenges. The majority of Africans currently have no access to modern energy services and technologies. This
has
wide-ranging
social
and
environmental
consequences. Lack of access to electricity means no refrigeration for medicines or food, limits on what type of businesses can be developed, as well as no effective lighting. As a result, children cannot easily study in the evenings. Most Africans, even in urban areas, still use firewood, crop residues or charcoal for cooking and cook on inefficient stoves, resulting in a high incidence of respiratory diseases because of smoke. Many women and girls have to spend hours collecting firewood, and cutting trees contributes to deforestation.
In 2007, approximately 85% of the world’s energy consumption came from fossil fuels. [Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy, http://people. hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch8en/conc8en/worldfossil.html]
18
There are also opportunities. A recent study5, by the German Aerospace Center and Ecofys in The Netherlands, commissioned by Greenpeace and Europe's Renewable Energy Council. claims that half of the world's energy needs in 2050 could be met by renewable energy and by improved efficiency. According to this study, alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar, could provide nearly 70% of the global electricity demand and 65% of global heat demand.
Housing and Urbanization Some 1.2 billion people worldwide live on the equivalent
Worldwide Energy Consumption 2050
of less than one dollar per day. The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS) has estimated that 1.1 billion people are living in inadequate housing conditions in urban areas alone, and that figure is expected to double by 2030. UNCHS has also estimated that some approximately 35 million new housing units are required each year in developing countries to accommodate growth in the number of households during the period between 2000 and 2010 period. The bulk of these, some 21 million units, are required to cater for the needs of the increasing number of households. The rest is needed to meet the requirements of people who are currently homeless or living in inadequate housing. In other words, some 95,000 new urban housing units have to be constructed each day in developing countries to improve housing conditions to acceptable levels. Some 14 million additional units would be required each year for the next 20 years if the current housing deficit were to be replaced
Prognosis after 2000 assumes a global economic growth of 3% and a global population of 9 billion people by 2050. [Deutsche Shell, http://www.spiegel. de/international/spiegel/0,1518,grossbild-685811-429968,00.html]
19
by 2020. Among an estimated 100 million homeless people around the world, available data suggest that increasing 5 Report: Energy Revolution, Jan 2007
proportions are women and children. But the main event of the demographic change is in the cities of the developing world — and most of it in squatter cities, the teeming slums of the uninvited. A billion people live in squatter cities now. Two billion more are expected by 2050. Squatters are nearly one-sixth of all humans now, onefourth to one-third in the nearby future. Historically, cities have been the driving force in economic and social development. At present approximately 307 million Indians (31% of the population) live in nearly 3700 towns and cities spread across the country. This is in sharp contrast to only 60 million (15%) who lived in urban areas in 1947 when the country became independent. During the last fifty years the population of India has grown two and half times, but Urban India has grown by nearly five times. In numerical terms, India's urban population is second largest in the world after China, and is higher than the total urban population of all countries put together barring China, USA and Russia. Facilities in houses are also of big challenge. Less than 20% of households in Africa are connected to piped water, and only 40% have piped water within 200 meters of their home. In the developing world, 29% of cities have areas considered as "inaccessible" or "dangerous" to the police. In Latin America and the Caribbean, this figure is 48%. Less than 35% of cities in the developing world have their wastewater treated. In countries with economies in transition, 75% of solid wastes are disposed of in open dumps. Housing problems have far-reaching consequences. The high cost of housing leaves low-income families little money for other basic necessities like food, clothing or health care.
Substandard housing can endanger the health and safety of its occupants, erode their hope and self-worth, and impair their children's ability to succeed in school.
Materials and Resources Developing
countries
are
concerned
with
promoting
technological advancement as a means of economic development, which in turn contributes to social development. Raw materials and local resources provide basic building blocks for such developments. Developed countries are much further in application of material and resources by means of industrial production wherein energy and raw materials are fed continuously into the production process, resulting in useful products as well as waste or other by-products. Increasing concern worldwide for environmental protection and growing economical constraints have led to development and utilization of new materials based on renewable resources such as natural fibres and plant materials, as well as recycling of industrial by-products. Developing countries have often abundant local renewable materials and basic expertise. For instance natural fibres produced from animals or plants are plentifully available in developing countries. Animal fibres are derived from sources such as sheep, goats and rabbits, and the cocoon of the silkworm. Vegetable fibres are derived from the stem, leaf or seed of various plants. Close to 30 million tonnes of natural fibres are produced annually in the world, of which cotton is dominant with 20 million tonnes, wool and jute each around 2 to 3 million tonnes followed by a number of others. Natural fibres form an important component of clothing, upholstery and other textiles for consumers, and many of
20
them also have industrial uses in packaging, papermaking and in composite materials with many uses, including automobiles. Apart from their importance to the consumer and in their various industrial uses, natural fibres are an important source of income for the farmers who produce them. In some cases they are produced on large farms in developed countries, but in many developing and least developed countries proceeds from the sale and export of natural fibres contribute significantly to the income and food security of poor farmers and workers in fibre industries. For some developing countries natural fibres are of major economic
Number of People Without Electricity 1979-2030, by region
importance, for example, cotton in some West African countries, jute in Bangladesh and sisal in Tanzania. In other cases these fibres are of less significance at the national level but are of major local importance, as in the case of jute in West Bengal (India) and sisal in northeast Brazil. Challenges in this area include attaining economic growth by designing and commercializing products based on such local renewable natural resources without raising the ecological pressure on the planet.
Connectivity Communications in the richer part of the world by means of newspapers, radio, TV, telephones are self-evident. The latest technology, mobile phones, has become indispensable in the rich world. But they are even more useful in the developing world, where the availability of other forms In the sub-saharian Africa and South Asia, it is projected that people are increasingly living without electricity. [IEA 2002b]
21
of communication—roads, postal systems or fixed-line phones—is often limited. Even though there is a substantial
subscriber growth in much of the developing world, only
Also, the divide refers to those who can benefit from those
a small proportion of people (affordability is the “biggest
digital technologies and those who do not. Countries with
obstacle” to broader adoption) —around 5% in both India
a wide availability of internet access can advance the
and sub-Saharan Africa—have their own mobile phones.
economics of that country on a local and global scale. In
Using cell phones, fishermen and farmers check prices in
today's society, internet is becoming increasingly important
different markets before selling produce. Cell phones also
influencing jobs and education. In countries where the
help people to find work, allow quick and easy transfers
internet and other technologies are not accessible, education
of funds and boost entrepreneurship. A village can share
is getting affected, and uneducated people cannot compete
phones and prepaid calling plans reduce the need for a bank
in our global economy. The digital divide is also a term used
account or credit check.
to refer to the gap between people who have access to the
Grameen Bank, a pioneer in the practice of micro-credit
internet (the information haves) and those that do not (the
lending, has created a cell phone company to bring cell
information have-nots). It can also refer to the skills people
phones into the villages of Bangladesh. The bank gave loans
have – the gap between people who are at ease using digital
to the borrowers to buy a cell phone and start selling phone
technology to access and analyse information and those who
services. It became a growing business, especially with
are not.
women entrepreneurs. They never saw a telephone in their
The digital divide is just as much a gap in understanding as
life before, but they have accepted it as a business idea, and
it is a gap in connectivity. There are often clear fundamental
more than 100,000 telephone ladies all over Bangladesh are
differences between what is proposed by technology
doing good business while connecting Bangladesh with the
visionaries, many of whom have never even seen a village,
rest of the world.
and what is actually needed by end-users, many of whom
A recent study has shown that, in a typical developing
have never used a telephone or a computer.
country, a rise of ten mobile phones per 100 people boosts
A number of ICT initiatives offer a promise of closing the
GDP growth by 0.6 percentage points. Mobile phones are,
gap that separates the some four billion people living in rural
in short, a classic example of technology that helps people
communities from a future with greater literacy, productivity,
help themselves.
and quality of life. While the end goal is clear – broadband
Nevertheless, the absorption of digital technologies
connectivity everywhere – many ICT initiatives have faltered
throughout the world has not been uniform, such that the
due to a lack of a well-adapted, step-by-step approach that
concept of digital divide has emerged. The digital divide
considers social factors and the staging of capital investments
is the gap between those with regular, effective access to
as well as technology.
digital technologies and those who do not have that option.
Wireless technology has not only revolutionized the way
22
the developed world communicated; it also offers developing countries an opportunity to “leap-frog� over wire line infrastructures to the forefront of communications. However, since many different types of wireless technologies exist, it is important to choose the technology that best matches the needs of these new markets. While some wireless techniques have been very successful in urban areas, the rural ICT market has its own set of unique requirements, including: low-cost, low-power, scalability, robustness, and ease of use.
Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurs are regarded as bearers of risk, agents that
Focus of Base of the Pyramid Research Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering Delft University of Technology
bring together the factors of production, or organizers of innovation. Entrepreneurship is essential in developing countries, as it has played an important role in economic growth, innovation, and competitiveness, and it may also play a role over time in poverty alleviation. Over 400 million individuals in developing countries are owners or managers of new firms. Of these, over 200 million are found in China and India alone, compared with just 18 million entrepreneurs in the United States. Yet, in one of the best general books on the state of research on entrepreneurship, China is mentioned on two pages and India is not mentioned at all6. Entrepreneurs in developing countries face a different set of circumstances than their counterparts in developed economies. These differences are rooted in the underlying economies in which they operate. Emerging markets lack a
A model for design processes for the Base of the Pyramid. [Prabhu Kandachar, Jan 2008]
23
6 Amar BhidĂŠ, The Origin and Evolution of New Businesses, New York: Oxford University, 2000, ISBN-13: 978-0195131444
stable or mature market and the consistency that such markets
the poor world7 majority to escape from poverty.
offer. Consequently, the opportunity for entrepreneurship in
Needs of human beings are the central driving force
emerging markets is pervasive. While Western entrepreneurs
uniting technology and business, resulting in products and
operate at the fringes of the economy, emerging market
services. By tradition Delft has propagated the practise of
entrepreneurs operate closer to the core – the needs and
designing products and services to meet human needs.
opportunities are more widespread. Another difference lies in
Even though it is set up in an engineering environment,
the access to financial resources. Internal finance comprises
such an activity needs an integrative approach from several
the majority of financing for small and medium enterprises
sciences: technical, social, management sciences, and
in most developing countries. Another major difference lies
working together with entrepreneurs. Although several earlier
in the access to technological advances which are largely
activities at Delft had been carried out in poor countries,
developed and held by developed countries.
they were almost always within the context of developmental
Entrepreneurs are a crucial link in implementing designs
assistance. The Base of the Pyramid strategy has stimulated
of products and services developed specifically to meet the
this Faculty to look also at the needs of the underserved,
needs of the BoP markets. They are the motors of economic
which represent a huge market and was hitherto unattended.
growth and poverty reduction. Small, micro and medium-
It provides an opportunity to apply the well tried out model
sized enterprises (SMMEs) are often the backbone of the
at Delft (see figure at the left) for poor countries, but this
private sector in the developing world, creating jobs and
time within the context of alleviating poverty by means of
providing a tax base for local government. And frequently
business endeavours.
SMMEs offer the only employment available to millions of poor people.
Design and Research Back in 2002, an experiment was conducted to design a product to serve rural healthcare needs of China, specifically diabetes mellitus. In this project, students and staff of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering collaborated with staff from a Multinational Corporation. Almost at the same time the first paper expounding the Base of the Pyramid strategy by Prahalad & Hart appeared, promising fortune for entrepreneurs and at the same time offering perspectives for
7 Strategy + Business, Issue 26, digitaldividend.org/pdf/bottompyramid.pdf, first quarter 2002.
24
Photo: Chetan Kaanadka Shivarama
25
A Nomadic girl washing the dishes Bengaluru, India
26
Education
Designing with Emerging Markets: Education The following part of this publication will showcase a selection of projects within the framework of Design with Emerging Markets (DEM) covering design of both products and services. These projects are executed by students of and supervised by the academic staff of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE) of the Delft University of Technology (DUT). Assignments for these projects are mostly from external organizations, like entrepreneurs, NGO’s, etc. IDE offers at present one bachelor program (3 years), three master programs (2 years) and a PhD program (4 years). The currently offered master programs are Integrated Product Design (IPD), Design for Interaction (DfI), and Strategic Product Design (SPD). At present around 2000 students are enrolled at IDE. During the last years the opportunities for IDE students to dedicate a (considerable) part of their curriculum to DEM related design and research projects have increased. In 2003 only one elective course for a limited group of students (25) was offered to explore the DEM context. Gradually new courses have been developed and existing courses have been adapted to provide the IDE students the opportunity to build DEM capabilities as well as to practice them in a real DEM setting. Currently six courses are being offered in which DEMprojects can be executed: Final Graduation Project, Integral Design Project, Project Advanced Products,
27
Many of these student projects have led to new insights
with Emerging Markets. The majority of them is part of the
and strategies within the participating organizations and
master programs. The objective is to launch a specialization
above all several came successful into production and DEM
track on Design with Emerging Markets (DEM) in 2012.
market as well. These projects also have been functioning as a breeding ground for new research initiatives. Some
Three courses are in collaboration with multinational
of the product and services which were developed and
corporations, social entrepreneurs and NGOs. These
implemented are illustrated below and also on the page on
projects are often carried out with intensive interaction
the left.
with the DEM target group in developing countries and local stakeholders. These courses are:
Education
Internationalization, Minor Projects and Research for Design
Project Advanced Products (PAP) The main emphasis in this second semester course is on embodiment design, which means a structured development of DEM concepts into working prototypes and production lay out.
Integral Design Project (IDP) This third semester Masters course brings together students of the three masters programs into multidisciplinary teams. Together they have the competencies to go through the total DEM innovation process, starting from ethnographic research,
defining
value
propositions,
prototyping,
developing proper products and services, production, till the implementation into the DEM markets.
DEM Graduation Projects During the last semester student spend six months on the their DEM graduation project. The focus of their project will be on the specific disciplines of their own master program (IPD, SPD or DFI).
28
Photo: Yu-Fang Teh
29
Food for all: Kid with pets at lunch time Vietnam
30
€
Company
Project Update
Sharepeople (EYE) , Pradan
April, 2011
Progress - Re-design of Silk Reeling Machine Annemarie Mink The Indian NGO, PRADAN (Professional Assistance for Development Action) organizes poor rural village women in
so-called
Self-Help-Groups
(SHGs)
and
engages
them in independent livelihood activities, which serve as opportunities for diversifying and enhancing the poor women’s livelihoods. One of these activities is Tasar yarn production (spinning and reeling), which has traditionally been a low-paying activity in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh, carried out by poor rural women in their spare time, mainly by women in weaver families (without any remuneration), or as wage labor (which is uncertain, low paying, hard work and brings a woman’s dignity in question). PRADAN concluded that the incomes of As of April 2011, 67 ‘Anna Charkha’ machines are running in three villages and 250 more have been ordered for more villages. The demand for the machine is increasing because of its better productivity and a higher quality yarn.
rural women can be enhanced substantially by introducing modern production organizations, new technologies and opening up new markets for Tasar silk.
Promoting women entrepreneurship PRADAN separated yarn production from the weaving activity and promoted it as an independent, separate and viable enterprise. They introduced new machinery (reeling and rereeling machine) to replace the primitive and rudimentary technology. They also started up a Tasar fabric marketing organization that designs and markets the final fabrics and so enhances the sales of the yarn. The strategy followed is to organize women from different SHG’s in reeling groups who together can start the reeling activity in a reeling center (specially build for this activity). The women buy
31
www.icco.nl www.pradan.net www.sharepeople.nl their own machine with an SHG loan and are responsible
Result - Anna Charka
for their own yarn quality and productivity. All reelers from
In 2010 the reeling machine was patented and named ‘Anna
all reeling centers are organized in a Producer’s company
Charkha’. Currently, April 2011, 67 machines are running
(called MASUTA) and this company buys collectively the
in three villages, whereas 250 more have been ordered
necessary cocoons at the market one time a year (with
from different Indian manufacturers to run in more villages
help from PRADAN). A reeling center manager takes care of
as soon as possible, as the demand for the machine is
boiling the correct amount of cocoons per day and dividing
increasing. The reeling machine has further improved the
them equally among the reelers. Technical problems that
reeling activity, ensuring a better productivity and a higher
occur with the machines are solved by the manager and
quality yarn. Thereby, the machine became more user-
otherwise by MASUTA’s technicians.
friendly (comfortable and easy to use), more energy efficient and the safety is improved. The machine is much smaller
Re-design of reeling machine The activity flourishes well, but after starting this activity, the machinery used caused several problems, as energyloss during reeling, failing materials, yarn quality problems, safety issues and physical problems for the reeling women. Therefore, PRADAN asked one of their subsidiaries (ICCO, a Dutch NGO) if they could assist in finding someone to re-design both the machines used in the reeling activity. ICCO requested the faculty of Industrial Design Engineering of Delft University of Technology to be of help to PRADAN. Annemarie Mink was appointed to carry out the project and she graduated on the redesign of both the machines in 2006. After her graduation she returned to India to further optimize the re-designs of both the reeling machines, working as a consultant for ICCO. PRADAN took care of further user testing and made some further adjustments.
and less heavier, and therefore can be used at home by the rural women. It also introduces the possibility of producing a type of silk yarn that couldn’t be produced by using the former machines and that has always been imported from China; untwisted yarn. The new reeling machine is powered by the electricity harnessed by solar panels. The first results are very promising: the yarn from this machine, compared to the old one, is of better quality. Also production has already gone up, while the women are currently using only 1 of the 4 spindles. When they are adjusted to the machine they will be able to use more spindles. The earnings of the women in one village have increased from an average of Rs.30 per day up to Rs.56 per day. MASUTA is still busy trying to improve the machine and the reeling process even more to keep on improving the livelihoods and well-being of the reeling women.
€ 32
€
Company
Graduation date
Jaipur Foot Organisation
February 28, 2011
Tools for Prosthetic Device Fabrication Antonio Récamier Elvira People who have suffered from limb loss, as an effect of a traumatic accident, disease or birth defect, are regularly fitted with a prosthesis or artificial limb. Prosthetic devices are a vital part of the amputee’s rehabilitation process, as the technology enables them to regain mobility and independence. Unfortunately, the vast majority of persons who require prosthetic products live below poverty line, particularly in nations where distribution of wealth is least equal. Access to rehabilitation services becomes close to impossible due to the high costs of products and services, as well as the clinics’ remote locations. In India, the Jaipur Foot Organization addresses this issue
The design integrates the alignment system to the current prosthesis, using threaded bolts to temporarily attach and adjust the foot during the delivery stage of the fabrication process.
by providing orthopedic products and services at no cost to patients. Their fast-paced processes, use of local materials and technology, and patient-centric management system are a proven model for clinics elsewhere which aim to help such populations. Despite their success in over thirty years, many aspects of their products and processes can be improved. Close observation and inquiry into their products, processes and people revealed that improvements in the assembly of the lower artificial limbs can speed up the production process. Rapid yet damaging assembly of the artificial foot to the prosthesis can cause premature failures. These mistakes during the fabrication and assembly processes leading to premature failures during use could lead to product rejection, as the user might not come back for
33
www.jaipurfoot.org
a replacement. In addition, the alignment adjustments
order to fix the foot during gait evaluation. Four winged nuts
between the artificial foot and device lack accuracy, and
on both dissecting planes of the limb (Anterior-Posterior
as such cause improper walking patterns when used by
and Medial-Lateral planes) are tightened to hold the foot in
patients. A design approach was thus taken to reduce the
place. To change the alignment, one or both pairs of nuts
amount of adjustments, to improve the assembly process,
are respectively tightened and loosened.
and to enhance the performance of the product during use. Fabrication and assembly optimization is also addressed in A dynamic alignment system for exoskeletal prosthesis was
the design by integrating the alignment cuff to the shank
designed to help the technician make accurate adjustments
there is no need to attach an external element, other than
to the foot’s orientation during the delivery stage of the
the four alignment bolts. The optimization for the final
fabrication process.
design focuses on component integration and loading effectiveness. The ankle support is thermoformed to fit
The dynamic alignment system is composed of two main
each foot, guaranteeing a tight fit during thermoforming.
elements: an internal Foot Support that helps transfer
Although the inner foot support performs well – as it
load evenly and holds the foot in place during use, and a
maintains the foot in line with the shank and at the same
removable Alignment Cuff that permits dynamic alignment
time allows it to incline up to five degrees in each of the four
of the prosthesis during gait analysis.
directions – its fabrication depends on tooling and external manufacturing processes. A new procedure was proposed
The foot support provides a stable and strong connection
for manufacturing at the Limb Fitting Centre (LFC). The
between the rubber foot and the exoskeletal shank. Based
most important aspect of this design is that, even though
on the principle of the wooden block to fasten the Jaipur
the final configuration of the design is based on the existing
PU foot, this component holds the threaded bolt in place,
attachment configuration of the polyurethane (PU) foot, it
and at the same time, distributes the load evenly across the
still allows the assembly of a rubber foot by just adding an
base rubber foot ankle. Its round bottom surface keeps the
additional nut and washer to the assembly.
component perpendicular to the ankle surface as the foot’s orientation changes. Its ribbed outer rim provides structural strength when compressed and grips the inner walls of the HDPE shank when fixed by thermoforming. The temporary Alignment Cuff is clamped to the shank in
34
€
Company
Graduation date
Kamworks Ltd.
February, 2011
Low Voltage Powered Television for Rural Cambodia Guido Kisman Kamworks is a young Dutch - Cambodian solar energy company based in Sre Ampil, about 30 km outside Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. Kamworks imports, sells, maintains, and develops solar power products for the professional (business to business) and the consumer (base of the pyramid) market in Cambodia. Their aim is to bring ‘affordable energy for sustainable development’ by providing modern and high-quality electricity and lighting products at an affordable price for both the professional market and the rural low income households which often do not have access to the electricity grid.
Embodiment design for the technical prototype of a low powered television using a TV tuner board and a used LCD screen.
35
Kamworks had developed a technical prototype of a concept low voltage powered TV. The working principle had been
www.kamworks.com
verified with this early and crude technical prototype. Kamworks was convinced that this concept can be further developed through design in to a successful and marketable product for rural Cambodia. Guido Kisman took over the design challenge to design a television set (Solar TV) for the rural Cambodian market by using second hand LCD screens and the selected TV tuner board. The main focus and challenge of this project was to integrate both technical and aesthetic aspects into the design and develop a complete working prototype which can be used for further testing before going for a full scale production and market launch. Many technical concepts were drawn up from a contextual point of view. Second hand LCD screens are available in several different dimensions in the market and can be
A complete working prototype of the low voltage powered television being tested for technical performance and user evaluation.
integrated in several different ways into the product. The product casing was designed to hold 15’’ monitor LCD screens modules with outer dimensions varying from 238 mm to 270 mm in height and 314 mm to 345 mm with a minimum depth of 5 mm and a maximum depth of 30 mm. One of the other main technical considerations of the design was that the TV must able to operate on a 12V car battery and most importantly; it should be able to operate on all Kamworks Solar Home Systems. A retro appearance was chosen to embody the final design of the solar TV. The main reason for the retro appearance for the Kamworks TV is that it bridges the gap between the old CRT TVs with which the target group is familiar with, and the modern LCD TV archetype.
36
â‚Ź
Company
Graduation date
TNO & Fair Climate Fund
August 26, 2010
Strategy to Automate CDM Monitoring Process Chetan Kaanadka Shivarama
Fair Climate Fund (FCF),a subsidiary of ICCO is investing
that the people from the developing countries get a fair
to support the poor in developing countries to reduce their
price for their contribution towards reducing their carbon
CO2 emissions. FCF funds renewable energy projects that
emissions.
help generate carbon credits using the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto protocol. It also ensures
Their initial experiences from the field made them realise that the CDM framework is not yet very conducive for small scale biogas projects. One of the many challenges for an aspiring project proponent is to develop a robust yet low cost project monitoring process plan which will be approved by CDM Executive Board. Periodic monitoring of small scale CDM biogas projects constitutes nearly 21% of the total transaction cost of the project. An Indian NGO, supported by FCF, has adopted a robust and effective daily monitoring process plan to monitor its CDM biogas projects. This process is very labour intensive, complex and has several levels of data transfer. This system is difficult to be replicated by other small NGOs in India as it needs large capacity building along with well trained staff / volunteers. FCF and ICCO wants to scale up this highly functional and effective, daily monitoring system to other small scale CDM biogas projects in India and Africa. They approached
Can the high cost and time involved in carrying out monitoring activity can be reduced by increasing end users involvement?
TNO to help them to develop an automated monitoring system which will replace human network with wireless sensor based networks to conduct daily monitoring of the biogas plants. A robust automated system which can perform the daily monitoring activity in hostile environment of Indian villages (with poor infrastructure, electricity and connectivity) was expected to be the optimal solution for scaling up daily monitoring system in other projects.
37
www.tno.nl www.fairclimatefund.nl
ICT4UP - A multi-stakeholder participatory decision making tool which guides through partner selection, system selection and technology design for developing an optimum monitoring system for small scale CDM biogas projects.
process. The framework suggests designing an appropriate The insights gained from the literature and field research
combination of technology and human intervention in to the
indicated that, the high cost incurred in carrying out
monitoring process plan, which will trigger the end users to
monitoring activity can be reduced by increasing end
actively involve in the monitoring activities.
users involvement. Hence, the proposed design direction suggested that the high cost and the complexity involved
The result of the design process based on the above
in training and hiring volunteers or staff members to carry
framework was a strategy called ‘ICT4UP’. It is a set of 4
out the daily monitoring activity and/or replacing them with
decision making tools, to be used by ICCO, FCF, TNO and
a fully automated system, can be reduced by increasing
local project proponents. The strategic decision making tool
involvement of the end users in the monitoring activities. A
helps ICCO and FCF to select the most potential partner to
new perspective for technology intervention was proposed,
implement biogas project and to support the social network
according to which, technology will be used to facilitate end
based daily monitoring process plan. Further it helps ICCO,
user involvement instead of replacing human intervention.
FCF, TNO and the selected local partner to choose the most
However, using technology to facilitate certain behaviour
appropriate monitoring system for the context. It then
is not free from challenges against acceptance. The Fogg
guides them to design a customised technology intervention
Behaviour Model (FBM) for persuasive design was adapted
that might be needed to trigger end user involvement in the
and adopted to develop a framework for the design
selected type of monitoring system for the context.
â‚Ź 38
€
Company
Graduation date
Zonnefabriek
July 12, 2010
Water Purification by Solar Energy Nicolas Voorzee
According to global statistics, over 1 billion people lack adequate access to drinking water. A majority of these
Purification or the treatment of salt and/or dirty water
people live in developing and emerging countries. In many
into drinking water exists in many forms. In many dry
cases this problem involves poor and remote areas with
countries, like Spain and United Arab Emirates, large central
little infrastructure of sewage and safe water supply. For
desalination plants supply part of the drinking water to
these people, often referred to as the Base of the Pyramid
the population. These plants however, consisting in large
(BoP), obtaining drinking water is a cumbersome and
installations, which consume high amounts of energy,
sometimes impossible task. Unfortunately there is no single
require high investments and appropriate infrastructure.
and widely applicable solution. This means some areas are
For small villages or remote areas, where water shortages
progressing while others are not. It also means that there is
are even more serious, this kind of solutions is not viable.
a need for new water purification techniques, especially for
The alternative solutions for such cases must be sought in
those places where the current solutions are not suitable.
small scale and local applicable technologies. A well-known
The challenge was to develop a solution that answers the
technique is the solar still, which uses the sun as the only
specific demands of people in water stressed areas.
energy source. Although the existing devices using this technique do work, it has not resulted in many commercially interesting consumer products. A solution was sought, in order to give people the power to treat their water on a household level. The design solution had to facilitate the people to purify almost any water into safe drinking water. In this way they can ensure better health and improve their well-being. An employee of the company Pilgrims Consult came up with an innovative idea for an improved solar still, after visiting one of the problem areas described above, the state of Gujarat in India. The vision of the improved solar still concept solution can be summarised as: • Less condense on glass cover
Concept design for commercial production of a household water purification system based on the Solar Still Technique.
39
• More Temperature Difference • Water is Preheated reducing the evaporation time
www.zonnefabriek.nl
• Continuous Water Flow • Maintains Simplicity of production, materials and design The company turned to the faculty of industrial design to help them further develop this innovation, as a result this graduation project was initiated and carried out by Nicolas Voorzee. The project revolved around the following research question: “Does the improved solar still concept work, theoretically and practically, both in laboratory as infield conditions?” To answer this question several aspects were analysed and calculations on the thermodynamic process were carried out. From those results a lab set-up was designed and tested. It was proven that the principle worked and it was decided that further development was justified. With the practical test results improvements were made and
A low cost Prototype was made in Ahmedabad using locally available materials and then was field tested in kothara (India).
a field trip to India was arranged to test the design on location. A prototype was build in Ahmedabad and tested
The main conclusion with regard to the research question is
in Kothara, a city in the Kutch district. During the in-field
that the principle is working but the output of drinking water
research period 8 families were visited and interviewed on
is still not high enough to be competitive in market. There
their water consumption habits, living space and income.
are indications that show that an improved performance can
Notes on the local context were made to generate a good
be achieved by redesigning several aspects of the current
description of this water stressed area. Furhtermore, the
design proposal. On the user side, it has been confirmed that
water quality test was carried out by the UNESCO-IHE, on
the need and interest in such a solution is indeed present.
the samples of distilled water brought back from the test
There is a clear awareness for drinking water quality. Users
site in India. The test results convincingly confirmed that
have access to water but are not satisfied with the quality
the proposed distillation system is capable of delivering safe
and sometimes face drought periods. The context found in
drinking water according to the WHO and EU standards and
the Kutch district offers good opportunities to implement
concluded that the water was safe for human consumption.
such a product.
40
Photo: Nicolas Voorzee
41
Village water supply: People and animal gather for their share of water from the tank Gujarat, India
42
€
Company
Graduation date
Ndassie
June, 2010 and 2011
Rural Electrification
Integral Design Project / Graduation Executed by P.V.D. Eerenbeemt, K. Heijne, C.M.V. Huisstede, G. Koemans, M. Stigter / Igor Schouten
The Ndassie idea
the chance of getting access to energy by offering local
A Dutch - Cameroonian social enterprise called Ndassie
entrepreneurs a chance to start an energy service business.
recognized the need for a reliable and safe source for
Ndassie wishes to offer the people better quality energy and
energy in rural Cameroon. Their approach towards meeting
also help them alleviate out of poverty. Their entrepreneurial
this need is by providing the people in rural Cameroon with
approach to provide quality energy and lighting solution to the people involves a network of regional managers (local entrepreneurs) who will own several docking stations and also manage a number of docking station operators (DSO). The DSO sells affordable and good quality Ndassie lights to the people and offers them a solar powered charging service through the docking stations to recharge their batteries. In addition, the DSO and the regional manager (RM) generate income to generate income and capital to invest in the spread of solar powered energy in the region.
Team Solergy approach In order to find out if this idea might have any chance of succeeding in Cameroon a team of students from the Delft University of Technology was picked to perform research on the subject. During the course of ~20 weeks, of which 6 weeks were spend in Cameroon, the team was involved in doing extensive field research, feasibility studies and handson product testing and evaluation with actual end-users. The research involved methods like interviews, questionnaires, observations, focus groups and social gatherings. Through a thorough research, the team arrived at three distinctive factors which they call as the ‘the three feasibility Functional prototype of the Ndassie flagship docking station designed and developed by Igor Schouten.
43
pillars’, upon which the Ndassie plan tries to stand firm on the ground.
www.ndassie.com
Pillar-1: A product that satisfies the needs and suits the financial resources of the end-user. Pillar-2: A docking station that fits the community it serves and can easily be operated by a DSO. Pillar-3: A profitable business model, generating sufficient income for the DSO, the RM and Ndassie.
Learning by doing For pillar one, the team advises Ndassie to choose for an existing solar lantern. This is because; Ndassie lacks start-up capital, in-house knowledge and time to invest in developing a new lantern themselves. Since Ndassie is entering a new market as an unknown player it is wise to choose for an affordable solution that has proven its success in other BoP markets and adjusting it gradually to the Cameroonian BoP market. This approach will allow Ndassie to respond quickly to the wishes of end-users, while maintaining a strong position in the Cameroonian BoP energy market.
Ndassie flagship docking station being tested in Cameroon.
Flagship Docking Station
needs to ensure that they make a good first impression. Igor
For pillar two, the situation is rather different. Currently, few fully developed and successfully tested docking stations exist on the BoP market. The team proposes a docking station design, which makes use of lowtech production methods,
Schouten an IPD graduating student is currently designing and developing a flagship docking station for Ndassie. His graduation project will result in several concepts for a docking station for Ndassie and a fully functional prototype
while maintaining a good quality product detailing. The
of one of the chosen concepts.
design embodies a high degree of modularity and suits the
Trust and Good will
development of a future Ndassie end-user product portfolio.
For pillar three, the challenge for Ndassie is to setup a relation with all parties involved in the plan. These relations
For Ndassie, the challenge is to design a docking station that
should be based upon mutual trust and good will. The team
has a good chance of succeeding within the Cameroonian
proposes a setup in which the ownership, responsibilities
BoP Market. As a new player entering a new market, Ndassie
and cash flows are clearly separated.
â‚Ź 44
€
Company
Graduation date
Ndassie
June, 2010
Business Model Design for Solar LED Products A.M. Eckhardt
Ndassie is a start up company that offers decentralized,
energy solutions. Solar energy and led lighting is a good and
renewable energy solutions to people who lack access to
sustainable alternative for this target group. However, most
the electricity grid. Their main market will be rural areas
solar products require relatively high initial investments. A
in developing countries, which is part of the ‘Base of
micro credit can offer necessary support to this population
Pyramid’ market. This target group consists of 3-4 billion
to afford these products. Another way to make solar
people and is therefore the biggest market in the world
energy accessible to the population is through community
with a yearly growth rate of 8%. However, this market has
systems. An iterative design process was adopted for
its own characteristics. It is hard to reach the population
developing a business model (BM) for Ndassie during this
due to bad infrastructure. Due to the low income of this
graduation project. The outcomes of this process were two
population, they cannot afford to buy expensive off-grid
distinguished types of business models for Ndassie: B2B
The micro Franchise concept for Ndassie that enables local entrepreneurs to start their own ‘recharging service’ in a rural community. Ndassie provides the franchisees with trainings on sales, technology and bookkeeping.
45
www.ndassie.com
and B2C.
B2B business model The B2B business model deals with the core business of Ndassie: selling complete businesses to local entrepreneurs. This enables entrepreneurs to start their own ‘recharging service’ in a rural community. Ndassie wants to work with a micro franchise concept. This means that the entrepreneur gets a complete ‘Business in a Box’ (BaB) with all promotional and administrative material included. The entrepreneur is called the franchisee and Ndassie the franchisor. The franchisee can just focus on his core business, which is charging and renting batteries for a fee. Ndassie will develop new product concepts, takes care for promotional materials and sets the short and long term strategy. Besides, Ndassie provides the franchisees with trainings on sales, technology and bookkeeping. Working with this franchise concept will reduce business failures, lowers the barrier to start a business and can build a strong and coherent brand.
Ndassie will work with Regional Managers (RM) who takes care of one specific region in Cameroon. One RM manages upto ten Docking Station Operators (DSO) as employees, to provide the rural community with energy. The DSO runs the recharging service and the end-user is able to recharge his light every four days. The fee for recharging will be 2,00 2,50 USD per month. The salary of the DSO is about 15% of the total revenues. The size of the Docking Station will be adapted to the number of end users which want to recharge their lights. Three docking stations were developed which could cater to the needs of 60, 120 and 180 users at a time. Ndassie is a start-up company and therefore faces many challenges and risks. A thorough risk analysis was carried out to asses the risks on both company and product level, which was followed by a set of strategic advice to help them reduce these risks. Finally, a strategic business road map was developed to guide Ndassie with its strategic business and design decisions for the next few years.
B2C business model The needs and wants of the end user were investigated in order to develop the B2C business model. This bottom up approach is really important, because it puts the enduser in the centre of the design process. End-user is the one who really uses the light product. That’s why the Value
€
Proposition is as much as possible adapted to the needs of the end-user.
46
€
Company
Graduation date
Shonaquip (South Africa)
March, 2011
Redesign of a Posture Support Wheelchair Anne Beeftink
The ‘Madiba’ is a posture support wheelchair offered by Shonaquip for children and adults with special seating needs. The current design though functionally superior, it still needs to be improved on several levels. To start with the original ‘Madiba’ wheelchair needed a facial uplift with better appearance and aesthetic qualities making it more appealing to both users and buyers. The original wheelchair also needs to be more compact or smaller making it easier to transport and finally cheaper to produce thus making it ‘Madiba’ - A posture support wheelchair for children and adults with special seating needs.
more affordable and accessible to all the needy patients. However Key qualities like the strength of the construction, the posture supportive qualities, the adaptability, and the usability for the caretakers cannot be compromised while improving its aesthetic qualities. Secondly, wheelchair is
case however an existing wheelchair was being redesigned
very large to transport: the main challenge in redesigning
and the improvements mentioned were not on ergonomic
for improved portability is that it poses a danger of
aspects of the wheelchair.
possible compromise in the strength of the construction, the durability, and the fitting possibilities for the therapists.
In this project for redesigning the wheelchair, a thorough
Finally, while attempting to reduce the production cost by
knowledge on how the current design solution works was
10% to 20%, the design should not compromise on the
needed. Therefore the design process started by analysing
existing clinical features of the wheelchair.
the current solution and mapping out in what kind of context it is being used. The analysis phase resulted in a list
Anne Beeftink analysed the current design of the Madiba
of problems and requirements from the perspective of both
Buggy and determined the key aspects which needed to be
the caretakers and the patients. This list of problems and
improved and others which needed to be retained as it is in
requirements were later used to evaluate the final design.
the ‘new’ Madiba. Anne followed a 3 phase design process consisting of Analysis phase, Concept development phase
Requirements from the perspective of the caretaker:
and Embodiment design phase.
• Securing the bucks on the frame with clip and pin systems
Designing a wheelchair
would usually require a lot of ergonomic research. In this
47
works but in institution situations often the clips get lost
www.shonaquip.co.za
• Because of the size and the transportability of the Madiba clients need two wheelchairs: one for school end one for home Requirements from the perspective of the patient: • The footrest is too flexible; it stimulates kids to flex the rest, which is not desired • The stepwise adjustment of the footrest is often not suitable • The buggy is very hot to sit in • The bottom cushion tends to slide out at the front • The tilting slider does not always hold when going over bumps The concept development phase consisted of different stages and iterations the design has gone through before arriving at one final direction which was further developed. During the design iteration of concept development, several frame concepts were generated based on a selected wheelbase.
The redesigned ‘Madiba’ with improved lap tray, seat design and push handles and improved balance and safety due an optimised positioning of the tilting point.
The final direction from the concept phase was further
A working prototype was made in South Africa with the
developed with detailing of features, measurements,
help of the production facilities of Shonaquip. The goal of
appearance, the materials and the technical specifications
the prototype was mainly to test the construction and to
during the final phase of embodiment design. The final
optimise the production method. It was also used to test
embodiment design took in to consideration the detailing
the functionality. The results of the prototype testing and
of several aspects for example; the optimal position of the
evaluation were compared to the original design goal. It
tilting point, taking into account balance and safety. The
was concluded that the design goal was achieved and the
final design which was presented for prototyping had an
design was proven to be worthy of investment to take it to
improved lap tray, seat design and push handles.
then Next level closer to commercial production.
48
â‚Ź
Company
Graduation date
Cycling out of Poverty
February 04, 2010
Bicycle Project Kisumu Integral Design Project Executed by Anne de Jongh, Floor de Bruijn, Joep Oberendorff, Rick Passenier Cycling out of Poverty (CooP) is a foundation that stimulates bicycle project in Africa. They support local partner organizations to offer small entrepreneurs the opportunity to emancipate themselves. CooP has established a workshop in Kisumu, the third largest city of Kenya. The city is facing is a high level of unemployment due to the lack of a formal sector. Many people are highly dependent on informal sector to earn their daily living. A bicycle can help them since it increases the capacity of load they can carry, the distance they can reach and saves energy and money. The most common bicycle businesses in the city are the bicycle taxis (boda boda). The bicycles available in Kisumu are of poor quality. The high demand for good quality yet
A front loader bicycle designed for street vendors and freight transporters has smaller (20�) front wheel, indirect steering system and a coaster brake hub.
affordable bicycles makes Kisumu the best place for CooP to setup its workshop. The CooP workshop is intended to repair bicycles, educate bicycle mechanics and produce modified bicycles. This matches with the vision of CooP on development aid; instead of donate, stimulate and empower locals to make it themselves. CooP workshop did not have any suitable design for the production of the bicycle. The African Bicycle Design student team of theDelft University of Technology took up this challenge to design a bicycle that will help CooP to fulfil its vision to stimulate the innovativeness of local people, support entrepreneurs and deliver a bicycle design in a durable way. Considering the goals of the project, taking the transport situation and the consequences for the workshop into account, the team choose to design and develop as a
49
www.cyclingoutofpoverty.com
bicycle for street vending for transporting freight. Current static street vendors tend to copy successful businesses. A bicycle will differentiate them by becoming mobile and reduce the lack of innovations. Mobile street vendors will be able to double their catchment area. The profit is heavily related to the products category, but the income of the street vendors will rise with an estimated 50%. If the buyer/beneficiary will purchase the bicycle through the microcredit system of the local partner organization Victoria Boda Boda Association, the payback period is around a year. The bicycle designed by the team for street vendors and freight transporters is a front loader with a smaller front wheel (20”), indirect steering system and a coaster brake hub (back pedaling). It can easily support a load of 60 kg
CooP will fund the initial investment for the property and
and 80 litre and yet easy to manoeuvre. The design is based
resources, but the workshop should be self sufficient within
on an existing frame and uses only locally available parts.
two years. A reasonable selling price of KSH 10.500 (≈ € 100) for each bicycle has been recommended. To customize
A complete working prototype was made and tested in
the bicycle and to lower the investment thresholds for the
Kisumu. Based on the input of users and practice, the
entrepreneur to start a business, the workshop will sell
steering principle was improved and the front rack was
accessories like a canvas for advertisement, a cool box and
further strengthened. A lot of bicycle projects fail because
lighting.
the design content is not transferred properly. To increase this durability a second prototype was produced together with employees of the workshop. A production manual was also created to standardise the production methods
€
and to easy knowledge transfer to new employees at the workshop.
50
€
Company
Graduation date
Connect International
February 04, 2010
Water Filter for Tanzania Integral Design Project Executed by Greetje Boezeman, Louis Pierre Geerinckx, Gijsbert Koren, Martijn van Loon, Onno Sminia
Tanzania is on track to achieving the target of access to safe drinking water. According to a report from UNDP, by 2005, 53% of rural households and 73% of urban households in mainland Tanzania had access to improved water sources. However, 47%of rural households in Zanzibar still use unprotected sources of drinking water. The challenge for this IDP student team was to improve equitable access to quality and safe drinking water, especially in rural areas of Tanzania. The country is vast and the majority of the population lives in the rural areas. Urban schemes are expensive since they need capital-intensive
Design Vision The IDP student team approached the project with a design vision: “People should have the right to enlarge their possibilities of development”. This could be accomplished by offering the people with a wide range and variety of products and services to choose from. One of the potential methods to achieve this vision is with the use of the pointof-use water filtration. This method has been identified as a reliable means to reduce diarrhoea and other diseases for people in the Base of Pyramid (BoP).
investments. Therefore the team tried to explore if it is possible to adopt a multi-sector approach similar to that of
Siphon filter
the health sector in providing access to safe drinking water.
A siphon filter called Tulip filter, manufactured in India
Research shows that most of the diseases can be controlled
by Basic Water Needs India (BWNI), is currently being
or avoided by improving the water situation.
distributed in Tanzania, with the help of Connect International, in the district of Njombe. The siphon filter consists of a ceramic filter, which is impregnated with colloidal silver. The ceramic filter element filters out most bacteria (99,99% of E. Coli) and the colloidal silver prevents the filtered water from recontamination. A cloth pre-filter is used to filter out large particles.
Design process The IDP team conducted a 3-month research with the Siphon filter from BWNI. During the research, the filter was tested at people’s homes. The results from the research Redesign of Tulip Water filter - The improved Siphon filter system.
indicated that the existing Tulip filter satisfied the needs and demands of the people. But the current design could
51
www.connectinternational.nl
The modularity of this improved siphon filter system allows the filter to be easily modified to meet specific demands of the users.
only be targeted at a specific and relatively small group of
is composed from several modules that can be connected
people. There was a clear need for an alternative approach
to form a customised solution for different regions, market
to target a larger group of people which will further facilitate
segments and times. Affordability is one of the main barriers
the growth of a sustainable water filter market in Tanzania
for the people in rural areas in Tanzania to buy the complete
for BWNI.
module of the ABC-filter. The modularity of the filter creates an opportunity for the rural people to purchase one module
Proposed solution The IDP team proposed the ‘ABC-filter’, which is a redesign based on the Tulip filter manufactured by BWNI. This new design of the filter is a flexible system that can be modified to meet the specific demands of different users. Though the need for this filter system is highest for the poorest people of Tanzania, it also makes strategic sense to make the product attractive for the middle class people of Tanzania, since the demand for clean drinking water is not solely from the poor
at a time as per their economic convenience and thereby gradually build their own complete water filter system which custom fits their specific needs and demands for safe drinking water. The Tulip filter was redesigned with a focus on costs and usability. Integration of parts has enabled cost reduction and also has improved the usability and safety of the product. Since the product modules cannot be easily disassembled or manipulated, it ensures that the filtering performance of the product will not be compromised.
segment of the population. Therefore the new water filter
52
Photo: Bastiaan Tolhuijs
53
“House of Prayer” - A humble church Nairobi, Kenya
54
Company
Graduation date
Siemens
February, 2010
Mobile UI Design for Semi-Literate Users Claire-Marie LandrĂŠ Rural Health care Infrastructure in India has been developed as a three tier system, consisting of Community Health Centres (CHCs), Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and SubCentres (SCs). Especially the SCs play an important role in the health care infrastructure, as these local health centres, situated in rural villages, are easy to reach and provide for basic health care needs. These health centres employ community health workers who keep record of all of their performed activities and everything that is going on in their community/villages with regard to health statistics such as births, marriages, mortalities etc. When working in the field, they collect information with the use of hand written notes in a log book. Then the information goes through various channels of paperwork before it is finally passed on to computer literate workers, who in turn translate it into digital information that can be put on hospital or government databases. This way of collecting and transferring information is not only prone to loss and deformation of correct information, but also time. Duplication of entries, lack of data verification early in the process and overwhelming quantity of (paper) work, contributes to inaccurate and missing data. If there were a more efficient way of coping with the information, the community health workers would have more time
A mobile phone based data collection application for village health workers, the first stepping stone to introduce technology and replace paperwork while collecting health information at village level.
55
to spend in the field, instead of doing paper work. The introduction of interactive technology might help rural health care workers in doing their job. By replacing the
www.siemens.co.in
current paper-based system of data collection, time can be
important to know the complete flow of the application
saved and information can be used more effectively to tend
and know what the screens should look like and which
to patients in the different villages.
interactions should take place before developing a prototype. To get a feeling of the flow, interactions and the ‘real size’ of
Because of its mobility, connectivity and low energy use,
the application, paper mock ups were first made and tested
the mobile phone is a good product to use as a stepping
with peers. After the evaluations a number of iterations
stone for introducing technology to the Rural Health Sector.
took place and finally a map of interaction and workflow
However, the existing literacy rate and limited technology
was made which was used as a guideline to develop the
exposure of the community health worker may cause
prototype for user interface design idea.
usability issues. Normal use of mobile phones requires different skills from the user, such as literacy, understanding
To test the prototypes two user evaluations were performed.
of hierarchical menus, and appropriate cognitive models.
In general the results of the user evaluation tests concluded
It is not clear to which extent semi-literate users possess
that the UI was user friendly enough for the health workers
these skills and much remains unknown about how they
to be able to learn and use the application. During user
respond to different UIs.
evaluations there was a clear increase in task effectiveness after training and practice with the UI. This means that if
The results from both qualitative and quantitative research
usability is optimal the health workers will be able to use the
were analysed with regard to all the aspects such as UI
phone independently and comfortably after some training
components, usability, the intermediary guidelines and
and practice. Finally, the cognitive load of the users were
requirements. The conclusions drawn from the research
high but after some training it could be seen that actions
analysis included statements with regard to the use of
were performed more automatically.
different UI components and usability. Finally a list of improved and more specific design guidelines was made followed by some recommendations with regard to UI design, user evaluations and further research. Two user interface design ideas were developed, based on context and usability research with an existing mobile application. The ideas were worked out in detail and their prototype was developed using Flash Lite software. It is
56
â‚Ź
Company
Graduation date
Solar Bear
January 28, 2010
A Low Cost Solar Refrigeration System Leonard Schurg In developed as well as developing countries, food borne diseases are spreading rapidly and causing increasingly public health problems. Governments of many developing countries are intensifying their efforts to improve the food safety, as public health renders to be increasingly important. These include some stringent laws on food safety and quality controls which might make it obligatory or compulsory for restaurants and small street food vendors to use refrigeration. The World Bank stated in 2008 that 24% of the urban and 67% of the rural population in developing countries do not have access to electricity. Lack of reliable electric supply and grid connectivity in most parts of developing countries is one the main challenge in adopting refrigeration for the purpose of storing food and life saving medicaments. Hence, there is a clear need for off-grid refrigeration, as a large part of the total world population still lives without reliable electricity. Solar technology is one of the options that can be applied in developing an off-grid refrigeration solution. In most of the developing countries sun is available in abundance while reliable supply of electricity is scarce. Solar cooling technologies have to compete in performance,
A portable, scalable and modular solar refrigerator. It has a solar heat powered adsorption system in combination with a cool-box, which acts intermittently as solar collector during the day and as a refrigeration element at night.
practicality, availability, environmental friendliness and cost, against generator powered Vapour-Compression Refrigerators
and
Diffusion-Absorption
technologies,
both running on fossil fuels. As for the competition on environmental aspects, a long runtime will be in favour of a
57
www.solarbearproject.nl
solar system. Through a thorough comparison and selection
The smallest size of this solar refrigerator will need solar
process, intermittent adsorption system was chosen as
collector having a surface area of 1/3rd square meter, 1
the most appropriate cooling technique that best fit the
kg methanol as refrigerant and 3Kg of AC as absorbent.
needs of the households and small business holdings in
The price is estimated to be around 145 Euros for the basic
developing countries. Solar absorption systems provide the
solution, without cool box. It is possible to further reduce
best opportunity for a lowest cost and yet environmentally
the production costs by producing continuous profiles at
friendly refrigeration system with reasonably good efficiency.
high volumes and allowing final assembly of the product at the spot where it will be used by the customer. The option of
The final design proposal was a solar heat powered
assembling the product at the site of use gives more control
adsorption system, which acts intermittently as solar
and freedom for the customers to decide the exact product
collector during the day and as a refrigeration element
size which will satisfy their needs for the price that they can
at night. In combination with a cool-box it forms a 24 hr
afford. The life cycle analysis of this product indicates that it
cooling solution. This system is designed to be portable,
has adequate properties for recycling and reuse. However,
scalable and modular, thus making it a flexible system
certain materials need to be reconsidered. To conclude, this
which can adapt to the needs of the customer or to suit
design has enabled to create a refrigeration solution that
the context of use. The intermittent sorption system has
fulfils the original intent and shows promising opportunities
many advantages like low cost, prolonged product lifetime
for further development and commercial implementation.
and ease of use. The design also promises higher reliability and least maintenance as it works without moving parts and even without valves.
58
€
Company
Graduation date
Peepoople
January 26, 2010
Peepoo Implementation for Kibera Slum Integral Design Project Executed by Sacha van Ginhoven, Marieke Korthals, Julie Louwman, Willem Lysen, Bastiaan Tolhuijs
The Swedish company Peepoople, has created a single use
Peepoople is attempting to meet their mission by producing
bio-degradeable toilet bag called Peepoo for people living in
and distributing the Peepoo bag to the communities in need.
areas without access to proper sanitation. A Peepoo toilet bag is made from a long and strong bio-plastic outer bag
Peepoople now only has product offering in form of the
and a thinner broad bio-plastic inner bag. This bag can be
Peepooo bag as a solution for communities lacking a
folded out for convenience of use during defecation. After
proper sanitation system. However, the Peepoo bag alone
use, the bag is closed with a knot. The active substance,
cannot help Peepoople to achieve their mission. They need
urea begins the process of hygienisation. Within 4 weeks the
a complete system in place, which can help to distribute
human excreta under goes degradation to become a safe to
the Peepoo bag to as many people as possible and ensure
use fertilizer. The mission of Peepoople is that all people who
that they use it in the right manner and cultivate a hygienic
desire, shall have access to dignified and hygienic sanitation.
sanitation habits.
The main question posed at the IDP
student team was to research and find out how a Peepoo sanitation solution can work as a system. Peepoople has chosen the informal settlement of Kibera in Nairobi (Kenya) to be the location for the large-scale launch of the concept in 2010. Kibera is an informal settlement in the south of Nairobi, Kenya. Having the status “informal” means that this area is not connected to the Nairobi sewerage system. Kibera also lacks in sanitation services, infrastructure and other public city services like garbage collection. People who have access to a toilet are often not able to go there at night because it is too dangerous outside. They have to relieve themselves in a plastic bag, newspaper or bucket in their house or plot. The Peepoo collector service.
This lack of proper and safe sanitation and sewage system is an open invitation for various communicable diseases and other health problems because of toxic environment.
59
www.peepoople.com
Therefore the research was performed in this settlement. The main insight from the local context research is that the Peepoo must not be sold as a toilet bag, but as a service. When other people take care for your waste - in exchange for a small fee - the Peepoo service can become something to aspire. The scope of the system for which the stakeholders are determined starts at local retail and ends at the collection of full Peepoos within Kibera. The basic idea behind this system is that the residents of Kibera will subscribe to the Peepoo collecter service. Peepoos will be sold at the Peepoo centre to collectors who work for Peepoople as entrepreneurs on a franchise basis. The Peepoo centre will be built by Peepoople and next to these centres is a gathering point for users and employees. This place is used to increase user satisfaction and even provides toilet space for customers to use Peepoo bag for defecation.
Product Service System Design of the franchise based Peepoo Collector Service.
business during the initial launch project in Kibera. The collector buys the products with a microloan via a
The collector purchases Peepoos at the centre and provides
financial partner of Peepoople. Members pay a monthly
the Peepoo sanitation service to the users at their plots.
service membership of 60 Ksh of which Peepoople takes 20
A central storage box is installed in each plot for the
Ksh in order to control and manage the business. Users will
subscribed members. These storage boxes are emptied
then pay 3 Ksh. per Peepoo bag. Packages of 10 and 100
every two days. The collector empties the storage boxes
can be bought as well at discounted price. However, the
of the used Peepoo bags and takes them beyond Kibera
collector earns a fixed amount of 0.2 Ksh per Peepoo bag.
borders in a wheelbarrow to a composting site to compost
Peepoople transfers a part of its profit to its franchisees
them in to fertilizer. The Collectors Starters Kit was also
or the collectors in form of commission per Peepoo bag
designed for Peepoople. The kit consists of a Collector Box,
sold. This will motivate the collectors to sell more bags and
Collector Bag, outfit and wheelbarrow. This kit features
there by encourage to spread the sanitation system to more
everything that is needed by a collector to start his or her
people in Kibera.
â‚Ź 60
â‚Ź
Company
Graduation date
Toughstuff
January, 2010
ToughStuff LiNK Light Integral Design Project Executed by Colette van Montfort, Rieneke Boog, Koen van Boerdonk, Job Stehmann, Frank Goethals ToughStuff is a social enterprise providing affordable solar powered products to the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) population. Despite the fact that their prices are comparatively lower than their competitors, their current portfolio of solar powered products is only reaching the top-of-the-BoP population due to affordability factor. The IDP student team were posed with a challenge to design and develop the next generation of affordable ToughStuff products, with a special focus on the LED light, in order to lower the purchase threshold. Extensive research on the current product portfolio indicated that the current solar panels of Toughstuff were specifically developed to enable direct charging of a mobile phone along with the charging of the lights. As a consequence of this, the initial purchase price of the solar panels is unnecessarily high, especially for those consumers who would use it predominantly for very basic purpose like lighting. Moreover, charging a mobile phone directly by means of the solar panel is less reliable as they usually need minimum charging voltage, which means there is significant loss of energy which occurs due to transformation of output voltages into different input voltages. These factors of reduced reliability and increased product cost might have a negative effect on the image and credibility of ToughStuff.
LiNK has a 3-dimensional pentagon shape, built with a down scaled solar panel, a D-cell shaped power pack, a linkable light and a phone connector.
The team carried out a participatory research in Kenya in order to acquire rich insights about the Kenyan BoP consumers, their needs, demands and values. This insight
61
www.toughstuffonline.com
helped the team to determine an appropriate value
From the perspective of the embodiment design, the LiNK
proposition and then to translate them into the required
light is a 3-dimensional pentagon shape. When connected
functionalities of a solar light. The research outcome
with multiple linked lights it will take up the form of a
indicated that the strongest value proposition is not for
spherical ‘platonic solid’, providing enough ambient light
better illumination but for an affordable lighting solution
output for a living room. The light is equipped with a
which overcomes the shortcomings of the current lighting
‘handle’ which also serves both as a positioning support and
product by providing longer life, ease of use and safety. The
carrying
participants were offered with three modular concepts to
high
efficiency
LEDs,
test if they are willing to buy the complete set by investing
with
different
beam
a small amount of money on each module over certain
angles will be used as
span of time. The results of this test revealed that, the
the light source. This
low initial purchase price, portability and the opportunity
unique
to create multiple light points in their house was indeed
of LEDs with different
an encouraging factor for people to make their purchasing
beam angles gives the
decision.
user a choice between
handle.
Two
combination
a focused spot light, Next, the results of these participatory studies were
ambient
translated in a new product line; LiNK. The new proposed
combination of both.
ToughStuff LiNK line by the IDP students, consists of a downscaled solar panel, a D-cell shaped power pack, a linkable light and a phone connector. The solar panel was downscaled to a quarter of its original size in order
light
or
a Multiple lights can be linked to form a spherical ‘platonic solid’, which can provide enough ambient light for a living room.
to minimize the loss of energy and also to keep the initial purchase price low. The D-cell shaped power pack also allows the consumers to power their radio with few extra components. The reliability of the system was enhanced by including as boost circuit specifically to ensure that minimum required charging voltage is maintained for the purpose of mobile phone charging.
62
â‚Ź
Company
Graduation date
TNO
August 26, 2009
Electricity from Biogas for Rural Households Olav De Mello Worldwide more than 1.6 billion people do not have access to electricity, of which 80% live in rural areas. In Sub Saharan Africa only 9% of the rural population has access to electricity (Rural electrification newsletter, 2005). Therefore there is a need for these people living in rural areas to have electricity for lighting and for powering low energy household appliances like radios, fans, televisions and for charging cellphones. The aim of this project is to design an electricity generating device for rural people in Tanzania who are off the grid and currently use biogas for cooking or those who own livestock. Tanzania is taken as an arbitrary choice for the pilot since only 2.6% of the rural households have access to the electricity grid (National Bureau of Statistics, 2007).
Biogas+ - A thermo-electric generator device for domestic use.
The project envisioned to develop a product that will generate electricity by burning biogas and converting the heat into electrical energy by means of a thermo-electric generator module. This generator can convert heat from a biogas flame into electricity thus preventing the release of methane to the atmosphere which otherwise would have a significant contribution to the greenhouse gases if released. Burning biogas would prevent such a release of methane which is about 50-75% of biogas. In addition to that thermo-electric generators have other benefits such as: they are reliable, free from maintenance and silent during operation. The new product designed will enable these people to have access to clean and affordable energy that
The detailed and visual user manual for Biogas+
63
is sustainable. In addition to meeting the energy needs of the rural people, there is also an opportunity sought for
www.tno.nl
the implementation of biodigesters in the rural areas of
that the prototype generator was developed to generate
Tanzania. Generating electricity will be an extra incentive to
electricity for rural people of Tanzania to meet their energy
own biodigesters in rural areas especially for future biogas
needs for lighting purpose only which otherwise is fulfilled
users. The acceptance of biogas must come with benefits
by traditional fuels like kerosene, firewood and other
that motivate the user. Livestock keepers will be motivated
conventional energy sources like batteries and candles.
to own a biodigester, since the biogas will not only be used for cooking but in addition also for generating electricity.
The prototype was developed using locally available materials as much as possible. The design has taken
A thermo-electric generator device for domestic use
manufacturability into consideration to ensure that it can be
called Biogas+ was designed and prototyped. Biogas+ is
manufactured using local available machines in workshops
placed inside the house and connected to the biodigester
in Tanzania. This new design of the thermo-electric
via a pipeline. To address the release of methane to the
generator device can be scaled up to generate higher
atmosphere which was the primary/ main objective, a
electricity output. With further development of the thermo-
manual method was adopted whereby the user has to
electric generators technology in the future, it is expected
read the customized pressure gauge and act accordingly.
that higher efficiencies will be achieved in coming years.
If the gauge shows that there is excess biogas then the user switches on the Biogas+ and burns the gas producing
The prototype of Biogas+ will be further tested in lab by
electricity. The electrical energy can be stored in a
TNO and hopefully be taken to the field for user testing
battery if it is generated during the daytime. If at night
in Tanzania. Biogas+ is an innovative product that adds
the electricity can be used directly. This action reduces
value and increases acceptance of using sustainable and
the release of methane to the atmosphere causing a
renewable energy-biogas. With Biogas+, both existing
considerable
owners and future owners of biodigesters can have
contribution
to
the
greenhouse
gases.
affordable electricity by using the excess biogas from Biogas+ has an out output of 17 watt-hour from 300 litres
the digesters, which otherwise would be released in to
of biogas in 3 hours of operation or 50 watt-hour from
the atmosphere causing more harm to the environment.
1 m3 of biogas per day set aside for electricity purpose. This means, the thermo-elecric generator uses 300 litres of biogas to generate sufficient electricity to power a 3 watt LED lamp for three hours and some excess electricity sufficient for charging a mobile phone. It has to be noted
64
Photo: Yu-Fang Teh
65
A Market place Vietnam
66
Company
Graduation date
Basic Water Needs India
August, 2009
Household Treatment of Turbid Water Marjolein van Houten
Access to safe and good quality drinking water can contribute towards
Basic Water Needs India (BWNI) has been developing
reducing poverty. Safe drinking water not only saves lives but also
products to solve the problems regarding safe drinking
brings long term economical benefits for the community. Investing
water. Currently they are distributing the Tulip filter that
in safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene can save lives and this
works with a ceramic candle filter in combination with
will result in higher productivity and better standards of living. It is
siphon system. Their product portfolio is still expanding in
considered worthwhile to focus on water treatment on household
order to be able to provide safe drinking water to people in
level because it is more accessible and easier to implement than
all conditions.
water treatment on a community level. Such initiative not only offers a high investment to benefit ratio but also empowers people to
The Tulip filter of BWNI can make 7000 liters of clear
improve their lives themselves.
water potable with one filter. Considering a daily use of 20 liters, one filter could provide a complete household of safe drinking water for one year. However in some areas (especially during the wet season) the surface water can be very turbid because of sand and clay particles that are suspended in the water. The smaller clay particles form a problem for the filtering device because they clog the filter. Desk research and field testing was done to find the most suitable treatment method that can reduce the turbidity of the water, in order to prevent clogging. After performing a series of tests with sand filtration, cloth filtration and coagulation, it became apparent that coagulation in combination with cloth filtration was the most effective treatment method. Ferric chloride was selected as the best coagulant for the job because of its visible effectiveness, low costs and low environmental impact. These two factors were used in combination to design a solution that enables
BWNI ‘No-Mud’ - A simple solution for households to treat turbid water into safe drinking water.
people with low income to make safe drinking water out of turbid surface water on a household level. User research provided with deep insights on product requirements,
67
www.basicwaterneeds.com
considering the context and the target group. The design solution consequently had to fulfil the following four main functions: • To determine correct dosage of coagulant based on the characteristics of the water to be treated. • To mix the correct dosage of ferric chloride with the measured quantity of turbid water. • To store the coagulant. • Provision for replacing or refilling the coagulant when required. The final product design proposal called “No-Mud” consists of a flask and a ferric chloride refill.
When the flask is
filled with water and the refill is put in position, a ferric chloride solution can be made by shaking the flask. The flask is provided with a sticker on the side to measure the turbidity of the water. By immersing the flask in to the water, the turbidity of the water can be determined based on the visibility of the colour bar on the sticker. This colour code which is visible when immersed in the turbid water will indicate the dosage of coagulant that is needed to treat that water. The dosage system is integrated with the flask. By squeezing the flask the dosing reservoir can slowly be filled until the fluid level reaches the appropriate colour code. This dosage of coagulant (ferric chloride) solution is then thoroughly mixed with a bucket of turbid water. It will take approximately 30 minutes for the mud to settle and yield clear water. A visual user manual provided with each flask
The product has 5 main attention points; (1) Turbidity measuring
instructs even the illiterate users to use the product with
system (2) Cap and refill system (3) Dosing sticker and dosing
much ease.
system (4) Prints (5) Design of the flask.
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Company
Graduation date
Design Initiatief
June 15, 2009
Savera
Project Advanced Products (PAP) Executed by Ivana Masic, Pranghat Chininthom, Laura Bohlander, Matthijs Vreeman villages within her jurisdiction and visits the people who
Maternal healthcare is one of the main concerns in India,
are in the need of help. These women healthcare worker
especially in rural areas. Maternal deaths are one of the most
are overloaded with too many patients. The woman health
common and greatest problems in rural India. The rural
care worker (ASHA) also has the responsibility to educate
population in India mainly relies on government healthcare
the people in the rural areas about issues related to health
facilities. But the government healthcare lacks many of
care and hygiene. An ASHA has to educate the communities
the essential facilities, trained personnel and capability to
toward a better understanding of primary health-related
treat the large number of patients at time of critical need.
issues and basic preventative measures. But in other cases,
Also, the people living in remote rural areas have very poor
where privacy is needed, the ASHA should be able to give
accessibility to these government hospital or health centers
private education. Low literacy levels in rural India are
due to lack of reliable transport infrastructure.
one of the barriers for an ASHA to effectively exchange information during their health education programs. ASHA
Most often in rural areas of India, health care is provided
is further limited in her ways to communicate and impart
by a female health care worker (ASHA) who works for one
education to the villagers. Also she uses conventional book
of the governmental hospitals. She travels across different
keeping methods while carrying out her regular health care activity in the villages by collecting, storing and accessing of the medical history of different patients. ASHA is not able to send the patient information to the doctors in the hospital or medical centers and receive any feedback in real-time or within a short span of time. To make the work of ASHA easier and provide better overview and control over the patient data management, there was a need to introduce a new device in the Indian healthcare market. The device is called Savera, which means “the dawn” in Hindi. ‘Savera’ is a device capable of making and editing the patient records as well as providing
Savera - An interactive handheld device capable of making and editing the patient records as well as providing education through rich media like movies and interactive presentations.
69
education through rich media like movies and interactive presentations. This project was executed under Project Advanced Products (PAP) by a group of master students
www.tudelft.nl
from Industrial Design Engineering at TU Delft.
The
students focused on embodiment design to develop ‘Savera’ device from its concept phase into a detailed and usable prototype. The functional prototype thus developed during this project was used for further testing and improvement of the device. The final design that was developed into a prototype comprised of features that serves all the needed functionalities and requirements of an ASHA. The design features of Savera are as following: 1. Recording medical data of the patients in the responsible area. 2. Monitoring the symptom of the on-treatment patients. 3. Communication among diverse healthcare levels by data transferring to and from the main server. 4. Educating the villagers about preventive healthcare information and basic healthcare knowledge. 5. Reminder application for ASHA to keep up with her healthcare work and activities. 6. Additional power supply in the case of urgent power shortage. The prototype was meant to be used during the pilot test to observe if the users understand and interact with in interface on the screen and thus determining if the design successfully conveys the simplicity of the interface to the users. The prototype used many ‘off-shelf’ components in order to have all the incorporated features functioning in the prototype.
The exploded view and detailing for prototype building.
70
â‚Ź
Company
Graduation date
BAIF & Indus Technologies June 15, 2009
Solar Refrigerator
Project Advanced Products (PAP) Executed by Mankin Chan, Matthijs Ravestein, Kiran Pal Sagoo, Swen Van Klaarbergen
The compact Zeolite Unit with a zeolite-water container uses cold boiling method to first evaporate water and Zeolite absorbs energy in form of heat from water container causing the water to cool which further cools the milk in the can.
India is the single largest producer of milk in the world with
prevailing temperature in India is 45 degree C, the quality of
100 million tons of milk production every year, but still India
raw milk should be improved by prompt cooling.
is unable to export the milk and dairy products on a large
71
scale because of lack of quality standards and hygiene.
The milking of the cows in villages is done early in the
The milk is extracted by the farmers from the cattle at 38.3
morning between 4~6 am and again late in the evening
degree C, which is the normal core body temperature of
from 5~7pm. During this time the milk is exposed to
a healthy, resting cow. Immediately after the extraction
environmental bacteria while being collected. After milking
various bacteria starts growing and acting on the milk, which
the milk is handed over to milk cooperatives/milk centers,
degrades its quality. Rapid cooling of milk (up to 4 degree
the total process takes about three to four hours and during
Celsius) and maintaining it after extraction is essential to
this period, optimum bacterial load is found in milk. Various
ensure the milk is fresh after extraction. Since the maximum
methods of chilling the milk are being utilized in the Indian
www.tudelft.nl
state of Maharashtra such as ‘Ice Bank Technology’ and ‘ice
has two main compartments, the water compartment (red)
cone can cooling’, but lack of electricity supply and ready
and the zeolite compartment (green); these compartments
ice make these methods very expensive, especially for bulk
are separated by the vacuum stop. The vacuum stop is a
milk Coolers. Indus Technologies introduced the idea of bulk
separate part and its function is to vary the size of the hole
milk coolers, which can reduce the storing temperature of
between both compartments. The zeolite is first put in a
the milk to reduce or halt the growth of harmful bacteria
basket, which is then kept inside the zeolite compartment.
and there by improve the shelf life of milk.
The upper part of the zeolite-water container has L-profile rubber seal clamping the lid to make the container air tight.
A student team of Project Advanced Products (PAP) course
On the top of the lid there is a one way valve for creating or
took up the challenge to design a small and affordable
releasing vacuum as needed.
refrigerator or Bulk Coolers for the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) population in developing countries like India. The
A vacuum is created inside the container with a vacuum
team had to develop an out of the box solution instead of
pump. This causes the water to evaporate faster (cold
the obvious high-tech solutions (like refrigerators powered
boiling), which makes it easier for the zeolite to adsorb the
by solar panel) in a low tech environment or context.
water. For the process where the zeolite adsorbs the water vapor, energy is needed in the form of heat. The process
The team did an extensive and wide research before selecting
gets this energy by absorbing heat from the remaining
and testing a technique or combination of techniques
water, causing the water to cool down. This cooled water in
that are best suitable for the targeted end user and its
the container will then cool down the milk in the milk can.
environment. The techniques selected, primarily should be affordable and should not be dependent on electric supply
The Zeolite has to be regenerated after every use so that it
from the grid. Some of the other specific requirements laid
can be again used for another cycle of cooling process. To
down by the clients for the cooling facilities were;
regenerate Zeolite, the water which was adsorbed during
- To enhance the keeping quality of the milk.
the cooling process has to be evaporated. For the purpose of
- To utilize the more reliable and affordable alternative
regenerating Zeolite, a solar reflective dish with holder was
source of electricity. - An effective way to reduce the bacterial load of the milk.
designed. The holder holds the zeolite can at the focal point of the reflector, where the temperature can reaches values over 600°C which can speed up the process of evaporating
A Compact Zeolite Unit was the final concept which was
the water from it. A laboratory prototype was constructed
further developed and tested. The zeolite-water container
and successfully tested to prove and validate the concept.
72
â‚Ź
Company
Graduation date
Hebi Foundation
June, 2009
Redesign of HEBI Integral Design Project Executed by Linh Dinh, Wietske Koers, Han van Lier, Vincent van Rooijen, Petra van Schie In 2008 the HEBI Foundation commissioned the redesign of the Van Hemel Baby Incubator (HEBI). HEBI is a simple, yet reliable, baby incubator, specifically targeted at developing countries, where the need for proper neonatal care is high but means are scarce. The HEBI originated in Uganda in 1968 from the hands of obstetrics and gynaecology specialist Dr. Oscar Van Hemel, and has been subject to merely minor incremental changes over the past 40 years. HEBI foundation wanted to improve the design of the exisiting incubator by addressing the 3 main areas of concern;
The new HEBI Base offers a simple, yet reliable, solution by incorporating fully transparent upper cover, a fin heater and chemical resistant materials.
1. Provide an alternate heat source for the incubator 2. Reduce weight of the product to improve portability of the incubator 3. Improve the user friendliness of the incubator with special attention on mother-child interaction. Hebi Base, an IDP student team took up this challenging responsibility of helping HEBI foundation address their concerns with the existing incubator by providing new design solutions. The team developed a design vision for the new HEBI product: The new design should offer a warm and loving base for life.
The instruction manual with an explanatory icon system effectively transfers the usability knowledge to the users HEBI Base.
73
Apart for the product design concerns, the team also identified some problem areas on the strategic level for HEBI which needed to be addressed with equal importance. The conclusions from the research indicated that there was
www.hebi-incubator.org
a lack of communication, both within the organization and
not only contributes to better aesthetics but also improves
towards the defined target groups. The design team took
the mother-child interaction. All the other usability issues
a holistic approach to address the design problem both at
with the current HEBI were also tackled in the new design,
product level and at the strategic product communication
creating a more optimal experience for the users of the HEBI
level.
Base. Additionally, the HEBI Base facilitates modern medical practice by introducing an anti-Trendelenburg function and
The research phase was followed by the ideation and
tube openings.
conceptualization phase resulting in a test concept named ‘HEBI Cradle’. Later, to get more insight in the target group
Together with the HEBI Base comes a small, but enhanced
and its context and culture, research was conducted in
instruction manual in combination with an explanatory icon
Kenya by interviewing users, testing both the current HEBI
system that is aimed at the transfer of usability knowledge
and the ‘HEBI Cradle’ concept.
from the HEBI Foundation towards the local users of the product.
The design vision together with the results from the field trip and context study acted as main design input and
Main objective of the implementation plan for the products
further guided the team to arrive at the final design for the
of the HEBI Foundation is to target a selective group of
incubator. The final design concept was called ‘The HEBI
countries for optimal promotional and logistical transactions.
Base’. The final deliverables of this project included a short
Additionally, a service will be introduced for registering
instruction manual and an implementation plan along with
future HEBI Foundation products by the users themselves,
the design concept for the new incubator.
thereby contributing towards better communication with the registered users and providing them with high quality and
The new HEBI Base offers a simple, yet reliable, solution,
reliable after sales services, thus prolonging the lifespan
incorporating solutions to detected problems with the
of the HEBI Foundation’s products. The introduction of
current HEBI. The current heat source of incandescent light
an online accessible and editable database will allow
bulbs was replaced by a fin heater which makes the HEBI
HEBI Foundation board members to document their
Base, future proof. Overall hygiene was increased by the
knowledge and prevent loss of valuable information. The
use of chemical resistant materials. The complete weight
implementation plan gives further directions on other topics
has been decreased by 53% thus increasing portability of
that contribute to growth and achieving optimal potential of
the incubator. The new incubator has a fully transparent
the foundation and its activities.
upper cover, providing a better view of the infant. This
74
Photo: Team African Bicycle Design
75
Fishing harbour on the banks of lake Victoria Kisumu, Kenya
76
€
Company
Graduation date
Philips
June, 2009
Philips Repelamp
Project Advanced Products (PAP) Executed by Marlies van den Bremer, Jan van Dijk,Anders Kunz,Igor Schouten, Rutger Wouda Yearly, 20 million Indians get infected with malaria. Mosquitoes spread this and other potentially deadly diseases all over the country. Many of the existing insect repellents require electricity. India is however home to one third of the poorest people in the world. A staggering 828 million people, or 75.6 % of the country’s population live for less than 2 dollars a day. In 2008 the TU-Delft (IO) student Inge van de Wouw worked on an initiative for Philips Bangalore, the Insect Repellent Lamp (IRL). Many people in countries like
‘RepeLamp’ combines the functionality of a night light and insect repellent, allowing the people to illuminate their houses while protecting their family.
India suffer from insect bites, especially in the evening when insects are attracted by the light coming from the homes. One of the solutions is to vaporize a liquid based insect repellent (which is widely available in India). The Insect Repellent Lamp (designed by Inge van de Wouw) has a compact fluorescent lamp and a smaller light for use during night. The appliance is portable and both the lamp and vaporization of the liquid can be switched on and off independently via two switches. The product was well received by subjects in a field research, but there were still several opportunities for improvement. Several issues had to be solved before an eventual market
Insect Repellant
77
Night Lamp
Reading Lamp
introduction of the IRL becomes possible. User friendliness,
www.philips.com
functionality and robustness have to be ameliorated to fulfil the needs of its target group. From a corporate point of view,
The Philips RepeLamp is adapted to the local conditions of
a more detailed knowledge through propositions of possible
use in India and its target group. It is robust, easy to clean,
improvements is needed to get a clear picture about its
easy to repair and has a low cost price. The factory selling
potential feasibility and profitability. The PAP student team
price is estimated to € 4.98 per unit. The cost of ownership
redesigned the IRL with an attempt to improve the previous
and the energy consumption of the Repelamp is kept low by
design for an eventual market introduction.
using a CFL for lighting.
The student team proposed the concept ‘RepeLamp’, which
To incorporate the RepeLamp in everyday life it has been
has been developed based on the existing concept of the
designed to serve different lighting requirements of the
Insect Repellent Lamp (designed by Inge van de Wouw).
people. It can be used as a night light providing a safe
The new design (Philips RepeLamp) is aimed at the poorer
feeling while sleeping or it can also be used as a reading
parts of the Indian population who have limited access to
light, for the kids to study next to it after sunset. To use the
electricity and usually have one or two electrical outlet in
Repelamp as a reading lamp, it is provided with a shade cap
their homes. Many insect repellents available in the market
made by reusing the cardboard packaging of the product.
need electricity. Consumers therefore have to choose between light or effectively repelling insects even though both are important;
All functions have been simplified and optimized such that the product uses minimal amount of material and least
• Light is essential to conduct activities during the evening
amount of extra or custom made components. This has
and at night such as for instance cooking and studying.
helped in keeping the cost price of Repelamp as low as €
• Repelling insects can in worst case mean the difference
4.98 per unit.
between life and death. Malaria alone kills 20,000 Indians every year (Kumar et al., 2007).
The final product concept of the Philips RepeLamp was the materialization and realization of the design vision to make
The Philips RepeLamp proposes a solution to this problem
a product which enables the users and their families to
by incorporating the two functions into one object. The
have an illuminated environment for studying with a secure
concept ‘RepeLamp’, combines the functionality of a night
feeling during sleep, along with all night protection from
light and insect repellent, allowing the people to illuminate
mosquitoes and other insects.
their houses while protecting their family.
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€
Company
Graduation date
Philips Lighting
January 29, 2009
Renewable lighting for Sub Sahara Africa Peter de Graaff Since 1891 Philips has been supplying incandescent light. More than a century later, 1.6 million people, still do not have good light sources. Light is one of the most fundamental needs. The Philips mission is to “improve the quality of people’s lives through timely introduction of meaningful innovations.” As a part of this vision, Philips hopes to ‘provide, by 2015, 10 million people in Sub-Sahara Africa with affordable, appropriate sustainable energy solutions. Less than 25 percent of Africans have access to the electricity grid. They spend 1 USD per week on kerosene, candles or batteries for lighting. The most used sources are kerosene and candles. These have poor light quality while posing
‘Mkuze’, a solar light point which is unique because of its plug and play, modular and adaptable capabilities.
health risks due to air pollution and potent fire hazards. Several off-grid lighting solutions have been developed over the past years to cater the needs of this segment of South African population. Most of these off-grid solutions are based on solar technology. However, very few off-grid solar lighting solutions have been implemented successfully on a large scale. The main cause for this limited success is that the previous initiatives have not able to overcome the two main challenges posed by this market. 1. How to make a suitable product, which meets the needs and is suitable for the physical and social context? 2. How to sell the product to a market which is not easily accessible by traditional channels?
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www.philips.com
This project predominantly focuses on the first challenge.
of each BoP market around the globe.
Research clearly indicates that there is an immediate need for renewable energy lighting (REL) for people living in
The design solution output of this project was ‘Mkuze’, a
off-grid areas in sub-Sahara Africa. Of all the different REL
solar light point which is unique because of its plug and
solutions available in the market, there is a greater demand
play, modular and adaptable capabilities unlike other
for portable lanterns and solar home system.
products available in the market. The design of ‘Mkuze’ is such that its shape and form incorporates several functions.
Up until now, Philips has developed three consumer products
The light can be wall mounted or hung from the ceiling
for the BOP of which two of them are lighting solutions.
hook. The light point can be fit with different lamp shades
Uday and Kiran are two lighting solutions currently offered
based on the consumer requirement. When a lampshade is
by Philips for the BoP market. ‘Uday’is a rechargeable
fixed on the light, the pull cord is still accessible to turn the
lantern and is sold and made in India. A solar based version
product on or off. An additional benefit of the pull chord is
of the ‘Uday’ is also used in a pilot in Ghana. ‘Kiran’ is a
that can easily be extended in length when the light point
human powered torch. In the business of lighting products,
is hung higher. Special care has been taken while designing
Philips specialises only in manufacturing light sources and
this light point considering the fact that it might be used in
lacks expertise and capability to manufacture energy source
very dusty and hostile environment. The LED is placed in
and energy storage solutions like solar panels and batteries.
a sealed chamber to prevent dust from depositing on the
It should be noted that the solar panels and batteries
inside which would cause a reduction in the light output. All
account for nearly 83% of the cost price of a solar powered
electronics, except for the LED are placed on PCB to simplify
lighting solution.
assembly. Modularity is built in to the product by providing them with a 3.5 jack socket to connect a second light point
Philips products are distributed and sold globally via their
to the system. A 3.5 stereo mini-jack was specifically used as
own sales organisation. Philips has its own regional sales
the standard extensions for this socket are easily available
channels and plays a direct role in the distribution of
locally. Finally, to fit various cultural considerations and to
product to the markets. To sustain the business profit has
increase compatibility with different coloured lampshades,
to be made. Philips should focus on creating high volumes
the product colour was made of a neutral shade (white and
of BoP market relevant lighting solutions with low margins.
grey) but with glossy finish.
To create large volume of production and market scalability, the design of the lighting system should be such that it can be easily customised to suit the specific needs and demand
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â‚Ź
Company
Graduation date
Instinct Media & Springtime
January 2009
Trikademik Tomas Schietecat Instinct Media is an advertisement company in developing countries that differentiates from other advertisers by providing means of advertisement that have a social goal. Various multinationals are active in these countries with a great need to spread their commercial message. Especially in rural areas it is difficult for them to reach the local consumers. As a result Instinct Media had an idea to develop a bicycle with advertisement support in rural areas. Tomas Schietecat in collaboration with the design office of Springtime, developed a bicycle based advertising support media called Trikademik for Instinct Media. The Trikademik is an innovative vehicle that has a dual purpose – it allows for human powered transport of people and goods while presenting a great opportunity for rural advertising. It is part of a product service system in which the drivers are selected from within a community. These drivers will pick up children from their village and bring them to school. The Trikademik can transport up to six children per ride. When the children are in school, the bikes can be used to transport agricultural product from the farmers to the markets or in any other task that requires moving or transporting of heavy materials and objects (i.e. water, charcoal). After using the tricycles for transporting various material goods, they need to be cleaned by the driver before using them to bring the children back home from school. At the end of each day a service team checks the bikes and performs small maintenance, like tire repair
Tikademik - A dual purpose human powered transport system which also presents a great opportunity for clever advertising in remote rural areas.
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and alignment.
www.sociallyintelligentmarketing.com www.springtime.nl
Since the Trikademik is mobile and intended to be used actively, the advertisement message that is communicated has a far larger reach out within a rural community. In addition it also helps project a more social responsible image of the advertiser. The Trikademik shows commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) since it directly assists in the education of disadvantaged school children. Trikademik is provided for free to the community and financed by the incomes of the advertisements. The goal of this graduation project was to develop a tricycle that caters to the needs of villagers in developing countries and to the requirements of local and global advertisers. In order to get a good understanding of the needs and requirements of the different stakeholders a field research was carried out in Ghana. Based on insights gained from the field research, several concepts were developed. These
A fleet of Tikademik bicycles donated to a rural community in Ghana is completely funded by the earnings from the advertisements that they carry.
concepts took in to consideration several key criteria like; the usability, the advertisement opportunities, the product
• Every component is easily accessible for the purpose of
service system, and production. The final design concept of
repair or maintenance.
Trikademik had the following key characteristics:
• The frame of the bicycle is completely detachable and has a low volume, this makes it easier and affordable to transport
• Children can get in and out the vehicle fast and comfortably.
new bicycles from manufacturer to the communities.
• The entire surface of the part where the children sit is covered to prevent from touching moving parts.
The graduation project concluded with a working prototype,
• There is a division possible between the sitting and cargo
which was built and tested with children in Amsterdam.
transporting areas.
After the validation of the design, two new Trikademik
• A competitive advertising space of four square meter.
projects have been implemented in Ghana: one at Hohoe
• The advertisement panels and banners can be easily
and other at Koforidua.
€
placed and replaced from the advertising space
82
€
Company
Graduation date
Movendi Foundation
2009
IndiaMoves; Exploratory Research Study Aparna Bhaskar
Cooka et al: A product-service system (PSS), also known as a functionoriented business model, is a business model, developed in academia, that is aimed at providing sustainability of both consumption and production1.
Movendi foundation strives to improve the quality of life for physically disabled people. The foundation’s primary focus is on developing countries and communities with a great need for expertise in the field of movement technology and
1. M.B. Cooka, T.A. Bhamrab and M. Lemonc (2006). “The transfer and
physical therapy. The goals are achieved through start-ups
application of Product Service Systems: from academia to UK manu-
and coaching projects using local knowledge and skills to
facturing firms”. Journal of Cleaner Production (Elsevier Ltd) 14 (17):
arrive at creative solutions for different problems faced by
1455–1465. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.01.018.
the physically disabled. Movendi is also involved in setting up rehabilitation workshops and training of local therapists and technicians.
GhanaMoves Movendi has previously worked in a business development project for disabled people in Ghana. The project aimed to improve the lives of the disabled by providing them with a means to support themselves. Four students investigated the business opportunities for the disabled and they came up with a hand-driven tricycle with which the disabled could sell ice-cream on the streets of Madina-Accra. The tricycles were manufactured at a local workshop, MAK-D, which profited as well from the business by selling tricycles, the ice-cream was supplied by Fanmilk, Ghana’s largest dairy producer and the disabled were able to obtain a small credit (micro-credit) from a local bank at a very reasonable interest rate. For more detailed information a summary of the project is enclosed. Taking GhanaMoves as Concept areas; a market analysis of these individual concept areas and new business opportunities and product service systems for self employment of rural disabled within these areas are part of the results.
83
a starting point and as an inspiration, seeing the benefits it generated for disabled persons, Movendi wished to initiate a similar venture in India. This project is an exploratory first
www.movendifoundation.org
step in that direction, identifying strategies and business
Unilever Limited and Project India Moves & the disabled
opportunities.
entrepreneur are presented.The second part of the project
Entrepreneurial businesses In a country like India, the poor face numerous challenges and poverty in itself is a handicap. The less fortunate often have to deal with illiteracy, hunger and daily battle for basic necessities, barely managing to make ends meet. In addition to being born poor, if one has a disability, he/ she is confronted with an uphill battle at all stages of life. The disabled poor are one of the most neglected and
focused on generating self employment opportunities suitable for locomotor disabled persons. In order to do so, it was imperative to analyse the Indian market situation. This included study of the consumer markets, with special attention to rural India, and an overview of lives of the poor in rural India. On the basis of this research, seven productservice-systems (PSS, see box on the left page) that can be operated by rural disabled persons were developed.
marginalized communities with limited access to resources
Strategies & PSSs
and employment opportunities. These issues are magnified
Ideas for product-service-systems are elaborated to levels
many times over when it comes to rural India. This strategic
of market potential, consumer segmentation and role of
design project focuses on identifying and developing
different stakeholders in the enterprise system. Ideas are
business opportunities that would empower the disabled
provided for enterprise alliances with private, governmental
poor in rural India, by creating entrepreneurial businesses.
and non-profit sector.
The first step is research.
Disability at the BoP India In order to
develop business opportunities, a thorough
analysis of disability at the BoP in India was performed; an in-depth understanding of the disability sector and disabled persons in rural India. The need for employment amongst rural disabled was confirmed and the target group was defined clearly. It answers questions such as; who amongst the rural disabled or what sections of the disabled population require additional support in terms of employment? Who amongst locomotor disabled are capable/ not capable of taking up responsibility of entrepreneurship? Additionaly, symbiotic business opportunities with benefits for Hindustan
The project was initiated by the Movendi team and the results are primarily intended for use by Movendi. The report and its content are meant to support future initiatives by Movendi in India. The report provides a comprehensive overview to disabled persons and disability sector in India, and would be of value to future Movendi project teams in India. However the content of report is of value to other reader groups as well: Disability Institutions, Rehabilitation organization and NGO’s in India: The report highlights new possibilities and approaches for the betterment of locomotor disabled in India. Organizations working in disability sector
â‚Ź
are ideally placed with appropriate resources and prior experience.
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Photo: Chetan Kaanadka Shivarama
85
A curious monk watching the boy playing video game Spiti Valley, India
86
Research
Designing with Emerging Markets: Research Initially at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering BoP and DEM projects were carried out mainly by bachelor and masters students. These projects revealed that a large number of factors influence the successful development and implementation of products and services for the BoP and Emerging Markets. These factors include the cultural context, in which the products are used, understanding how the poor live, affordability issues, technological challenges, need for community based co-design,
interaction and
collaboration with local and international stakeholders, etc.. It is of utmost relevance for the success of future products and services for these markets that much more knowledge about the influence of these and many other factors, which are being continuously identified, is collected, analyzed and understood. Consequently it was decided in 2005 to invest in a research program in this knowledge domain. Today DEM has become an important research area directly contributing to the main research mission of our faculty: sustainable well-being. Till now two PhD researches have been successfully completed and several postdocs and visiting professors from mainly emerging countries have joined our DEM research team time to time. The earlier experiences with and exposure to DEM and BoP has attracted PhD research funding from different resources. Currently 7 PhD’s are working on this topic, and this number is expected to rapidly increase further in the nearby future. During the last six years, we have been able to contribute towards creating a scientific knowledge base that could be generalized and used by
87
management tools and approaches for sustainable design
while working on DEM projects.
in emerging economies.
Some examples of completed and ongoing PhD and other
• Exploring equitable ways of design for development
research projects are:
with Vietnamese designers and SMEs by taking an insideroutsider approach to collaborative networked New Product
• The development of an ICT health system focusing on
Development.
shaping behavior or rural women in rural India related to maternal health.
• How to convert the grassroots innovations in Emerging Markets to marketable products and services so that
• Designing low-cost information and communication
they will not remain local, but others can also benefit
technology (ICT) healthcare solutions for Chinese markets.
from such innovations?
• Exploration after how the capability approach can be made
DEM research has not only stimulated multidisciplinary
an integral part of the Design for Emerging Markets process
research topics but also multidisciplinary research teams.
both in terms of methodologies and general awareness.
Within the faculty of IDE it has encouraged collaborative
Research
other scholars, corporate, policy makers and aid agencies
research in between the three departments. Externally, • How Rural Appraisal tools and Context Mapping techniques
non-traditional partners for a ‘Design School’ like the
can contribute to each other leading to effective and
Helsinki School of Economics (now Aalto University) and the
efficient DEM tools.
Venture Studio – Center for Innovative Business Design of Ahmedabad University have become associates in research
• Research into the feasibility and cultural and socio-
projects.
economic implementation issues of Sustainable Product Design in Vietnam. • Evaluation of environmental and social improvements of
Designing with Emerging Markets is a great challenge as well as an outstanding opportunity.
D4S redesigned products with locally adapted LCA tools in Vietnam. • Analysis and comparison of decision support and
88
Photo: Bastiaan Tolhuijs
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Students crossing open sewage streams to reach the school Nairobi, Kenya
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Company
Graduation date
TU Delft
December, 2008
Mobile Primary Health Information System G. Groeneveld This project stresses the mediating role a designer can play in the development of ICT products for underdeveloped rural areas. The project is a continuation of the successful implementation of the Personal Health Information (PHI) which gives information about menses and maternal health to women in rural India. The aim of this project was to design the next generation of a Primary Health Information system with mobility and community sensitiveness as the key factors. The design is not only concerned about feasibility and costs, but also takes in to consideration social interaction and cultural behaviour. To address a larger group of rural women, a mobile version of the PHI called Mobile Personal health Information System (MPHIS) was designed. The challenge for the design of MPHI was that it should respect the age-old traditions and practices of Indian women and at the same time incorporate state of the art, innovative and durable technology inside. Furthermore, with each session, it must create a stimulating group interaction among women in rural India. The main objective of the MPHI was to offer primary health information and increase their awareness about menses and maternal health to rural women in India in an interactive way. In terms of interaction, it was made more engaging through the use of a Tangible User Interface (TUI). The
Mobile Personal health Information System (MPHIS) was made more engaging through the use of a Tangible User Interface (TUI).
91
design and development of the MPHI was inspired and delineated by six dimensions derived from the analysis of issues concerning the PHI and TUIs. The six dimensions
www.tudelft.nl
which were taken into consideration while designing MPHI
provides them the freedom to customise their own MPHI
were;
device. Further, the MPHI uses an innovative and state
1. Transparency
of the art sensors inside, but does not appear as a very
2. Action-Centric
sophisticated technical product. The main body parts are
3. Interaction in Context
made out of wood and are colourfully decorated according
4. Sharable
age-old Indian traditions.
5. Subjectivity 6. Durable
In order to measure a user level of engagement, a comparative study between the MPHI and PHI was
In this project the role of design was mainly to engage rural
conducted. The user tests were conducted in several rural
women in using the MPHI. That is to have them visit the
villages near the town of Bilimora, which lies in the Navsari
MPHI more often. More visits means more exposure to the
district in the state of Gujarat, India. The results of testing
content of the PowerPoint presentations and, hopefully,
the MPHI with rural Indian women were very promising.
positive change of health behaviour. This was achieved
The user tests revealed that the interaction with the MPHI
by designing a mobile version of the PHI to increase the
was more engaging than with the PHI. Even the installation
test area, and it can be done by designing the MPHI with
of the MPHI was considered pleasant; some rural women
a socio-cultural Tangible User Interface (scTUI). A scTUI
referred to it as un-wrapping a sari package. Further, the
can stimulate usage of the MPHI among rural women by
interaction with MPHI also increased the user’s ability to
addressing important socio-cultural aspects of a rural Indian
recall the shown information.
community. Rural women in India build tight knit social networks and they usually express their femininity by the use of brilliant colours and elaborate decorations. Therefore, the main features of the mobile version of a PHI are freedom of location and stimulation of social interaction. These features were achieved through design by using modular boxes, interactive PowerPoint presentations and colourful knobs with culturally appropriate icons and symbols. MPHI can be distributed within a group of rural women. The design
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Company
Graduation date
Philips
December, 2008
Maternal & Child Health Care in Rural India D. van Oene & E. Kingma This project was performed in cooperation with ‘Design Initiatief’ and ‘Philips Design’. Each year, around 536,000 maternal deaths and 11 million child mortality (under the age 5) occurs due to easily preventable or treatable causes. 99% of these deaths occur in developing countries at the BoP. One of those countries is India, where many mothers and children do not have access to the health care to which they are entitled. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop effective ways of organizing a continuum of maternal and child care. Philips is a global leader in providing health care products, and aims to maintain this position. The BoP is a potential growth market and improving maternal and child health care at the BoP was identified as a business opportunity for Philips. As a result, two graduation projects were launched in order to identify opportunities for new solution development for Philips in the field of maternal and child health care in rural India. The focus of these two projects was on intranatal period on the maternal timeline (delivery +48 hours) and intranatal period on the child timeline (delivery + 24 hours). The scope of these two projects intended to cover those areas where the impact of new solution development would be high for Philips, and a large reduction of maternal and child mortality could be acquired.
Four potential solutions that could support Philips to unlock the BoP market of maternal and child health care in rural India.
93
Within the integrated research approach, four main research activities were executed: User research with key
www.philips.com
stakeholders at the grassroots level; user research with care
process of telemedicine. A specialist in a tertiary hospital
providers from multiple health care levels; observational
can provide quality care through telemedicine. The solution
research in a tertiary labour room; and a case study at
fits within the strategy of Philips, as one of the goals of
a successful health care institution catering the BoP. The
Philips Health care is to keep patients out of the hospital
final result, the strategic roadmap, describes the path
and support remote patient management.
Philips could take to eventually unlock the BoP market of maternal and child health care in rural India and contains four solution steps:
Solution 4: Global Home Based Patient Monitoring The last proposed solution entails involving the Top of the
Solution 1: Electronic patient administration system
Pyramid (ToP) in the strategy, in order to empower the
The deficit of health care personnel is one of the largest
financial sustainability of the strategic road map. A problem
problems within the Indian health care system. An
in developed countries is the growing health care costs.
opportunity for this problem is to improve the efficiency of
Global home based patient monitoring through telemedicine
doctors in order to save time for those tasks which require
can provide added value for the top of the Pyramid (ToP),
their specific skills. In order to make efficient use of the
as it can create new cost efficient innovations. Global home
doctor’s time an electronic patient administration system
based patient monitoring has the intention to provide
can replace manual tasks with digital solutions.
improvements in maternal health at the BoP and to provide
Solution 2: Wireless multiple patient monitoring
financial business growth for Philips as well.
Wireless multiple patient monitoring contributes to creating an overview of the health status of multiple patients from a central spot. Central surveillance is valuable for hospitals with a high patient-to-caregiver ratio; the reactive behaviour of care providers towards suddenly occurring situations can be changed into preventive behaviour towards expected situations.
Solution 3: Mobile Telemedicine By bringing care to people’s homes, mobile telemedicine has the objective to provide access to maternal health care for those who are currently excluded from it. A field worker can provide normal delivery care at home and facilitates the
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â‚Ź
Company
Graduation date
Philips Consumer Lifestyle
December 8, 2008
Insect Repellent Lamp for the Indian Market Inge van de Wouw
Insect bites are an unpleasant fact of life in most parts of the world. In addition to severe nuisance, mosquitoes can also spread diseases such as Malaria, Dengue, Filariasis, Two user researches in India (48 families in 2.5 months) provided very useful insights for the improvement and further development of the IRL.
Japanese Encephalitis and Chikungunya. Malaria alone causes an estimated 1.3 million deaths and 400 million cases worldwide, and around 20,000 deaths and 15 million cases in India, each year.
Liquid repellent Philips Research Asia in Bangalore has developed the initial product idea of an Insect Repellent Lamp (IRL) to provide insect free environments for families in the Middle & Base of the Pyramid of both urban and rural India. The proposed lamp integrates an insect repellent ability with the normal household light bulb, by using the waste-heat dissipated by the lighting device to vaporize the liquid based mosquito repellent. The aim of this project was to assess if, and how, the idea could really become a successful and profitable product for Philips. The project started with a thorough analysis phase in the Netherlands to explore the mosquito problem, current insect repellents in India and the target group. Also the working principle and characteristics of the Insect Repellent Lamp were investigated and effectiveness tests were done. After the analysis phase a field test was conducted in India with the initial Philips prototype and two competitive IRLs. In India, insights were gained on the magnitude of the insect problem, current use of insect repellents, expenditure, preferences regarding the three IRLs, local culture and traditions, the actual target group and the context of use.
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www.philips.com
CFL & portability With the obtained information, several suggestions for improvements were given. First of all, a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) should be used as light source instead of a light bulb. Regarding the repellent, it should be vaporized at the correct temperature of the wick and bottled liquids should be used. The lamp itself should provide more flexibility; the hanging type of lamp should be changed into a portable lamp. Lastly, instead of only in the evening, people should also be able to use the repellent at night together with a night light. The input from the field test was translated into a redesign of the IRL. The redesign of the IRL is portable with 3m of wire, uses a 14W CFL and bottled liquids, has two switches to use the lamp and repellent separately or together (day, evening and night mode) and has an additional blue night light that is lit together with the repellent. A preliminary cost price estimation showed that a selling price of Rs. 500 (â‚Ź7.50) can be possible.
First reactions With the manufactured 13 prototypes a second field test was conducted in India. The response of the target group on the improved IRL was very positive and it seemed that the insect repellent functionalities, the energy saving lamp, the portability and the two switches (different modes possible) provided very useful benefits for them.
Two switches make it possible to use the lamp and repellent separately or together (day, evening and night mode).The blue night light that is lit when the repellent is active.
Currently, different departments of Philips have shown interest in the IRL and possibilities are explored to bring the product to the market.
96
€
Company
Graduation date
Philips Light
October 30, 2008
Global Opportunities in Renewable Lighting Ambika Samabasivan
In recent years, the poor are slowly being recognized as consumers in their own right and therefore as potential markets for business. Philips is one of the few global companies committed to developing such markets. The BoP, represented by the 4 billion poorest people around the world, are becoming both a strategic focus for long-term growth and critical for promoting social equity in line with the company’s sustainability policy. Energy represents one such growing market. This project focuses itself to electricity access. Electricity has traditionally remained in the realm of public infrastructure. However, from various insights, it is abundantly clear that the conventional grid is not the answer to the electricity problem of the poor. Only about 56% of the BoP is connected to the grid. A large number of poor households cope with candles, kerosene, generators or rechargeable car batteries. These energy sources are unsafe, inefficient and expensive in the long-run. Despite this, end-use patterns are changing dramatically. Households are investing in comfort and entertainment. Changes in consumption are driven by changes in preferences, by big declines in prices for consumer electronic goods, and by the increasing energy efficiency of these goods. Studies indicate that BoP customers are ‘tired of waiting’ for governments to act and feel empowered by the choice offered to them in the market. Opportunities in Base of the Pyramid markets: Powered by the four global energy providers, consumer electronic applications could include mobile phone chargers, lanterns, radios, table fans and more.
97
‘Buy and Play’ There is a need for clean, safe and affordable energy solutions that can be available to BoP customers on the
www.philips.com
short term. With the rise of renewable energy, it is possible
delivered in a unique way. To hone a keener competitive
to think of energy as a consumer product, where customers
edge, it is essential to work deeply with local communities
have greater choice, flexibility and control over the range
in order to bring out the variations in product needs and
of technology and solutions. This project defines a market
desires, bringing about a feeling of ‘this is our solution’. To
niche for Philips using supporting arguments from contextual
achieve this, Philips must consciously work with a variety of
analysis, customer research and competitor mapping. This
social organizations and informal partners. In addition, it is
market niche is labeled as ‘buy and play’ energy designed
crucial to invest in building local capacity to fulfill societal
to cater to small-scale household requirements, pertaining
and business goals. Small-scale ‘buy and play’ energy can
to an energy output of <0.1kWh/day. Two categories of
deliver a variety of benefits:
products are of interest. The first is individual appliances
• Provide basic energy services to those who are
with a built-in power source (~ <0.01kWh/day). The
currently off the grid, taking the first step towards energy
second is an energy platform or a power pack (~0.1 kWh/
independence. Complete energy independence can be
day) that would be flexible enough to power two or more
achieved by a series of short steps, and ‘buy and play’
applications.
energy can be promoted as the first step toward this goal.
Flexible set of solutions These products can be powered by four potential energy technologies; human powered, solar PV, micro-wind and pico-hydro. Applications can include mobile phone chargers, lanterns, radios, table fans and so forth. It is almost impossible to have one standardized solution for BoP customers. Renewable energy choices are dependent on
• Offer energy services for those who expect to be connected in the near future as a transition to the grid. Communities living close to the grid are often temporary and/or extra-legal settlements. • Promote the use of renewable energy for those who are connected to an often unreliable and expensive grid as a back-up for power shortages, a grid supplement.
geographical variations. Product choices are dependent on
Global sustainability
household requirements. As in the case of the product, the
Energy is an important enabler for a more modern lifestyle
business system is influenced by a range of local factors;
for the poor. The wide range of energy services can have a
the target customer group, value proposition, partner
major impact in facilitating sustainable livelihoods, improving
network, available infrastructure and cost structures. To
health and education and significantly reducing poverty.
serve such diverse markets, Philips needs to have a flexible
By addressing the needs of base of the pyramid markets
set of solutions or a toolbox of options and conduct multiple
through ‘buy and play’ energy, Philips hopes to firmly
market experiments. This will help identify key value
establish itself as both a future-oriented business and a
propositions for BoP families and communities that can be
committed contributor to global sustainable development.
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€
Company
Graduation date
Friesland Foods & reggs
October 24, 2008
PRO-PORTION Affordable Milk for Kids Lieke Pijpers Friesland Foods, a dairy multinational, conducted a deeplistening project in 2006 among consumers at the BoP, called ‘Reach’. This research was conducted in several developing countries, where they measured an enormous lack of nutrition amongst the BoP population.
Alternative protein sources Milk is currently not affordable for the Vietnamese at the Base of the economic Pyramid, as the dairy prices Storyboard of the strategy that makes milk protein affordable for children at the Base of the Pyramid in Vietnam.
in Vietnam are with an average of $0,82/kg the most expensive in the world. Friesland Foods subsidiary, Dutch Lady Vietnam (DLV), is one of the biggest players in the liquid milk market in Vietnam at the moment and aims to maintain and preferably improve its market share. To expand its consumer base worldwide makes reaching the BoP a necessity. DLV tries to reduce the prices by technological improvements, like the use of alternative protein sources (e.g. algae and soy). These attempts are unfortunately not
KINDERGARTEN
likely to succeed in the near future, and it was concluded that the main challenge in reaching the customers at MILK M
the BoP was in the provision of nutrition enhanced dairy products. Children between two and six years of age were selected as the most important target group, since milk protein is particularly important for the physical and mental development in early childhood.
INFORMATIVE MATERIALS
Synergy A design office, called reggs, believes that the affordability of milk protein can also be achieved differently. Besides nutrition, children have other needs, such as education, safety and healthcare. They wondered to which extent it
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www.frieslandfoods.com www.reggs.nl
was possible to combine these necessities (portions) and
be embodied by a cartoon character, which teaches the
initiated the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;pro-portionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; strategy. This approach proposes
children about important lessons in life in an attractive
that by combining the strengths of different organizations
way. Altogether this concept increases the accessibility and
such as local entrepreneurs, NGOs and multinationals, an
quality of preschool education and the childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future
innovative business model could be achieved that creates a
chances of success (health and academic performance).
win-win situation. On the one hand the needs of the BoP are
The government benefits from the higher enrolment
better fulfilled, while on the other hand operations become
of kindergartens and the increased mental and physical
more cost-effective. The developed pro-portion strategy will
development of children. This contributes to the national
eventually increase the affordability of milk for the poor as
goals on education and development. Organizations like
well as the profitability for the stakeholders. A field study
UNICEF and Unilever could benefit from the opportunity
in Vietnam revealed that the most effective place to reach
to communicate with young children. This allows them
young children is the kindergarten.
to educate children on their rights or on the importance
Multi-stakeholder business model The proposed concept aims to provide the BoP children in kindergarten with milk and informative materials. Three times a week, the children are given a cup of milk, for which their parents pay a contribution that is based on their average level of purchasing power. Together with the milk, educational material is provided to kindergartens, which improves the quality of education and increases awareness among the children on different topics. Every month will have a different, important theme. The children that structurally attended kindergarten during the course of one theme receive a reward, which increases their motivation to participate. Additionally, the information will be bundled in educative comics, on which the kindergartens get a monthly subscription and could start a library with. These comics could be borrowed by the children and brought home to read together with their family. The whole campaign will
of personal hygiene. Creating awareness among children supports the strategic objectives of those commercial and social organizations. Local communities clearly benefit, as it helps their children to develop themselves. It stimulates parents to send their children to kindergarten, which in turn enables them to work. On top of this, it creates teaching jobs for the community. Teachers will earn some extra income in exchange for distributing the milk in the classroom. Last but not least, Friesland Foods can now serve poor children they could not reach before. Although at cost price, it supports their strategic goal of serving 1 billion customers in 2015 globally. On a local level it increases their market share in Vietnam and makes them market leader. In the long run, Friesland Foods can benefit from the created customer loyalty among poor families. As soon as a poor family gains purchasing power, they will be more inclined to purchase Friesland Foods products.
100
Photo: Deniz Arik
101
A busy market street Chennai, India
102
Company
Graduation date
BushProof
Sept. 23, 2008
Design of a PSS for Drinking Water Sierk Hennes BushProof is a social enterprise that supplies drinking water and renewable energy products in Madagascar. The company is convinced that a commercial/business approach to poverty reduction is more sustainable than one based on aid. BushProof’s wish is to offer their products to the people in the countries rural areas, however their current clients are mostly non-profit organizations (NGOs) and changing local rural people into customers requires a complete different strategy.
PSS for the BoP The aim of this project is to develop a new product strategy for BushProof’s drinking water products that enables the Malagasy poor to purchase products from BushProof without the financial help of NGOs or foreign aid. During the analysis of BushProof and its context it becomes clear that their main product - the Canzee pump - is suitable for this purpose. As a starting point of the strategy development the two theoretical concepts of the “Base of the Pyramid” (BoP) and “Product Service Systems” (PSS) are used. The first discusses the possibility and opportunities of doing business with the world poor, which are seldom been considered as profitable customers. The theory stresses out that companies are able to create important market growth in low- income countries and earn the same revenues by earning small profits from many poor customers as when they sell products with high profits to relatively few highincome customers. The Canzee Pump in use. This pump has already proved to be a very appropriate product for the circumstances in Madagascar and is an affordable and reliable solution for water provision.
103
The concept of PSS is based on the insight people do not necessarily need to own products in order to fulfill their
www.bushproof.biosandfilter.org
needs. Substituting product components into services create
and quality checks creating the opportunity to build user
possibilities to better anticipate on customer requirements,
relationships and collect user feedback useful for further
reduce resources and stimulate customer relationships.
product development.
In order to serve the Madagascar poor with their
People have to form user-groups with their neighbours
Canzee hand pump, BushProof has to overcome different
that are willing to share one subscription. User groups pay a
problems companies in low–income countries face. People
monthly contribution. As people share one subscription and
are little aware of the positive effects of having access to
do not have to buy the pump, the system will be affordable
reliable drinking water, the current system of community
for most people in Madagascar.
management does not result in lasting solutions and local
The financial analysis shows that if 25 families use one
people have too little knowledge to execute difficult repairs.
subscription, a monthly contribution of €0,63 per family
Finally, people have little possibilities to save for major
is needed to maintain the pumps. Because revenues are
expenditures needed to purchase and maintain expensive
reinvested in creating new pumps and subscriptions, the
products while the risk exists that pumps preliminary break
system is able to triple the amount of pumps within eight
down due the hostile environment of Madagascar.
years. A start-up investment of €90.000 will result in about
Shared subscription, no maintenance responsibility A subscription that guarantees access to safe drinking water is proposed as the most suitable
500 pumps serving approximately 75.000 people and still realize an average yearly return of more than 10% (in 10 years).
solution for these problems. Offering access to safe drinking water changes the focus of selling pumps into supplying people with that what people try to achieve by buying these pumps; having easy access to an unlimited amount of safe drinking water. Since pumps will not be sold, the solution causes a change in ownership. BushProof is responsible for properly working pumps and the quality of the water it supplies, resulting in limited financial risk for the users. BushProof will regularly visit the villages for periodical servicing
104
â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
Kamworks
August 2008
Solar Shop in Rural Cambodia Kirsten Rijke Kamworks operates as a social enterprise in Cambodia and their mission is to provide affordable energy systems in Cambodia in order to contribute to a sustainable development of this country. The innovative no-nonsense company is in the process of developing a new brand, Kamunasal, which aims for the rural consumer market. Kamunasal provides solar and human powered products, distributed through mobile and fixed selling points which are run by micro-entrepeneurs. Several physical expressions of the brand had been defined prior to this project, along with a concept for a mobile selling point (see page 56).
Sustainable brands The internal analysis showed the identity of Kamunasal, based on the mother company Kamworks and the initial Above is the configuration of the concept as a solar shop, and below as a theatre. Switching between the configurations is possible within minutes.
Kamunasal product Angkor light (see page 116). The Kamunasal brand is innovative, with Western roots and a social mission to bring sustainable energy and employment to rural Cambodians. Brands, as builders of trust and providing consistency, play an important role in sustainable development. Before moving into the market, it is crucial to develop the Kamunasal brand to a complete concept, which will form the basis of all future brand expressions.
Importance of factors Through an extensive external analysis based on interviews, observations and a test shop, important insight in the rural Cambodian market were revealed. Most importantly an adapted version of Rogersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; theory for acceptance of innovations was developed, specifically for the Khmer culture. The importance of various factors for customers
105
www.kamworks.com
and micro-entrepeneurs were determined separately, but the models turned out to be rather similar. The decision model is a rational one, where many factors play a role. The three most important factors were found to be price, quality and the fulfilment of needs. The results of the internal and external analysis determined the course of the project. The results of the project can be categorized in two distinctive parts: •
A definition of the Kamunasal proposition “light and energy for a happy family” in the form of a strategy.
•
A complete concept for fixed selling points based on the Kamunasal proposition.
the rural areas of Cambodia.”
Visible stock Through an ideation and conceptualization phase, a fitting concept is developed and further elaborated, resulting in a Kamunasal solar shop; an adapted and furnished shipping container. Inside the shop a displaying cabinet contains a show and try-out model for each item. As rural customers and micro-entrepreneurs in Cambodia prefer to have stock placed visibly (which also helps keep a clear overview for the micro-entrepreneur) each product type is placed in a separate compartment, along with additional stock, see images on the left. A working solar home system is demonstrated and
For a happy family
explained through an educational display. The solar system
The strategy points out that the distinction between the
also provides the power for a number of battery charging
Kamunasal and Kamworks businesses should be more clear,
services offered in the shop.
also within the company. The strategy further describes
A shop and a theatre
how Kamunasal can use the methods of MicroFranchising, by first setting up a business and finding the right formula. The next step is replicating this successful business with other micro-entrepreneurs by supporting them with the Kamunasal formula. Finally the complete strategy for Kamunasal results in a market proposition that describes the brands attitude in terms of a five-P model; product, price, place, promotion, people. A design vision was then formulated, in order to design the solar shop as an expression of the Kamunasal proposition: “Design a concept for a fixed selling and service point for home lighting and
The Kamunasal solar shop can be transformed from a shop into a small theatre. The theatre offers educational video
entertainment
and
testimonials
from
other
satisfied Kamunasal customers. The flexible and inviting shop provides a culturally appropriate, friendly familiar environment for both consumer and micro-entrepreneur. Adding a brand expression in the form of the Kamunasal solar shop, with the right balance between informational and sales aspects, supports the brand Kamunasal and its high quality appearance.
€
energy supply products and services of Kamunasal within
106
â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
Kamworks
August 2008
Solar Home System for Rural Cambodia Tom van Diessen Cambodia has one of the lowest electrification rates in Asia. Therefore many households make good use of rechargeable car batteries for lighting and television. This is however a far from ideal situation as the heavy batteries have to be charged several times a week, in a small shop where a throbbing generator is present. Due to this charging abuse and its poor use, the batteries are entitled to a short life, bringing unnecessary high costs and a low energy efficiency. With oil prices rising and economy improving, people are in need of better power solutions. This forms the motive for this graduation project; to design an innovative userfriendly Solar Home System (SHS) for rural Cambodia.
Previous experience The idea of a SHS came from an elaborate analysis of the local contexts. Many Cambodian families were visited to map their energy needs, desires and living situations. Before this project, a number of pilot SHSs were developed. Prototypes were made on the basis of a preliminary design, to evaluate the technical functioning of the system and practically test the system in operation. The experiences of installation and production of a SHS could therefore already be taken into consideration early in the design process. Three systems The family Chum Voung consist of 3 people and belongs to social class of the rural poor. Miss Toch Komh runs a small store under the house and is home all day, her son goes to school and her husband is hardly ever home being a construction worker. The house is build traditionally, small but well maintained and is located on the corner of a road next to a battery charging station. Making it an ideal location for Kamworks to test the SHS, since its in a visible location next to the one thing it should substitute. The SHS will entirely replace their current use of a car battery and kerosene and is initialy installed under a renting construction for 3 months.
107
were evaluated in the field by test families. The product use, performance and appreciation was monitored technically by data logging and practically by a series of surveys. Based on this extensive design research the pilot SHS was further elaborated to a final product design, ready for production.
Functional and aesthetic value The result of this project was the design of three types
www.kamworks.com
of Solar Home Systems as one product family and one complete product. The SHS has become a true modern powerhouse for rural Cambodia. A distinctive desirable product of superb quality that matches with the Khmers culture, styling, way of living, energy consumption and house situation. The system is easy to install, durable, strong and can be produced locally at Kamworks. The solar panel can be mounted securely to the house with the use of a new composite support. The technical components are enclosed in the Dragon box, a user friendly connection station with a highly aesthetic value in terms of creating product desire, a commercial value in terms of being distinctive and a functional value by protecting the system components. A charge regulator furthermore guarantees a safe use, an extended battery life and provides the users with the desired energy feedback. All this makes the Kamworks Solar Home Systems a secure energy source, for an affordable prize. Kamworks had the desire to bring the SHS on the market soon, the outcome of this project enabled them to do so. Currently four systems have already been sold and installed according to the final designs. Many customers are already eagerly waiting for what could be seen as the new generation of Solar Home Systems in Cambodia.
108
â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
ICCO and MOPAWI
July 28, 2008
Redesign of a Smoke Free Batana Extractor Linda Schnieders Extracting Batana oil is the main way of making a living for the Miskito women in La Mosquitia, a difficult to reach tropical wetland in the northeast of Honduras. The production process of the special oil released from the kernels of the Palma Americana has remained the same for years, but is subject to changes at the moment. Health problems related to the production of Batana constitute a major constraint to the development of the people. The extraction process generates very hazardous smoke which causes respiratory diseases among the women involved in this activity. Additionally, the amounts of firewood needed in the traditional process causes extreme deforestation. These negative aspects of the Batana production render this activity unsustainable. The Non Government Organization (NGO) MOPAWI
MOPAWI initiated the Ecofogon project in 2005 and since then has taken several steps in implementing the Ecofogon in La Mosquitia.
is assisting the Miskito in selling Batana. Moreover, this organization aims to improve the current production process such that related health problems will be addressed and environmental sustainability improved. In the recent past various attempts have been made to address both the health problems and environmental damages associated to the Batana production. To date however, no definite solution has been found. In this project these attempts have been assessed and analyzed and the outcome of this reserach was used as a basis for a redesign process of the stove used for extraction of the oil, the so called Ecofogon.
Multi-stakeholder redesign This redesign process has been done with participation of The cooker hood is placed close to the pan during frying of the kernels.
109
www.icco.nl/en www.mopawi.org
various local stakeholders, accounting for cultural values
are listed. Also a training plan is included on how to build
and traditions, local infrastructure and local resources. This
capacities among the future constructors of the improved
has resulted in a new concept with a number of essential
Ecofogon. The implementation plan also includes the
improvements compared to the existing stove. One of the
construction of a prototype and ways to involve the end
main adaptations has been the provision of a vertically
users and other stakeholders in further shaping of the final
placed chimney connected to a cooker hood in combination
product.
with correctly applying the so called rocket principle. Other
In view of the potential health and environmental
improvements include the use of a pan and a sieve to
benefits MOPAWI, a local NGO, is recommended to follow
separate the oil from the kernels, without the user being
up on the new concept by executing the implementation
in contact with the stove or the hot oil. Furthermore, the
plan. Financing sources need to be found for this purpose
dimensions of the entrance and the combustion chamber
and financing partners are recommended to embark on
are optimised to ensure a more efficient combustion. The
this project. It is expected that by doing so this project
new concept also provides arrangements for significant
contributes to the sustainable social economic development
savings of fire wood, which means enhanced environmental
and resilience of the minority tribe of the Miskito and
sustainability. As a result of these improvements, the women are not directly exposed to the hazardous smoke anymore, resulting in less health threats. Moreover, because
particularly their most vulnerable community members.
Use of the pan and sieve. Before removing the pan the skirt needs to be adjusted, N.B. In the right picture the irritating smoke coming from the oil has not been visualized.
of a more efficient use of fire wood, environmental degradation will be partly addressed.
Besides a
new design concept, a plan for implementation of
the
Ecofogon
developed
during
was this
project.
Implementation Instructions for end users as well as constructors
110
€
Company
Graduation date
LUMEN Light Solution
Kamworks
June, 2008
Integral Design Project Executed by Ana Maria Alvarez, Loucas Papantoniou, Stephanie Wirth and Doortje van de Wouw. Kamworks is a young company specialized in the supply and manufacturing of affordable solar energy solutions for rural communities and people who do not have access to reliable electricity in Cambodia. Currently the company’s core business is the installation and distribution of Solar Home Systems. One of Kamworks previous projects, the ‘Angkor Light’, is a quality lamp in the price range of $60-75 (see page 116). In order to reach the rural population, Kamworks concluded insight was needed into possibilities for a more affordable lighting solution in the range of $10-20.
An exploded view of the design; the Moonlight.
No running costs From the product portfolio of Kamworks it became clear that there was a lack of an affordable ambient lighting products. The main outcome of the technical analysis was to use white LEDs due to their energy efficiency and price range compatibility of the product that could easily be tailored around the basic needs of the target group. For the energy supply of the system, two options were possible: a battery charging system with low initial costs but higher running costs or a totally independent system with higher initial costs but no running costs.
Rural households House visits and interviews in the rural areas of Cambodia gave better insight into the context, living standards and wishes of the target group: The new lamp should completely substitute the kerosene lamp, which use is Most of the families of the final user test were enthusiastic and even willing to buy the prototypes on the spot.
111
widely spread in the rural households. The poor quality of the light, the flammability and health hazards as well as the
2008 highly volatile fuel prices were the main drivers. The field research lead to several main conclusions: First, people need a portable lamp. Different rooms are to be lit,
www.kamworks.com
a window open for charging. Currently, this anti-theft technique is used for TV antennas, so this technique is not new to the people.
and most consumers cannot afford more than one lamp.
The product mainly consists of two vacuum-formed outer
Furthermore, a dimmed light during the night was needed,
shells and two also vacuum-formed blisters that hold the
to orientate in the dark and to feel safe while saving energy
electronics together and buffer them at the same time for
at the same time. The dimmed light only has to last for
possible shocks.
a few hours per night, and about three hours of full light
The final user tests pointed out that the product is indeed
are needed during the evening. In addition, the inventive
an appropriate solution for the stated problem. People could
character of the Cambodians and the completely improvised
easily understand and use the product: hanging it around
style of their houses called for a flexible product that people
their neck and placing it at the walls and ceiling of their
could use as they wished, without too many restrictions.
houses. Most of the families of the final user test were
Poverty makes people use everything they have as long and
enthusiastic and even willing to buy the prototypes on the
as efficiently as possible and the usage of the new lamp will
spot. These reactions were similar to Kamworksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reactions;
not differ in that point.
Kamworks indicated they would like to start producing the
Ampoul Preahchan
MoonLights as soon as possible.
The final design is called MoonLight (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ampoul Preahchanâ&#x20AC;? in Khmer). It has a triangular shape and includes a cord that is attached at the three corner points. It can be hung from
Installing a 0.5 Wp solar panel on a pole, to prevent theft.
a wall or ceiling, carried by hand or hung around the neck. It has 6 wide-angle LEDs with a total luminous flux of 42 lm in the normal mode which is equivalent to the light output of about four kerosene lamps. The dimmed mode provides a light output of 7 lm. It comes with a 0.5 Wp solar panel which can be fixed to a bamboo pole with a standard clamp. This option was chosen as several people had stated during the interviews that they were so afraid of the solar panel getting stolen they would prefer to keep the panel inside all day, leaving
112
Photo: Kees van Gastel
113
Man Fishing Citarum River, Java, Indonesia
114
â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
NICE
April 4, 2008
A Battery Charging System for Youngsters Judith Goor Energy
has
a
strong
link
with
poverty
reduction;
unfortunately about one third of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population does not have access to electricity and deals with expensive, alternative energy sources. As a reaction on the high need for affordable energy, NICE is set up as a network of multidisciplinary shops offering low prices and high quality. The solar powered shops offer internet, education and a mini-cinema, and are set up in The Gambia, where about 70% of the population does not have access to the electricity grid. A rendering of the design; the left side is for AA batteries and the right side for AAA batteries.
Batteries Standardized batteries form a low investment for instant energy. Batteries are available worldwide, are cost-efficient and fit into many products, which makes them an interesting energy source. However, the disposable batteries that are currently used in The Gambia are of very poor quality and leak hazardous, toxic chemicals. This causes ground water pollution and health problems. Offering a battery charging service with rechargeable AA- and AAA- sized batteries, would provide a low cost, sustainable solution.
Youngsters and NICE Through literature studies and explorative research towards the potential users and their context, the framework for the design of a battery charging system was set up. The biggest group of potential users are youngsters (10 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 25 years old). With a growing population of nearly 2.8% per year, this group forms a rapidly growing market segment. Furthermore, the current customer base of NICE is mainly formed by youngsters, which makes them an approachable
115
www.nice-gambia.com
group. Youngsters are very trend sensitive and care much about their image. NICE batteries can add to their appearance as being a high quality and popular product.
-
Dispenser for full AAA- batteries
-
Quality check to assure quality of the batteries
-
Energy tester to test if the battery is fully charged
Membership
The systems are placed on the wall behind the NICE
In The Gambia, registration is unwanted by costumers. To
reception desk. In this way the system is visible and triggers
avoid the need of registration a different setup is needed;
the customers by the bright colors, shiny appearance and
new customers will pay a start-up fee to join the system,
blinking led lights. The employee can operate it from behind
and whenever NICE batteries get empty, they can be
his desk and keep a good overview.
switched for full ones in exchange for a small charging fee.
A functional prototype of the system was built and was
A NICE battery is the evidence of being a member of the
ready to be tested in the NICE shop to continue with further
system. Customers receive different batteries every time
development of the product.
they exchange. In order to assure them a good quality, the
The prototype in use. The lights visualize the charging.
batteries will go through a quality check that filters out bad batteries. The system assures users a cost advantage within 1.5 months, because the charging fee is 30% lower than the cheapest batteries available in The Gambia. It is projected that profit is generated for NICE within a year.
Battery Testers With respect to the NICE context it became clear that the most important requirement is an obvious, structured system that is easy controllable by the management team. The design proposal consists of the following different components: -
Charger with 16 AA(A)-battery cells
-
Intake for empty AA- batteries
-
Intake for empty AAA- batteries
-
Dispenser for full AA- batteries
â&#x201A;Ź 116
€
Company
Graduation date
Everbody Company
Feb 8, 2008
Culturally Appropriate Coffins for Botswana Jan Willem Findlater Funerals play a central role in Batswana culture. High death rates, increasing expectations and funeral costs impoverish citizens as they struggle to provide a dignified burial for their loved ones. The Everybody Company had identified this social need and had set about providing access to affordable coffins throughout Southern Africa and developed a pre-cut click-to-construct coffin. The Everybody Coffins struggled to gain a foothold in the market due to material costs, availability and consumer acceptance of their product line. The aim of the project was to investigate the practical and emotive implications of the Everybody Coffin.
The product and company name is ‘branded’ into the lid of the coffin with a hot iron. In South Africa this would include the ‘Working for Water’ logo. People will know that they are buying a product that is supported by the government. The lining can be custom made or modified in the villages.
An in depth analysis of lengthy and extravagant burial rituals highlighted why the Everybody Coffin is not widely accepted; functional, aesthetic and emotive aspects of the Everybody Coffin design make it inappropriate for product placement within this consumer market.
The Coffin Industry The market can be split up into two categories; state funerals and consumer funerals. If a coffin manufacturer opts for government tenders they must compete on price with other manufacturers. The advantage for the manufacturer is that the consumer has no choice between coffins, and for the consumer the advantage is in costs: these services are provided for free. In the commercial coffin industry price is not the most important factor in coffin design. Status, protection and style (aesthetics) are These children, Elvis & Kabo, expressed an interest in constructing the coffins as a job. The elders in the village approved the full sized prototypes and agreed to cooperate in the interests of the village.
117
key product values. The funeral parlour network is currently responsible for distributing and selling coffins as part of funeral service packages. Although selling direct to the
www.everybodycoffins.com
market appears as an attractive alternative, doing so is a
available waste wood. This necessitated a re-design of the
logistical challenge. The infrastructure does not exist (or
construction. The final design may be considered as less
permit) coffin sales without distribution through the funeral
efficient, heavier, more labour intensive and requires a
parlour network. It is therefore a challenge for product
longer production time. On the other hand it is desirable in
designers and manufacturers to effectively provide access
the consumer market, adds value to the materials, reduces
to affordable coffins.
toxification of the ground water and is creates more jobs
Investigation of coffin purchasing behaviour in Botswana
in the rural areas. Product acceptance by funeral parlours
showed, alongside the aforementioned product values of
also improved. They identified more with new aspects of the
status, protection and aesthetics, that culture orientated
design, primarily the ability to hold more stock, attractive
coffin design provided new product values which were
pricing and reductions in transportation costs.
independent of costs. This finding is an opportunity to
During the process of this project new product values
reduce spiraling coffin costs whilst improving the emotional
were identified. Using these product values for coffin design
experience when choosing a coffin. Flat, prefabricated
may help to positively change purchasing behaviour in
coffins are most suited for rural communities across
Botswana. This study indicates that a culturally appropriate
Botswana. This is currently the key product value of the
coffin can be highly desirable and need not to be expensive.
Everybody Coffin. Re-designs of the Everybody Coffin were
Designers can play an essential role in helping societies
evaluated within rural communities. Unexpectedly, these
to change towards more financially and environmentally
communities appreciated the re-designs differently. The
sustainable practices. It is their duty to help societies and
design could be used to create jobs in the rural areas, which
governments achieve their long term goals.
is a big need for rural communities. The design criteria
Unexpectedly, this study unveiled a great opportunity to
changed during the design process to reflect the local
stimulate entrepreneurship in the rural areas. Cooperation
context. Continuous feedback during the re-design phases
with Chiefs, tribes, Burial Societies and Church groups play
noted improvements in aesthetic appeal, product function
an essential role when implementing Everybody Coffins. For
and cultural orientation.
the coffin to realise its potential as a culturally appropriate
The new Everybody Coffin Based on the feedback throughout the design process it can be concluded that the design has improved in terms of product acceptance. Regarding material selection, Bosa (the final design proposal of this project) utilises regionally
coffin it requires the involvement of local craftsmen to personalise each coffin. This must be done commercially. Government and NGO â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hand outsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; can have a detrimenal effect on proactive entrepreneurship in the rural areas. Coffin assembly can be seen as an ideal first step to economic empowerment.
118
€
Company
Graduation date
Water4Kenya
Dutch Water Limited
February, 2008
Integral Design Project Executed by Elly Doek, Merijn Janssen , Regine van Limmeren, Charl Smit and Stefan Versluis. The mission of Dutch Water Limited is to provide clean and affordable drinking water for everybody in developing countries. This goal is very clear, but highly ambitious and not feasible to reach at once. Therefore, a group of students from Delft University of Technology had been asked to research the current situation and develop a Product Service System (PSS) to distribute the clean water that DWL is capable of producing. Keeping in mind on the one hand the desire to become a financially sustainable company and on the other hand the desire to help the people in need, the initial advice was to target people in the near surroundings of the water factory in Mtwapa. These people are not the very poorest, but still drink unclean drinking water and are
A prototype of the Strolley: unlike the current competition, the Strolley complies with ergonomic demands.
therefore in need of DWL water. Transportation costs are minimal and little profit can be made on the water. This way DWL could start establishing the company by creating a solid financial background and gaining experience for water “processing” (manufacturing and distribution) in a nonwestern context.
Governmental Water Currently, almost all drinking water for the people in Mtwapa, Kenya, comes from one governmental tap point, located in the outskirt of Mtwapa. The people in Mtwapa buy this unclean governmental water from the so-called mikokoteni (handcarts), which deliver the water at home. The system works pretty well and supplies most people with drinking water on a regular and frequent basis when there is water available. However, in times of scarcity this way of water supply is less reliable and prices increase rapidly, up
119
www.dwlwater.com
to 200% of the original price. Scarcity occurs several times
DWL of a certain amount of regular clients. In addition, the
a year.
subscription allows for the possibility to pay off the deposit for the jerry can in terms.
The proposed Product Service System
Three different stakeholders were determined for the PSS,
Some boundary conditions were kept in mind. First of
and solutions were offered for each of these stakeholders.
all, DWL is a start-up company, with little investment
For customers; by offering clean, affordable and reliable
power. Furthermore sustainability was very important: the
drinking water, customers are served with advantages
PSS should be economically, ecologically, politically and
for health, living standards and financial benefits. For
socially sustainable. The proposed PSS enables DWL to
employees; Several new employees are to be hired in order
provide the people of Mtwapa with clean, affordable and
to make the PSS function properly. Being employed at
reliable drinking water by selling the water at the gate and
DWL comes with advantages concerning health (unlike the
distributing it to the houses of the customer by means of
current mikokoteni, the Strolley complies with ergonomic
human powered vehicles. The PSS provides the customer
demands), and are offered a fixed salary. For DWL; The
with several additional advantages like fixed prices, fixed
PSS enables DWL to reach its vision by providing water to
quality and constant supply. In addition, the water is sold
people with a need for clean water, creating employment
in a special, sealed package which decreases the chance
and meanwhile establishing a solid financial base.
of the water getting contaminated. The PSS consists of the
following
elements:
the
product water,
4
the vehicles, and the packaging. The service
is
offered
for
DWL source
customers
of
of scarcity, and ensures
3
The jerry can is closed by a cap with integrated tap and sealed to prevent the package to be tampered with.
Coast Special is both sold at the gate as well as distributed to the houses of the customer.
Full package
Sales channels 6
7 Use Selling and returning package
Drinking
Empty package
Processing water
water
delivery, also in times
8
Filling package 2
water
delivery, which ensures
Sealing package
1
selling at the gate and A subscription service
Consumer cycle No treatment
elements in the PSS are delivery at home.
5
DWL cycle
9 DWL processes the water from the source into high quality drinking water. Cleaning package
After use the package is returned to the factory to be cleaned for reuse. The empty jerry can is exchanged with a new one when new water is being bought. No new deposit needs to be paid if the seal is unbroken.
â&#x201A;Ź
Coast Special is safe to drink directly from the jerry can; it does not need to be treated before use.
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Company
Graduation date
Solardew & ICCO
Feb 1, 2008
Comparing Contexts; Solar Dew Technology Alexander van der Kleij One of the most important global problems is that of poverty. Apart from the obvious humanitarian justification, finding improved ways to alleviate poverty will become an intricate part of creating a sustainable future. Although many will argue, and rightfully so, that the present industrialized nations are mainly responsible for many of the current environmental problems, it is in the developing world with its rapidly growing population and rise in living standards where the problems of the future will be found. It is therefore important to find sustainable solutions in the present for problems of the future. The Base of the Pyramid (BoP) theory does not explicitly exclude any countries, yet the focus of most BoP projects has been on relatively large countries which are developing rapidly, such as India, China, Brazil, Mexico, etc. On the
In coastal areas the sea provides people with an unlimited source of brackish water, which in combination with the Solar Dew technology can provide a steady source of clean drinking water.
other hand many smaller countries which are not developing as rapidly also contain a large portion of the population making up the BoP. They too have an interest in improving their quality of life and may form a worthwhile opportunity for companies to invest in. The main problem however is market size; often these markets are not large enough on their own to warrant investment.
Different contexts Considering many of the problems facing the BoP are similar across a wide variety of developing countries, it may be possible to design a single solution for these different markets. In that case, these smaller markets could be The working principles of the Solar Dew Technology .
121
combined to create a larger market which may be of interest to companies looking to develop BoP products.
www.solardew.com
The question is therefore to determine whether it is
drinking water problem. The purpose of this research was
possible to cluster these different markets. The first step to
to develop insight for the further development of a product
answering this question is to determine if it is possible to
around a technological solution created by Solar Dew
design for multiple markets, each with a different context.
International.
Therefore this project provided an insight into:
The final design of the product is based around the insight
-
What is context
that people at the BoP are unable to make large investments
-
Requirements for research in a BoP environment
and in general are not concerned with the health benefits of
-
How to structurally translate research results into a
clean drinking water. The product has been designed based
product/business vision -
How to compare, evaluate and design for different contexts
This was done by researching both Pakistan and Madagascar, and developing a concept that is suitable for both.
The technology
on this understanding of the context, such that it can provide a solution for both the Malagasy and the Pakistani context. The product has taken on the form of a water station, run by a local entrepreneur from which he sells water to the people of the village. This allows the local entrepreneur to earn a living, whilst the consumers can focus on their own economic activities without the daily concerns of fetching
Solar Dew technology consists of two chambers separated
drink water. Although the design is still conceptual it gives a
by a membrane. The contaminated feed water in the upper
clear indication of what the future may hold for both water
chamber is absorbed by the membrane. As the feed water
purification solutions in general, and specifically for the
is heated by the sun it can only evaporate downwards into
Solar Dew Technology.
the lower chamber, which increases the humidity inside the chamber, where it eventually condenses on the condensation plate. Thus, leaving the contaminants on the upper side of the membrane and distilled water on the other.
Water Station The purpose of this project was not only to describe this process in theory but also apply it to practice, in the form of a case study. As a result, with the help of ICCO and their partners, research has been conducted along the
â&#x201A;Ź
South-West coast of Madagascar and in the Thar Desert of Pakistan, with regard to the context surrounding the
The water station, designed for local entrepeneurs.
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â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
Kamworks
December 14, 2007
Mobile Solar Kiosk for Micro-Entrepeneurs Miriam Reitenbach Despite recent progress, the Cambodian economy still has to reconstitute from the effects of the civil war. The population often lacks education and productive skills, which leads to a high unemployment rate, especially in the countryside. About 40% of the population lives below poverty line and has to live of less than 1$ per day. As 90% of the Cambodian population does not have access to a secure electricity infrastructure, economic and social progress are slowed down as well. These circumstances set the framework of Kamworksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; business idea: securing sophisticated energy and light supply and creating new jobs for young Cambodians. As the country receives approximately five full sun hours each day, solar energy is one of the promising technologies. The objective of this graduation project was the design and development of a mobile solar kiosk for Cambodian microentrepreneurs,
enabling the setup of a self-sustaining
business by distributing solar products to the rural area of Cambodia, in continuation of the intensive collaboration between Kamworks and Delft University of Technology, see In order to get an understanding on how the anticipated customer reacted on the mobile store, the Cambodian translator was asked to drive around the rural areas to obtain feedback. In the first place he acted as microentrepreneur who sells products, consequently he interviewed the potential customers.
page 116 .
Extreme road conditions Through intense user and context research in Cambodia, technical and usability criteria were defined, as well as social and cultural influences. These formed the framework of this project. The first constraint was the underdeveloped road network and the extremely bad road conditions. Also, with heavy rain seasons from May until October the road conditions get even worse which poses a challenge to the
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www.kamworks.com
technical requirements. Interviews with potential customers of the solar products
application of glass fibre reinforced plastic an attractive and eye-catching form of the carrier could be achieved.
revealed that Cambodians were not yet familiar with solar
In the context of a holistic approach this project did not
energy in general and that the way of communicating and
only focus on the design and construction of the kiosk, but
explaining products forms a major criterion for the success
also presented recommendations on how to communicate
of the sales results.
to the local customers in an effective and adequate way,
The outcomes of this research were translated into
such as a LED display and posters explaining the benefits
a final concept that was refined by means of iteratively
and cost savings of solar products. Additionally, a new
building and testing the prototype to guarantee not only the
bilingual brand name and logo was created that made it
technical feasibility of the mobile store, but also acceptance
possible to communicate with Khmer customers as well as
among the future users - the micro-entrepreneurs.
Western stakeholders and contributes to a quality image of
Biking without pedaling
the mobile solar kiosk.
The final design was a three-wheeled electric bicycle that
Local Production and maintenance
can be recharged by solar energy. By making use of this
When designing the mobile kiosk, only locally available
renewable energy technology and being remarkably lighter
materials and production techniques were considered in
than existing mobile stores, this vehicle is less polluting than
order to generate local income, as local manufacturing was
traditional motorised stores and can contribute to promote
one of the greatest requirements for the design. These
sustainable energy in an effective way. User tests showed
manufacturing experts of the kiosk would also be able to
that an electric bike caught the attention of the customer
take care of the maintenance and reparations, keeping all
immediately as most rural people never saw someone
the work and the money local.
driving on a bike without pedalling before. In order to cope with the bad road conditions a new suspension system was developed that can damp the wheels individually which makes it much easier to drive and steer the vehicle, even on bumpy and unpaved roads. In the front part of this mobile solar kiosk a yellow carrier is mounted that serves not only to transport the solar
â&#x201A;Ź
products, but also as a store front when the lid is opened. Due to the, for the local context, innovative material
The bilingual logo on the side of the glass fibre reinforced carrier.
124
Photo: Mirjam Lindgreen
125
Man and horse at work Java, Indonesia
126
Company
Graduation date
Better Brace Project
The Three Aid Foundation:
October 24, 2007
Koos Munneke Grarbet Tehadeso Mahber (GTM), an Ethiopian non governmental organisation (NGO), offers healthcare to the inhabitants of the rural area around Butajira, Ethiopia. Due to a lack of funds in the last decade, the capacity and quality of the delivered services of the department of physiotherapy and orthotics is lagging in development. Together with The Three Aid Foundation (TTAF), a Dutch NGO, this project was conducted. The goal of the project was to develop a comfortable and durable knee-ankle-foot orthosis for young polio victims in Ethiopia using appropriate production technology.
Current KAFOs A lot of children with polio have been complaining about the comfort of their knee-ankle-foot orthoses (KAFOs, or also long leg braces); these braces are often found to be heavy, clumsy to use and awkward to put on and take off. Moreover, pressure excesses, detrimental to skin tissue, frequently occur. A lot of orthoses fail prematurely, and since there is no communication between the patient and the clinic, this is a great problem. Furthermore, as the children grow the orthoses have to be adjusted to ensure a good fit. Right now this happens by cutting and welding; a way which weakens the construction.
Customization and adjustability In order to create solutions to these problems, an analysis was done of the current issues, and requirements were Overview of the features of a knee-ankle-foot orthosis built with the proposed technology.
formulated. It was clear that the future orthosis technology must offer custom support and correction; each orthosis is to be tailored to the specific needs and dimensions of each
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www.ttaf.org
patient. Also, the future orthoses should offer more comfort
technology was employed; the prototypes were produced
than the current orthoses. Improving the construction
in the workshop of GTM using affordable materials from
should increase the durability of the orthoses and to ensure
the local market. In user tests it became clear that the level
a good fit over time, the orthosis should be adjustable. The
of comfort has increased. Future observations will have to
technology must be appropriate for the context of GTM;
prove if the durability and adjustability has increased also,
utilising locally available and affordable materials and
but as it seems now, the product is a success.
locally maintainable machines.
ApproTech The proposed solution consists of several changes in the design of the product as well is the production of the product. The flat tubular profile used for the upright construction is strong yet lightweight. The combination of the steel flat bar brazed (i.e. copper welded) in the flat tube provides a durable option for adjustability. The perforated thin sheet steel of the thigh and calf bands and the plastic correction shells distribute the pressure over a larger area of the limb and follow the contours of the limb better - thus decreasing pressure and improving comfort. The construction of the ankle hinges and the connection to the shoe is strengthened; increasing the longevity of the orthosis. The proposed technology makes use of locally available and materials and locally maintainable machines and tools. The technology is affordable as well, concerning the start up costs as well as the running costs. Several prototypes were built during the project, materials and tools have been purchased, and the orthotic technicians were trained. In produceability tests it became clear that the proposed technology offers all options for custom support and correction. Furthermore appropriate
Fitting of the new brace; user tests for comfort and durability.
128
â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
BushÎ&#x201D;Proof
October 19, 2007
Affordable Solar Lighting for Rural Madagascar Bernard Hulshof In Madagascar, only three percent of the population in rural areas is connected to the electricity network. In order to fulfill their lighting needs, people have to rely on kerosene based lighting and candles. Not only in Madagascar but also in the rest of the world, kerosene based lighting is still an important way of indoor lighting; one fourth of the world population has to rely on it every day.
Unhealthy and dangerous Kerosene based lighting has many disadvantages. Firstly, it is a very unhealthy and even dangerous way of lighting. The smoke of the lamps causes health problems and is a major cause of death among children below the age of five years A prototype of the BALL, developed as an alternative to kerosene lighting.
old. Besides this, the lamps often cause fires in rural homes. Secondly, this way of lighting is unreliable and inefficient; lamps are easily blown out, do not provide sufficient light and cannot provide light in a downward direction. Finally, kerosene based lighting is relatively expensive and bad for the environment. In Madagascar, people spend about one fifth of their income on kerosene for lighting. The use of kerosene lamps results in an average annual CO2 production of 130 kg per household.
Alternative to kerosene Since LED lighting and solar cells are becoming less expensive and more efficient, they can become the basis of a possible alternative for kerosene based lighting. Exploratory research in Madagascar and further market research have demonstrated that a solar powered lighting product with a maximum retail price of 10 Euro could be a realistic alternative for the current lighting solutions.
129
www.bushproof.biosandfilter.org
The possibility to dim the light is an important opportunity to save energy during the night. Many people use light to keep evil spirits away from their babies. They spend over one third of their lighting budget during the night, since kerosene lamps and candles cannot be dimmed. The investment in a solar powered lighting product that can be dimmed during the night could be earned back in approximately three months.
Design criteria The most important criteria stated by BushΔProof were: -
The product should be affordable
-
The product should be desirable
-
The product should be “BushΔProof”
An exploded view of the BALL and the panel. BALL from top to bottom: non transparent housing part, power connector, electronics, rubber ring, transparent housing part. Panel from top to bottom: transparent housing part, solar panel and non transparent housing part.
“BushΔProof” stands for Simple (people who have no knowledge about solar energy should easily understand the product), Tough (the product can resist the environment in which it is used), Durable (the product has a long lifetime) and the product aims at high value at low cost.
Affordable light Hulshof designed a new solar powered lighting product for BushΔProof: the BALL (BushΔProof Affordable Life Light). The BALL is a combination of a small solar panel and a lamp. The separate solar panel can be mounted on a roof to charge three AA 600 mAh batteries. These batteries power four wide angle WLED’s of 3 lumen each, providing 12 lumen in total; enough to illuminate a room of 4 by 4 meter. A micro controller is used to dim the light at night to 1,2 lumen without losing efficiency and saving the lifetime
Rendering of the ball in detail.
of the batteries.
130
â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
Holy Cow or Cash Cow
DSM
October 12, 2007
Rutger Bonsel This project was executed for DSM Innovation Center, a corporate body within Royal DSM N.V. responsible for accelerating and stimulating innovation throughout the whole company. This division had identified an opportunity at the Base of the Pyramid and intends to use DSMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capabilities for addressing needs within the Indian diary and cattle sector. The objective of this project was to identify a strategic direction for a business opportunity in the Indian cattle and dairy industry, taking into consideration consumer needs, stakeholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interests and trends in the contextual
A farmer milking her cow. Note that eighty percent of the farmers in India have less than 3 animals.
environment, resulting in a financially viable business case, including business model and related product concept.
Successful Strategies The preliminary research question in this project was; what are successful strategic methods for an entry in the Base of the Pyramid? This question was addressed with a literature research, resulting in a list of strategic elements serving as an input for the project. Two elements had a fundamental impact on the process: Firstly, the involvement of unconventional stakeholders and secondly, the need for integral development of product and the accompanying business model.
Method To reach the objective, three phases were executed; a strategic analysis, the definition of the strategic direction and the development of the product and business case. An internal analysis into the strategic position of the focal DSM business unit Animal Nutrition & Health (producer of
131
www.dsm.com
animal feed) in India revealed that the ruminant sector
since it can monitor the actual use of the feed premixes
currently is neglected, due to its unorganized and scattered
and can show the farmer instantly the effect of feeding on
character. DSM faces tough competition from local feed
fertility. Use of the system results in a benefit for farmers
manufactures and has no direct leads to the farmers. Its
of €0,05 per animal per day, in terms of decreased health
vitamins are from a higher quality than competitive products,
costs and increased milk yield. To reach the BoP customers
but are also more expensive. DSM’s major strengths are its
it is essential to cooperate with local partners, who have
technical knowledge and one of DSM’s diagnostic tools; the
direct contact and are trusted by the farmers.
iCheck, currently the only available tool measuring instantly animal health at farm-level. The external analysis showed the diversity within Indian dairy farming; India is the worlds’ largest dairy producer, but 80 % of the farmers have less than 3 animals. A focus group discussion revealed that these farmers do not have the knowledge of the function of vitamins in premix feed. Furthermore, their actual need is education and training on all kind of aspects concerning dairy farming; animal health, feeding and dairying practices. Finally, some farmers lack the appropriate infrastructure for dairy procurement and have financial difficulties, due to their bounding to local
Building trust A pilot project is essential for showing the farmers the advantages of the system, for building trust and for proving the actual benefits of the feed premix, since trust appeared to be a very important element for the BoP consumers. Concluded, there is an actual business opportunity for DSM at the Base of the Pyramid. The Indian small-scale dairy farm sector is a largely untapped market for the cattle feed industry. A pro-active approach is required to reach the farmers and to support the professionalization of the currently unorganized dairy sector.
middlemen.
Animal Feed to Animal Health Pivotal element in the strategic direction was the transition from selling animal feed to delivering animal health. A Product Service System model satisfies this demand by offering a full package of education, training, micro-credit and insurance, on top of the animal feed. Through this DSM can address a broad range of needs of the farmers, which
€
also justifies a higher selling price with respect to other feed products in the market. The iCheck plays herein a role,
Participants of the focus group, held to gather user insights.
132
â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
Philips Consumer Lifestyle August 8, 2007
Cooking in Rural China Isabella Hoi-Kee Wong In China, every 90 seconds a life is lost due to indoor air
On page 102 another graduation project is presented on the Philips woodstove, by Leonie Ideler. After her graduation project the woodstove has been developed further, and Philips expects to launch the woodstove in India in the first half of 2009. Recently a commercial pilot was completed in India, from which a great deal was learned, and this was a study to find out how the woodstove was applicable to rural china. Philips realizes that a new market is about to be entered and that their approach to marketing and distribution needs to be modified; Philips is currently optimizing their business case and their go-to market strategy.
The product proposal of the Philips Bio stove is an integration of all the improvement areas, increasing the likelyhood of the product to be adopted by rural Chinese households. However, the implementation plan of this product proposal is the other half of the successful adoption of the Philips Bio stove.
pollution. Philips DAP aims to bring sustainable solutions to the BoP regarding the reduction of respiratory problems due to indoor air pollution. Consumer tests have been conducted in India with prototypes of a smokeless and efficient woodstove developed by Philips Research. The consumer tests have generated useful insight in the context, in the benefits for the consumer, and in the required product improvements. In parallel they are investigating opportunities to introduce the solutions in the Chinese Base of the Pyramid.
Similar usability issues The first field research in six provinces resulted in the definition of the Chinese rural BoP and the target market. It also provides knowledge into the renewable energy development and the market of high efficient low emission biomass stoves in China. In the second field research, twelve Philips woodstoves had been tested in two different provinces beneath the Yangtze river. The findings show similar usability problems but different needs and wishes between the provinces. Two personas, which are one of the outcomes of this extensive research are used as the starting point of the concept development.
Adoptable proposition for the Chinese rural BoP The Philips Bio stove is a highly efficient low emission biomass stove electronically controlled with a smart user interface. It is a replacement for the open fire, built in firewood stove (with chimney) and coal briquette stove. It enables the user to cook meals without smoke in their
133
kitchen or coming out of the chimney, without electricity consumption and with lower consumption of wood or other biomass fuels. The user interface enables carefree cooking, because it informs you when to add fuel. The product is surrounded by other services to decrease the risk for the Chinese rural BoP to purchase the Philips Bio stove, such as government funding, alternative payments options, guarantee arrangements and after sales service & support. Research in India in rural China has shown differences and similarities in usability problems, wishes and needs. The stoves can provide a solution for many people in other countries in South East Asia, as long as the differences and similarities are properly addressed in product functionalities.
The ashes from the Philips Bio stove is removed by lifting up the ash handle at the back of the stove.
First the flame regulator is set to the lowest level and then little pieces of paper and little twigs are used to ignite the fire. Subsequently the ON button is pressed, both pilot lights start to blink. Fuel is added as desired to increase the fire.
Twelve woodstoves were used by a variety of rural inhabitants of China living in two different provinces in China. The results were used for the new concept.
The desired heating value is set by turning the flame regulator.
The red pilot light is blinking and a short beep sound occurs to inform you to add/refill fuel. The user decide to turn the fl ame regulator to the highest heating value, which is suitable for stir frying.
Both pilot lights are on continously; ready for stir frying
134
Company
Graduation date ate
Fire4India
Servals Automation
May, 2007
Integral Design Project Executed by Veronie Croes, Bjørn-Evert van Eck Rasmussen, Swie Oei and Susan Oudshoorn. Nowadays fuels such as wood are getting scarcer due to depletion of natural resources such as deforestation. Therefore the trend is to develop more sustainable solutions, also in the cooking field. The goal of Servals is to manufacture products that contribute to better living circumstances for the poor people in India. Their vision is “Bringing appropriate technology to the ‘base of the pyramid’ to enhance their quality of life”. Their mission is to develop a scaleable and sustainable business model using native and rural technologies and manufacture socially relevant and environment friendly systems. Servals wants to create a sustainable business organization that contributes to poverty alleviation in the areas of energy conservation and water management.”
Eliminate kerosene A future user testing the prototype. The picture on the top shows the pumping. On the bottom the working stove is shown with a pan.
The way people cook in the current situation contributes to health problems and the green house effect. Servals has been working on the development of a stove which only needs plant oil to burn, yet kerosene was needed to support the burning. Fire4India was hired to improve this burner and eliminate the need of kerosene, as well as to design a stove especially for the BoP target group. Servals wants to be successful in the burner market as well as the stove market and wants to achieve a higher penetration. An innovative burner based on plant oil can create a strong position in the market for Servals as there are only a small number of direct competitors in a large and expanding market.
Urban vs Rural Differences between urban and rural people in cooking
135
www.servalsgroup.blogspot.com
patterns and the use of cooking stoves were discovered in
handles of the sliding mechanism are in the lower (most
the user study, as well as differences in living circumstances,
left) position. In this situation the handle of the flame plate
the shops they visit etc. This indicates that these two groups
is freely accessible, without the obstruction of the sliding
have to be serviced and reached in different ways. Although
handles.
the stove satisfies the needs of both rural and urban poor, on the short term only the urban poor will be targeted, as rural people cook on wood they collect themselves, which is a lot cheaper than plant oil. Wood is not a competitive fuel for urban people. Also, urban poor can be reached through the distribution channels Servals is most familiar with. The rural poor are still an important target group for the plant oil stove, and should be targeted in a later stadium. By first targeting urban poor, a critical user quantity is created that is necessary to: -
Increase the amount of plant oil manufacturers
-
Prove the worth of stove to the rest of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poor
-
Prove the worth of the plant oil as a fuel
Green prototype The design of the stove has obvious similarities with the existing kerosene wickstove. This makes the Wicket instantly recognizable as a stove. It is important that the stove forms a unity. Therefore the tank is placed below the burner and follows the same cylindrical shape as the frame. To make clear that the stove operates on a different fuel than existing stoves, the stove has a distinguishing green color. The handles are made in an eye-catching different color, so it is instantly recognizable which parts can be touched. The stove is mostly made out of recycled mild steel; a strong and cheap material, largely available on the local market.
The Wicket Fire4India developed an innovative cooking stove which burns on 100% crude plant oil and is able to burn on all different kinds of plant oil. The stove, specially designed for the Indian BoP market, creates more independence by giving the possibility of extracting plant oil by the BoP people themselves. The stove is designed in such a way that even wrong usage can not lead to dangerous situations. The pumping and poking movements are known to the users. The handles to slide the caps up and down are positioned in such a way that it is easy to make the rotating movement with both hands. The flame plate is operated when the
The team and the working prototype.
136
Photo: Prabhu Kandachar
137
Market for Holi Colours India
138
Design & Culture
Design & culture in the BoP Domain Annemiek van Boeijen many constraints such as finance, resources, skills and legislation students face in BoP projects are challenging; they feel provoked to be more creative, enterprising and focused. It is very motivating to support them, giving them the opportunity to learn much about themselves. They get the chance to develop an open mind and position their own truths and ideas into other perspectives, which are very important competences for designers. I believe that experience abroad teaches us about our own cultural values and practices and gives us food for thought about both differences and commonalities. As a student said ‘It is a life long experience!’. One of the main differences encountered by students in …..local habits, shared by a group…. photo: Toon Fey
BoP projects is the difference in culture. The cultural anthropologist Geert Hofstede (2005) defined culture as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours and artefacts that the members of a society use to cope with their world and with one another (2005). The people that we consider as the BoP are members of cultures that differ much from the cultures we live in. Culture is manifested
Travelling is very common these days, at least for those who
in relationships between people. And products play an
can afford to. People are travelling all around the world,
important role in the mediation of those relationships. New
looking for opportunities to make a fortune, escaping from
designs such as social network applications (Facebook
existing life, and looking for adventure. Travellers learn
and LinkedIn) clearly illustrate their role as mediator, but
from what is different and common, always comparing that
also a simple shape of a table, e.g. a round one protects
what they come across on their travels to what they know.
informality and a rectangular one may support hierarchy. Designs can either support or question those relationships.
The students featured in this book have all travelled to the country of the intended users of their designs. The
139
To define functions and form of a new product or product
service system designers need to understand how their intended users will give meaning to the product, and how the new product will influence their social system. How people give meaning to products depends highly on the culture where they live in. O N TE XT
form of an onion:
C
A L C O NT LT UR C U S Y MB OL S E X T
Culture reveals in different layers, by Hofstede represented in the
HE R OE S R IT UA L S
Symbols: Words, gestures, images, and objects manifested in a
VA L UE S
specific group such as consumer products, services, art, fashion,
PR AC
T IC E
S
dialect. Heroes: People - alive or dead, real or fiction – that have a specific meaning for a group of people, such as Nelson Mandela for the world, queen Beatrix for the Netherlands, the chief of a village. Rituals: Collective activities, not (just) to fulfil a technical
Onion model of Geert Hofstede 1. Hofstede G. (2005), Cultures and organizations, software of the mind. New York: McGraw-Hill
function, but because of a social interest for the group such as a wedding ceremony, praying before dinner. Values: A collective tendency to prefer a certain course of events
In our school students are taught a holistic design
above another one, expressed by qualifications such as good-bad,
approach, studying the context of the intended users
dirty-clean, ugly-beautiful.
from different perspectives: technological, economical,
Design & Culture
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain
entrepreneurial, physical, socio-cultural... For the last Although products are part of the outer layer, the symbols, they
one cultural theory from other disciplines (psychology,
are directly related to the inner layers. Therefore, designers should
anthropology and management) can help formulating
understand all layers. Our students have to put in extra effort to
relevant
understand underlying values that explain differences and at the
dimensions for instance can help to ask design relevant
same time study the context as they are used to (see figure).
questions, for instance about how the design should
research
questions.
Hofstede’s
cultural
mediate hierarchy in a group. Questions that might then
140
be relevant could be; Who will be the owner of the product? How could the product affect the status of the user among his/her peers? To find the right questions and the answers students need to do research in the local context of their intended users. However, the research methods they learned are mainly developed in and for Western situations and some tools and techniques do not work as intended in a BoP context. For instance participants in a contextmapping session may not feel comfortable to give their personal opinion, especially when in their culture community opinion is considered of more value than the opinion of an individual. In these cases, a group brainstorm session as commonly practiced in Europe will not work as expected. Therefore, the experiences of students presented in this book are of great value; they help us to understand their cultural barriers and give us opportunities to improve our design methods and teaching. I would like to end my deliberations by emphasizing that culture is just one of the many aspects of a BoP design project. Culture stresses the differences between groups of people, but there are also universal and inherited principles that lead to global shared solutions, and there are personal differences everywhere that require individual solutions, wherever your location in the economic pyramid.
141
142
Photo: Stephen Boom
143
Boats Cambodia
144
€
Company
Graduation date
Delft University of Tech.
Nov 27, 2006
Knowledge Gaps in Product Development Yu-Kuan Chang Multinational Corporations (MNCs) increasingly develop new business models, products, and services to satisfy the needs in new markets. From urban to rural areas, emerging markets have extremely diverse groups of consumers with different needs. In this project, the strategies of seven multinational companies were analyzed in a case study research. The companies included were Philips, VIA, Haier, Motorola, Intel, Microsoft, and BenQ. The objective of the project was to learn how MNCs identify their roles and opportunities in emerging markets, and how they develop new products and strategies for these markets. Within the project, there was a particular focus
Yu-Kuan Chang took seven MNCs as case studies to gather their experience and knowledge to learn for future product development for the BoP.
on how MNCs develop new products for people who earn less than three dollars per day. This segment represents the majority of the population in emerging markets.
Interviews with Managers The data was gathered through interviews with MNC managers who are influential to the company’s emerging market strategies and innovation processes.
Twelve
VIA: Bridging the Digital Divide
interviews with participants from seven MNCs were
VIA seeks to develop a sustainable bridge over the digital divide of the
conducted to collect knowledge and practical experiences.
80% of the world population that do not have access to the internet.
Wihin each case, aspects of motivation, strategy, innovation
Therewith, the company makes vast information, education and
process, difference, difficulty, challenge, etc were analyzed
commercial resources available and thus empowers many people in the
and reported on. Some examples of the results for three
BoP. Their approach to emerging markets is based on four objectives:
case studies are described in the boxes spread over these
· New markets: beyond ownership to access;
pages.
· New environments: beyond city comfort to rural remoteness;
The results reveal that similar motivations to enter the
· New usage models: from “one-to-one” to “one-to-many”;
BoP market can lead to various product strategies and
· New products: from PCs to PHD appliances.
development processes. The motivation on corporate social
145
responsibility is required to support the projects which aim at the Base of Pyramid (BoP). These types of projects cannot only be evaluated by short-term return on investment, but need to be sustained by long-term visions on social return on investment as well.
Intel: Breaking the Vicious Cycle Intel identified a vicious circle in emerging markets. The cycle of less access to technology leading to less productivity and knowledge; this in turn leads to less personal and business wealth. Intel believes that by investing in technology, this
Challenges in Innovation for the BoP
cycle can be broken, and the emerging markets can be
The major challenges within innovation process include
opened up to sustainable growth.
the opportunity identification, front-end research, product introduction and delivery. Most challenges arise because of the unfamiliarity with the local context and the distinct
The vicious cycle of lacking technology is broken by Intel’s approach to invest in technology to increase wealth in the BoP.
infrastructure in emerging markets. Although MNCs have strong global resources and networks, a sustainable local enterprise network is necessary for MNCs to interact with local the communities. Non-Governmental Organizations play a vital role in the process in which they intend to approach consumers at the BoP. This project aimed to gather the best practises of all the MNCs. However, a general strategy for emerging markets could not be identified. This knowledge can be shared for learning and future activities in the BoP. Microsoft Research: Pay-As-You-Go Concepts The ‘flexGo’ is a flexible alternative to traditional PC financing. It is a new concept to make PC’s affordable for medium to low income communities by providing financing options for buying a PC. By doing ethnographic research to understand the local context, Microsoft research is able to develop ICT technology for the BoP. They believe this single method can work in most emerging markets. Therefore they encourage their researchers to work at BoP communities. The high level of uncertainty increases the importance of several prototyping and user testing cycles before marketing the cheap PC.
146
€
Company
Graduation date
Sharepeople (EYE) , Pradan
Nov 10, 2006
Reeling Machine for Silk Yarn Producers Annemarie Mink PRADAN, an Indian NGO, attempts to reduce the vulnerability of socio-economically disadvantaged communities. They organize poor women into savings and credit groups, and develop locally suitable sectoral activities to expand economic opportunities in the hands of poor families. One of their activities introduced in the villages of Jharkhand and Bihar is the Tasar Silk reeling project. Being a unique silk that grows in the wild, Tasar silk currently lacks an own identity, as opposed to traditional cultivated ‘Mulberry silk’. Also, traditional technology, inefficient production processes and exploitation by traders and money lenders have crippled the activity of Tasar silk production. Reeling is done by using a ‘reeling-cum-twisting’ machine which produces coarse yarn and a re-reeling machine, which takes care of re-reeling the yarn onto a standardized re-reel
3D models of the reeling machine (left) and the re-reeling machine (right)
drum. Mink aimed to develop a re-design of the existing ‘reeling-cum-twisting’ machines. Lack of quality control, safety and proper ergonomics are the barriers.
Re-design of the Reeling Machine The main problem of the existing machine is lack of quality control. Thickness, twist and colour vary widely, which makes it difficult to establish a good quality standard for the produced yarn. Therefore, entrepreneurs struggle to get a good price for their yarn. Also, the machine has a lot of unprotected moving parts, which cause concerns for the safety of the workers. The machine is driven by human powered pedalling, is noisy and has a fixed height, which all cause ergonomics problems. The costs of the machine are high in relation to its yarn production. Second prototype of the reeling machine during user testing
147
Together with PRADAN, Mink developed a number
www.icco.nl www.pradan.net www.sharepeople.nl of criteria for the re-design. First criterion is to maintain
investment. Mink calculated the estimated cost of the
a constant reeling speed, lessen physical problems and
re-design and the future profit for the silk reelers. She
enable a table-sized tool. Also, the machine should include
estimated that reelers can produce 1,9 times more yarn than
a quality control mechanism and independently driven
with the existing machines. Which means that reelers will
spindles should enable lines to continue in case one of the
increase their profit from 56 Rupees to 104 rupees a day.
four yarn lines breaks. The introduction of a motor and
Both from user and yarn production process evaluation,
quality control brings extra costs, which must be nullified by
Mink concluded that the machines are safer, more energy
an increased quality and/or output of yarn. Mink divided the
efficient, more time efficient, more user-friendly, have
functions of the reeling machine into sub-problems using
higher yield and the yarn produced from the machine is of
a morphological map. The main functions of the machine
a better quality.
were: combining filaments, insertion of twist, taking up yarn, separate twisted and non-twisted yarn, spreading yarns on take-up package, establishing transmission, separate driving take-up package and integrate re-reeling. Mink developed product concepts based on three different techniques: non-integrated re-reeling, indirect integrated re-reeling and direct integrated re-reeling. The concept of indirect integrated re-reeling was chosen based on the expected simple usage and production and because this concept offers the possibility of producing a new type of yarn that opens up new markets. The yarn is guided and easy to control and reach in this concept. Prime advantage of the concept is the estimated high yarn production rate. Mink materialized the concept, which resulted in fully detailed design and a prototype was built in a local workshop.
Update After graduation, Mink was hired by the Dutch development organization ICCO to finish the project and produce a second, smaller and cheaper prototype. A student from the faculty of Mechanical Engineering was selected to help with improving both the machines. Mr. Rahmouni did a great job in helping to optimize both the machines and together they went to India to build the second prototypes. The outcome was two smaller, cheaper, even more energy-efficient and good working machines, understandable for the reeler and the manufacturer. Rahmouni will graduate soon on the improvements of the re-design of the reeling machines. The second generation prototypes are being adjusted to perfection and then a test-series of thirty machines will run in a newly established reeling centre. If this is all working well, the machines will be taken in full production and
Safe, Efficient and User-Friendly
replace the currently used machines. Subsequently, the
An important aspect of developing products for the BoP
machines will directly contribute to the improvement of the
market, is the necessity for affordability and return on
womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s working comfort and to their income. Improvement
â&#x201A;Ź
of income contributes directly to their livelihoods.
148
Company
Graduation date
Impact
Sept 21, 2006
Support Tool for the Chinese Village Doctor Marion de Groot Every Chinese village has a village doctor. These are low educated villagers that have received a basic medical course, but function as a general practitioner. While they
This current doctor set does not include more sophisticated tools. Next to that, village doctors do not have appropriate medical knowledge, nor contact with experts.
know their patients well, they have very little contact with more educated doctors, and no access to up-to-date medical information resources. This project aimed at developing a support tool to provide the village doctors access to medical information, guide them with medical decisions and link them to the national medical network.
Barefoot Doctors The Chinese healthcare system is built up of tiers: 3rd tier (1000 beds, 2300 doctors), 2nd tier (650 beds, 600 doctors) and 1st tier hospitals (50 beds, 100 doctors) and the rural The LifeBox network involves information sharing and distribution througout the network.
Community Healthcare Points (CHP). The CHPs are manned by an average of two village doctors, or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;barefoot doctorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. In 2004, 95% of the Chinese villages had a village clinic, counting up to an average of one doctor per thousand rural inhabitants. However, they often have received only basic medical training and have little contact with the urban hospitals and up-to-date medical information. The main problems De Groot focussed on are a lack of (quality) tools, appropriate medical knowledge, counter-effective behavior of rural population and the small budgets rural hospitals receive. The goal of De Grootâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s project is to improve the quality of this village doctor by developing a support tool. The company Impact in Breda developed a selfmonitoring system for diabetics in the Netherlands: the set-top box. The company saw potential in developing
149
this system for the village doctors in China. The Lifebox,
diagnoses. The reasons to use the box are the availability
as the support tool is called, provided the starting point
of a TV in almost every community healthcare point and
for the product development process. The design problem
the familiarity of the doctors with using a remote control.
consisted out of understanding the context of healthcare in
Lifeboxes are connected to (local) servers and hospitals via
Chinese villages and developing a dedicated interaction and
the phone network. This enables the sharing and updating
implementation strategy.
of information throughout the network of medical facilities.
Product Guidelines During the development, De Groot focused on trust between doctor, patient and product. She developed guidelines for the product based on context research and interviews from general practitioners. Based on context research she formulated guidelines
The software of the LifeBox has three sections: a patient guide, supporting the doctor with diagnosing patients, an education section providing course material from the higher level hospitals or the district and an email box. The e-mail box can contain messages from all the parties involved in the network, keeping the doctor up-to-date.
such as ‘the introduction of a new tool can be compared to other tools the doctor uses. Since these are trusted, the tool will be trusted as well’ and ‘the doctor should be able to operate independently of the product’. General practitioners were interviewed to gain insight in how the village doctors could be supported with useful information. These interviews resulted in a number of guidelines for the product such as ‘information should be organized around symptoms of diseases, to enable undereducated doctors to find the right information quickly’ and ‘the product should end up with differential diagnosis and indicate the probability of each possible diagnosis’.
The LifeBox The product supports access to medical information, communication with educated doctors and inclusion in the national healthcare network. The LifeBox can store patients’ health history and help the doctor navigate through the
With the LifeBox village doctors have access to medical information, contact with educated doctors and inclusion in the national healthcare network.
150
€
Company
Graduation date
Philips Research
August 31, 2006
Design of a Malaria Diagnostics Device Cathelijne Huis in ‘t Veld Worldwide, up to 500 million clinical cases of malaria occur every year, causing up to 2 million deaths. Amongst these deaths are mainly young children. Currently, the gold standard for diagnosis of malaria is microscopic research (the best method available). This is a reliable method, but trained microscopists are needed. Other methods that are easier to perform are less reliable, cannot identify all species, are more expensive or the tropical climates easily influence their reliability. Researchers
at
Philips
Research,
Care
&
Health
applications develop techniques that can make the diagnosis as reliable as microscopic research, independent of the skills of the operator and climatic conditions and are either portable or non-invasive. To develop a successful product, more knowledge must be gained to better understand the context of malaria diagnosis. Consequently, Cathelijne Huis in ‘t Veld aimed to develop a concept for a malaria diagnosis Rendering of the computer model made of the malaria diagnosis device.
device for the Indian context, in cooperation with Manipal University. Next to the context research and design of a concept, she also evaluated the BoP protocol of Stuart Hart with respect to usage by students and Philips employees.
Alternative Medicins for Malaria After the kick-off in the Netherlands, Huis in ‘t Veld continued her literature and context research in India. The healthcare service in India can be divided in three levels (see graduation project of Jon Rodriguez). In India there are many more types of healthcare than allopathic healthcare. Ayurvedic medicine as well as homeopathic medicine plays an important role in the
151
www.philips.com
medical market in India. For malaria this means that
Quick Malaria Diagnosis
allopathic medicine comes across most initial cases. When
During her stay in India, Huis in ‘t Veld developed design
the disease is in the second or third stage and the patient
solutions. The malaria diagnosis device should work
suffers from repetitive fever attacks, some people approach
according to the technique of the automated microscope.
ayurvedic or homeopathic medicine. Allopathic medicine
Integration in malaria control programs is needed to reach
generally makes most use of electronic equipment for both
as many people as possible. This meant that the main users
diagnostic as well as treatment purposes. Doctors rely a
are Auxiliary Nurse Midwifes (ANM) and mass screening
great deal on electronic devices. In the case of ayurvedic
teams.
healthcare almost the same methods are being used for
The main function of the device was to “enable a
diagnosis as allopathic medicine. It is mainly the treatment
minimally instructed user in India to quickly state the
that differs. Instead of generating large and concentrated
diagnosis of malaria, independent of any other facilities”.
doses of the effective drug, the complete natural form is
After the analysis Huis in ‘t Veld proceeded with concept
being given to the patient. In this way the drugs are less
development and optimization in the Netherlands. The
toxic but the healing process takes longer.
concept had to conform to criteria of technology (the
There are approximately 156 different species of
automated
microscope),
construction,
safety,
data
Plasmodium. Four are known to affect humans. Malaria
communication, comfort, aesthetics and costs. During the
is treated in 5 phases. Since both allophatic and traditional
development stage, potential users were involved to ensure
medicine have a common way of diagnosing malaria, the
relevance and usability of the final product. This resulted in
project focussed on this part of the malaria care process.
a portable device that can be transported and used by the ANMs and in mass screening activities.
Five phases of malaria medical care.
152
€
Company
Graduation date
Personal Water Purifier
Vestergaard Fransen
August 4, 2006
Roelie Bottema For 1.1 billion people, access to safe drinking water is limited. Poor people suffer most, because they cannot afford to buy drinking water. This results in more illnesses and more pressure on women to transport the water. The Danish company Vestergaard Frandsen (VF) has developed LifeStraw, a product that purifies surface water for personal use with filters. People can carry the mobile LifeStraw anywhere, which is complemented by another water purifying product at home. For Ghana, LifeStraw could be lifesaving since 38% of the people do not have access to
Lifestraw Child is a smaller and slightly adapted version of the current LifeStraw. The child can drink by sucking, squeezing or tumbling the bottle, or a combination of these.
safe drinking water and the majority of the people live in rural areas. Roelie Bottema investigated several aspects of the implementation of LifeStraw, focused on children under the age of five. Also, she developed instruction manuals and posters. In this way health workers can instruct people better and more complete about the use and other issues concerning the LifeStraw.
Drinking Her user research demonstrated that people are not used to pay for their water or treat their drinking water. Water is rare and often polluted and women have to walk far to get the water, especially in the dry season. Even though people are aware of that, they do not have a choice rather than The problem with drinking 'dirty' water is visualized. Also, the actions for using and maintaining the products are explained step by step.
153
using this water. Regarding LifeStraw, users did notice they need it: ‘everyone should have one’ and ‘I do not have diarrhoea any more’. Also, the appearance appealed to them and they associated status to the product user. When asked about
www.vestergaard-frandsen.com
what LifeStraw actually did, people mentioned ‘It retracts
named LifeStraw Child, a flexible bottle and a special
diseases from the water’ and ‘it stops dirt’. Participants often
mouthpiece. The bottle has a one-way valve that lets air
talked of LifeStraw being a good product, but not everyone
in but not out. On the transparent bottle, a volume scale
could afford it ($2.50). Also, they were afraid that the
was added to give feedback to the mothers and a writable
product would be stolen.
area included to personalize it or write the expiry date as
From this part of the research, Bottema recommended to
reminder. Using a smaller LifeStraw makes the product
take care of disposal and replacement aspects. The existing
easier to handle for children. In LifeStraw Child a valve is
LifeStraw could be improved by enabling personalization
added which prevents the water to flow out of LifeStraw
and giving feedback on the level of sucking power and
Child after sucking it up to a certain height. When pressure
effect of cleaning.
is put on the valve, it does let air through, an aspect that
Vulnerable Children
makes the product easier to clean by blowing.
In her research, Bottema observed that children younger
Instructions to Health Workers
than three years could not handle LifeStraw by themselves.
In addition to developing LifeStraw Child, Bottema created
They do not understand how to suck the water. The child
instruction material for usage of both LifeStraw and
does not understand why it does not get water in its mouth
LifeStraw Child. She first concluded from the user research
immediately after sucking. Also, maneuvering the cup and
which elements should be included. Focus should be on
LifeStraw at the same time is complicated for them. Because
the relation of clean drinking water and health, what the
small children are most vulnerable for waterborne diseases
LifeStraw product line does, and how to use and maintain
and LifeStraw is unsuitable, Bottema concluded that a child
the products. Expiration and personal use are also aspects
version of the LifeStraw should be developed suitable for
that should be stressed. She developed a manual for health
the children. Ideas were generated in brainstorm sessions, with
workers a
large
and poster
Vestergaard Frandsen employees in Ghana and also with
for usage while
students at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering,
instructing people
Delft. Bottema elaborated on the ideas and made compromises on price, feasibility and other requirements. Two concepts were developed based on working principles and production of the existing LifeStraw. The final proposal consists of a slightly modified LifeStraw,
An instruction manual for both health workers as users of the LifeStraw was designed.
154
Photo: Ferry
155
Girl Getting Water in Favela Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
156
€
Company
Graduation date
Delft University of Tech.
July 29, 2006
Knowledge Framework: Design4Billions Mijntje de Caluwé The strategy and business development for emerging markets is growing; starting with the theory of Prahalad, while the development of knowledge on product development for the Base of the Pyramid is still lagging behind. Enterprises and universities have difficulties in developing products for the emerging markets: a lack of structured or systematically ordered information inhibits efficient and effective product development, also referred to as Design4Billions in this project. Design4Billions aims at a market of approximately 4 billion people who earn less than four dollars a day. The goal of the project of Mijntje de Caluwé was to develop a knowledge framework for product development for emerging markets. It should provide a knowledge source for projects at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering. Knowledge from experts was gathered on three topics:
Screenshot of the online knowledge framework on the ‘stakeholders’ page.
knowledge, product development process and contextual aspects. A fourth was added after the interviews: risk factor. Product development for the BoP is carried out by a number of companies. Yet little public knowledge exists on how to deal with design related problems for emerging markets. Through a series of explorative interviews with eight experts, De Caluwé gathered knowledge and insights. These were integrated in an online knowledge portal (www.design4billions.com).
Designer Related Knowledge Specific design related knowledge was subdivided in four aspects: attitude, experience, information and skills. The two main perspectives of designers were either an engaged,
157
www.design4billions.com
personal attitude towards the BoP, or an accidental
3 Designers4Billions and their main focus points are
entering of this market segment. Individual experiences
mentioned and described in the categories: knowledge,
are important to designers, and are related to the product brand, the role of the participant and the project context. For information gathering, multinational companies rely
context, process and risk. 4 Collaboration is stressed as the means to achieve successful product development in a BoP arena.
on consumer research, while small and medium sized
Additional features are provided in the form of ‘tips &
enterprises use Non-Governmental Organizations and the
tricks’, a BoP library, an inspiration page including links to
World Heath Organization to gain insight into their target
interesting websites, and a list of definitions.
groups. For designers in the BoP, their social skills are most valuable, an open mind, flexibility and communication are key factors. The product development process relates to five aspects: strategy
formulation,
design
requirements,
product
The Delft Innovation Model adjusted for emerging markets.
development, market introduction and product in use. The process bottlenecks are the design requirements and the products in use.
Framework The perspective of the designer was central while structuring the knowledge for future use by designers. The online knowledge database contains all the information that is gathered during the research project. The framework organizes knowledge on product development for the BoP in four main ‘chapters’: 1 Global village, which contains general information about the place Design4Billions takes in a global world context. 2 The stakeholders of product development for the BoP are mentioned and described: Business, Humanitarian, Local enterprises, Knowledge, Technological, User, Micro financial, Governmental and Designer.
158
€
Company
Graduation date
Bosch & Siemens
July 7, 2006
Product Service System for Plant Oil Stove Elselien Epema
Car Wash Scenario
New Business Do It Yourself Scenario
In this scenario the PSS is a system that takes care of everything. The POS user only has to address the need
In this scenario the PSS provides the tools and needs through a new system, but without helping the users actively
Service
Do It Yourself
Vintage Scenario
Familiar Scenario
In this scenario the PSS turns a current business into a combination with the POS supply and service
In this scenario the PSS turns a current business into a combination with the POS supply and service
Existing Businesses
Several scenarios for implementation of the plant oil stove were made. The most promising scenario was the “vintage scenario”, shown in the lower left quadrant.
In developing countries, indoor air pollution and deforestation of land are the two main environmental and health problems occurring due to the use of biomass fuel for household energy. Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group (BSH) and the University of Hohenheim have developed a plant oil cooking stove. Plant oil is abundant in rural areas of many developing countries, so this market is very promising for implementing the stove. A pilot project with a non-profit focus was executed in the Philippines. Elselien Epema developed a business plan to implement the plant oil stove in the Philippine market. She wrote a business plan and created a financial tool to demonstrate the financial feasibility of the stove implementation plan.
POTC
The Product Service System includes distribution, marketing and after sales of the plant oil stove and supplements. All partners should be organized as shown in the figure.
159
Product Service System
www.bsh-group.com
Safety, Time and Convenience
The system for the distribution and service centre of plant
Several households in the Philippines have been using
oil stoves could be seen as a product service system. Both
prototypes of the plant oil stove. After a year, research
products, including the stove and fuels, and service, such
concluded that the advantages of the stove for the users
as training and maintenance, should be delivered. To show
are safety, time, convenience and the package-size fuel.
potential systems, Epema made several scenarios, each
Also the uniqueness and use of new technology makes
consisting of goals and ideas for implementation.
it interesting for Philippines to use the stove. A plan to
The most promising scenario was the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;vintage scenarioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;,
market the stove successfully should focus on these points,
where a current business is modified into a combination of
according to Epema. However, affordability is always the
stove supplier and service provider. By using an existing
first priority.
business, the implementation would be easier and more
In her research, she focused on understanding the
effective towards end users.
target group needs and possibilities. The target group
The chain included three parties: the plant oil technology
is not aware of all predefined benefits such as improved
centre, distribution and service centres and a cooperative.
health and environmentally friendly. She also surveyed
The centres are responsible for marketing the stoves and
potential business partners or competitors and the current
service and are set up by local entrepreneurs. Each selling
local market. Switching from wood and charcoal to plant
point of the cooperative has a plant oil tank with a tap
oil would raise initial costs for both restaurants and
system. Consumers bring their containers and fill these
households; however, switching from LPG to plant oil would
with oil. No packaging is needed and the consumer can buy
be more profitable, because of reducing energy costs and
exactly the amount he prefers.
initial investment.
Finance
Epema also extracted important business model factors from literature. For business partners it is important to organize clear local communication, take care of the relationships and look for partners close to the local people. All products should be affordable to the target group, promotion, location and opening hours adjusted to local conditions. High quality after-sale service would improve the use of the stove as well.
Product and Service
Product prices needs to be adjusted to the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial possibilities by subsidizing by BSH. Also, users can pay in instalments. The financial model predicts that entrepreneurs can earn twice the minimum monthly income for a fulltime employee. The financial model is translated into a financial tool, to visualize the influence of decisions and the sensitivity of variables. Also, the subsidy and selling prices are defined. Epema recommends to lower the material costs, to localise production and to increase the lifespan of replaceable parts.
160
€
Company
Graduation date
Movendi FDN and MAK-D
July, 2006
Tricycle for Disabled Entrepreneurs Integral Design Project - GhanaMoves Executed by Rutger Bonsel, Sietse Cieraad, Stéphanie Reintjens and Imke Schepers The Movendi Foundation, a Dutch Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), aimed at helping physically disabled in emerging markets, has projects in Kakinada, India. The NGO also has founded several workshops in mobility equipment, which are owned by local people. A team of the
The two concepts, hip-spot and high-spot, were developed in cooperation with the local metal workshop Mak-D in Ghana.
second year Master course Integral Design Project searched for new product-market opportunities for one of the local metal workshops in Ghana, called MAK-D. MAK-D Metal Works is a small metal workshop in MadinaAccra and has one owner and seven employees. They focus on the production of fences, furniture, vendor carriers and tricycles for disabled. Due to a lack of financial support, the company is not able to produce tricycles anymore. The aim of this project was to support MAK-D in growing its business in a sustainable manner. They approached the problem by developing a new product that integrates the interests of the company, the customers, the users of the product and society.
Employing Disabled People The team did market research in the medical sector, as well as in several other sectors. They investigated the situation of disabled children in Ghana, they visited rehabilitation centres in Kumasi and Accra and interviewed local people of Ghana. From this explorative research they drew conclusions that directed their process: Prototypes of the concept were developed to enable user testing in the context of intended use.
161
• The situation of young disabled children in Ghana is
www.movendifoundation.org
quite good, due to efforts of Liliane Funds and Nsawam
donate the vendor carriers as an act of charity. In this
Orthopedic Centre.
scenario, the disables people would become owner of the
• The Ghanaian society is annoyed by disabled who are begging on the street. • Only a small portion of the disabled is actually begging, the major part of the disabled population is willing to work but cannot find employment. The team also identified that there is severe competition in the metalwork sector, especially in fences and furniture. The sector is characterized by copy and imitation. And there are no other producers of vendor carriers and tricycles in Madina. From this the team concluded that: • MAK-D is the only producer of mechanical products with wheels in its competitive environment. • The trade sector is a lively sector; a major part of the Ghana economy is based on trading, where vendor carriers are common. From the external research a strategic product-market opportunity was formulated for MAK-D: Design of equipment that enables the disabled to participate in trade business.
vendor carrier and can become independent entrepreneurs.
High-Spot Tricycle Two concepts were developed in cooperation with MAK-D: The ‘Hip-spot’ and the ‘High-spot’. Both concepts were made into prototypes using the means available in the workshop. The prototypes were tested by end-users, after which the team choose the ‘high-spot concept’. The trade-tricycle ‘High-Spot’ enables disabled people in Ghana to involve in street-trade, the sector that provides employment to the major part of the population of Ghana. Before they were not able to do so, however more organizations are stimulating participation of disabled. The implementation of the product also had to attract attention for all MAK-D’s activities and gave a boost to the overall business of MAK-D. The team developed a step-wise marketing plan for successfully launching the High-Spot. The implementation plan is divided into five parts: the marketing strategy,
Selling or Donating?
product strategy, price strategy and financial issues, channel
From a search for potential customers two possible scenarios
management and communication strategy.
and target groups emerged. The first scenario was to find
Furthermore, the team attracted the company Fanmilk
companies that sell provisions and are willing to sell their
to be seriously interested in supporting the disabled to get
products trough disabled people using the MAK-D vendor
employment. Consequently, a pilot test was intiated with
carrier. In this case, the disabled will act as vendors that sell
three vendor carriers to sell their products. This pilot was
the companies goods, and are thus indirectly employed by
done in cooperation with the Ghana Society of Physically
the company.
Disabled and Hope for Life and was enthusiastically received
The second scenario was to search for other companies,
€
by the local stakeholders
NGOs or service clubs, rotaries etc. These parties would
162
Company
Graduation date
Inbar
June 21, 2006
Human Powered Bamboo Splitting Tool Willem Glasbergen Bamboo grows in many parts of the world. Many of these
Strength/Mass per Volume Stifness/Mass per Volume
Compared to other natural materials, bamboo has a very high strength to stiffness ratio.
areas have in common that a large part of the inhabitants live in poverty. This project was part of the objectives of INBAR, International Organization for Bamboo and Rattan, which aims to develop rural livelihoods, environments and businesses worldwide through bamboo and rattan. One of the possible applications of bamboo is in the production of matchsticks. INBAR developed a patented chemical process for producing the burning heads, yet the sticks are still produced manually and inefficiently. Willem Glasbergen aimed to develop a more efficient way to produce the sticks from bamboo in the local context and with local means.
Bamboo Splitting
Concrete
Steel
Wood
Bamboo
Glasbergen analysed the results of a previous project at the faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, and performed a number of tests to gain more insight into bamboo splitting. Bamboo is a tall grass that belongs to the tribe called ‘Bambusae’. Compared to other natural materials, bamboo has a very high strength to stiffness ratio. This makes it useful for a multitude of applications, from construction of large buildings to incense sticks and especially suited for matchsticks. Currently, the splitting of bamboo into matchsticks is done by hand using a knife, called the ‘dao’ (see figure on the left). This process is labour intensive
The Bamboo Splitter is very efficient for local production of matchsticks. First a slice tool is used to produce long slices of bamboo. After that, this manual tool is used to produce sticks from the long slices.
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and inefficient compared to the efficiency of the patented process of attaching the burning heads to the sticks. The goal of the tool was to produce good quality matchsticks, produce them more efficiently, adjusted to the local context and produced locally.
www.inbar.int
The focus was on the relation between the tool and the user, the production and transportation of the tool and
Using the Bamboo Splitting Tool for Matchsticks
the economics of producing such a tool on a larger scale.
1 Bamboo is inserted into a feeder. The feeder has a spring
Therefore, a second analysis phase was done in India
that pushes the bamboo into the machine, and in front of
(Andhra Pradesh) to understand the local context of rural
the rotating blade.
India. The initial concept was redesigned and resulted in three concepts. One of the concepts was chosen and a prototype was built by a local workshop. The prototype was also tested in India after which the results of the project were documented in the Netherlands.
Agarbathi Production
2 A crank rotates the tool. This direct human powered rotation can also be replaced by bicycle power. 3 The slices are inserted into the machine, in a queue, which is pushed towards the blade using gravitation as a force. 4 Sticks are produced with the same process as described in step 3.
The concept chosen is based on the principle of a blade mounted on a large steel fly-wheel. The wheel rotates in a case and has two openings for feeding the bamboo material. Both bamboo halves and slices can enter the machine at the same time. The slices and matchsticks will be collected inside the wheel. The production of sticks is done in several steps, shown in the box on the right. The process of building the machine in India resulted in very useful information with regard to the local production facilities. One of the most important conclusions of the
The prototype of the human powered bamboo matchstick splitter demonstrated the potential for local production. On the left the feeder mechanisms are visible; on the right the rotation crank is shown. The Bamboo Splitter is very efficient for local production of matchsticks. First a slice tool is used to produce long slices of bamboo. Next, people can use this manual tool to produce sticks from the slices.
project is to use a machine for producing slices and a smaller manual tool to produce sticks. This will enable the production of low cost matchsticks and meanwhile will generate additional employment opportunities. For example, the agarbathi (incense sticks) production in India is similar to the production of matchsticks and can be
â&#x201A;Ź
improved as well.
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Company
Graduation date
Helps International
June 16, 2006
Improving the Climate of Cooking Areas Marike Bijtelaar The traditional use of firewood as energy source for cooking
The ONIL
is popular among poor Guatemalans. However, the open fire
Stove has an
results in burns, eye problems and respiratory problems.
insulated ceramic
Helps International, a US Non-Profit Organization, developed
combustion
several wood combustion cooking stoves, resulting in a final
chamber that
concept with a chimney: the ONIL stove.
makes the fire
During the last five years of implementation of the stove,
burn hot enough
Helps evaluated the improved stoves. According to users
to consume the oil
the main benefit is saving firewood: 50-67% less than when
vapour, and thus
using open fires. However, 28% of the users still use open
uses all potential
fires for heating their homes and on special occasions.
wood energy.
Marike Bijtelaar traced the reasons for this and developed In order to make the idea of the tabletop work, the use of the current amount of radiation of the ONIL stove had to be optimized.
features for the ONIL stove to improve the usage.
Using Open Fire From user research, Bijtelaar formulated main reasons of using the open fire: it provides heat and drives off humidity. The social aspects of family gatherings and cooking large meals are also important. In some regions, people use the fire as a source of light. Other comments on the stove were the relatively small working and cooking space and continuous fire maintenance required. In the second part of the user research, she investigated the awareness of the people concerning the health problems. She concluded that the interviewed women are aware of the problems and disadvantages of open fires, but do not know an alternative solution. Bijtelaar concluded that solutions to improve the climate should be fixed, not influencing the cooking
Heating by radiation: The smoke gases are lead through a metal sheet radiator with a large surface area. When no space heating is needed, the normal chimney outlet is used.
165
activities, not produce any smoke, offer the possibility to gather around and decrease the use of firewood as energy
www.helpsintl.org
source.
Less Energy Demand Bijtelaar approached the problem with the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Trias Energeticaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; approach, starting with diminishing the energy demand. The second step is providing in the energy demand as much as possible with sustainable energy sources. The third step is using fossil fuels for the remaining energy demand. She summarized important aspects in a scoring card and analysed the energy demand for heating the cooking area. The scoring card lead to practical solutions, but Bijtelaar concluded that a demand for space heating remained, even with applying the solutions. After generating ideas, she categorized them and selected two directions: optimally using the radiative heat of the stove by gathering around it and using the heat of the smoke in the chimney. Main arguments: they do not require extra fuel, cooking performance is maintained and the stove body elements do not need adjustment. Both ideas were elaborated further, with detailing alternatives for every sub solution.
made a prototype of the heater with a flat back surface and tested this on a small scale. The second solution, a tabletop, can easily be placed around the stove and creates a social meeting, working, sitting and eating place close to the stove. When people gather close to the stove, the relatively small amount of radiative heat produced by the stove is optimally used. She designed two concepts, with the distinction based on the construction on the stove: stacking or clamping. Both concepts were prototyped and tested with women of the target group. The tests proved that the tabletop indeed invites people to sit closer to the stove. The chimney heater can produce space heating at the cooking area and Guatemalan were
able
women to
control
the valve system that produced
heat.
Also,
from the test results, Bijtelaar
recommended
Chimney Heater and Tabletop
further
The chimney heater can be placed on the stove instead of
of both features, and
the standard chimney. The heater uses the waste heat of
suggested
the chimney gases for space heating and can be switched
construction and shape
on and off by a valve system. The chimney pipe enters and
improvements.
development material,
leaves the heater at the bottom and the top of the heater, so the exhaust gases contact the complete surface of the chimney heater. Users could operate the heater by a valve placed inside the heater that controls the gas flow. Bijtelaar
With a prototype the functioning of the chimney heater to heat the cooking area was tested.
166
Photo: Linda Schnieders
167
Girls in Favelas Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
168
â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
Philips Domestic Appliances April 28, 2006
Safe Drinking Water Maria Nguyen Worldwide, 6000 children die every day due to water-related diseases. The average distance women in Asia and Africa have to walk for water is 6 kilometres. These two aspects are examples of typical problems that occur within the Base of the Pyramid (BoP). People at the BoP have to cope with these problems daily, while safe, sufficient, affordable, accessible and acceptable drinking water is a basic human right. The goal of this project was to make a sustainable design proposal for a safe drinking-water system that is adoptable by the BoP in India, fitting within the mission and scope of the new sustainable business initiatives of Philips
The redesign of the Water4Life concept included improvements on the closing of the lid, the ease of cleaning and the installation and maintenance of the filter. Details of the proposed solutions are shown at the right.
Domestic Appliances. The Water4life filter concept has been developed by DSM. This multinational company develops amongst others industrial chemicals and performance materials. They developed the filter membrane for the Water4life concept. This was incorporated into a product and tested in user research to obtain user insights. The product proposition for this project was based on the outcomes of this user research. Furthermore, for a successful adoption of the product by the target group, a well worked out implementation strategy was developed.
Water Filtering Potential users in India evaluated the Water4life concept. The research was carried out in cooperation with three Non-Governmental Organizations during twelve weeks in Pune and Madurai (villages and slums) in India with twenty participants. The research consisted of four parts: The add-on concept for existing water vessels was developed to fit on any water vessel available.
169
observation of current situation, usability tests, follow-
www.philips.com
up observation, and group evaluation discussions. The
difficulties with closing the lid and do not understand the
objectives were aimed at: usability insights regarding the
order of the actions they have to perform. Tests with the
Water4life prototype, gathering data about the performance
plastic prototype indicated that users do not understand
of the Water4life concept under local conditions and
how to use the valve and spill much water.
collecting user feedback.
After the introduction of the improved concept, Nguyen
Nguyen used the user research results to generate
held group discussions with local users. They resulted in
criteria for the product development phase. The concept
comments about the taste, smell and clearness of the water.
development resulted in two product proposals. The first
They also indicated a preference for stainless steel. She also
is an improved version of the existing Water4life water
found that the pumping action needed too much effort from
purifier. The second product proposal is based on the
the users and the maximum volume of the concept was too
observation of the multitude of water vessels existing in
small. An affordable price was determined on around 500
the Indian households, and is developed as an add-on to
INR (€10).
these vessels.
Entrepreneurial Women The main goal of the implementation strategy was to create awareness regarding water and health issues. Other important factors are the distribution route and the availability of after sales services. Some of the guidelines included ‘use of low-cost promotion tools’ and ‘training in product use’. The key to entering the Indian BoP community
Support/Coordination/after sales Product Payment/Fees Collection/Installments Awareness creation
Philips
is the entrepreneurial woman responsible for promotion, sales and after-sales service. Women are chosen for this
NGO
job because they are known and trusted by the community.
Local Goverment
Philips sales representative
The research in the current situation shows a strong preference for metal kitchenware, time-consuming water
community
SGH member
SGH
Micro finance Bank
practices and very little awareness regarding health & water. The usability test showed that users forget to use filter caps and do not press sides of the caps. The user
A schematic representation of the strategy shows the various stakeholders and their relations.
test with the metal prototype showed that people have
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â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
Adoptable Woodstove
Philips Consumer Lifestyle
April 4, 2006
Leonie Ideler
By using the Philips wood stove indoor air pollution could substantially decrease, therefore related health problems could decrease as well.
At the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) in India, cooking is one of the most time-consuming activities during the day. People at the BoP usually cook with solid fuels on simple, inefficient stoves that fill their houses with smoke. Philips has developed a woodstove which decreases the amount of health-damaging pollutants in solid fuel emissions. Ideler developed this idea towards a product proposal and an implementation strategy to increase the adoption chance of this product by the rural BoP in India. Also, she defined guidelines for conducting user research and designing products for the BoP. Analysing the Philips stove, it was found that fast cooking and less fuel consumption are achieved by the productâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s high
PROMOTION ROUTE
AWARENESS ROUTE Philips
All aspects for implementing training the Philips awareness consumer teaching Powerstove insights are covered in the four routes State government NGO of awareness, promotion, promotion production and funding finance. Every consumer route has its satisfaction specific tools and problems Anganwadi centres to reach its goal. Goal of the awareness > convince women > convince men routes is to communicate the negative Community long term health effects of smoke.
171
efficiency. A fan blowing heated air through the fire and the low mass are the main reasons for this high combustionand heat transfer efficiency. From previous projects and encountered barriers she formulated requirements for the product and implementation plan.
Stove Saves Money and Time To gain more insight into the current way of cooking and the interaction with the Philips prototype, she conducted user research in India. Twenty-four households tested the prototype for at least eight cooking sessions (four days). Although the response was very positive, it was concluded that some aspects of the product could still be improved. She also used consumer insights in the promotion strategy: the smokeless stove does not darken the walls and ceiling and eyes will not tear or get irritated. Also, less fuel consumption results in saving money. The problems encountered in the user research were divided
www.philips.com
into categories concerning safety, preparation of Indian
attention to the Philips woodstove and its benefits. Both the
bread and comfort of use. In solving these subproblems,
production and financial routes include local partnerships to
the focus was more on the urgent issues, leaving the more
simplify purchasing a Philips woodstove.
complex and less urgent for later on in the development
Tools to reach the goals are for example instalments,
process. Great attention was paid to user comfort, for
product demonstrations and leaflets, wall paintings and
example by improving the user interface of the stove.
posters. One of the most important tools in each route
Implementation of the Powerstove There are no successfully adopted products on the market to fill the gap between the traditional cook stove and the ‘clean’ and efficient LPG stove, which is too expensive for
is working with partnerships. By explaining the four Ps, namely product, price, place (distribution) and promotion, Ideler illustrated possible routes to plan the implementation in rural India.
the target group. Also, fuel availability is very unreliable,
Update
especially in rural areas. The implementation strategy should
After Ideler’s graduation project the woodstove has been
be well-designed to create a successful and sustainable
developed further. Philips expects to launch the woodstove
business around the new Philips Powerstove. The theory
in India in the first half of 2009. Recently a commercial pilot
of Prahalad was a dopted, by paying extra attention to
was completed in India, from which a great deal was learned.
distribution to reach the target group.
Unfortunately there were some delays in the project due to
Potential stakeholders located in India were identified to
a technical lifetime issue. This has recently been solved
help get information, products and services to the majority
and local production is currently being prepared for. Philips
of the target group. The most effective way for reaching the
realizes that a new market is about to be entered and that
target group is by using Anganwadi centres, who provide
their approach to marketing and distribution needs to be
service at the doorsteps of the community by trained health
modifyied; Philips is
personnel and can be seen as the Indian government’s
case and their go-to market strategy. As the initial focus
doorway into a village for its welfare programmes.
is on successfully launching the product in India, plans for
Covering all aspects of implementation, four routes were
currently optimizing their business
introduction in other countries have not been defined yet.
defined; awareness, promotion, production and financial routes include the various stakeholders involved and their
The visual feedback and interface was also improved.
actions needed to get the Powerstove to the consumer. The awareness route should focus on the negative effects of smoke caused by a traditional stove. Promotion should pay
172
Company
Graduation date
Delft University of Tech.
April, 2006
Water Supply in Slums:P.I.P.A. System Fernando Del Caro Secomandi Water supply in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is in
Local users and other stakeholders are mapped, including both proponents and opponents. Del Caro Secomandi noticed that most of the favelas are controlled by drug dealers or other armed militias, which influences the parties willing to be part of the system.
critical condition, especially for the poor. Even though approximately 90% of the population living in the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 752 slums (a.k.a. favelas) manage to be connected to the main water distribution infrastructure, the situation is far from sustainable. An alarming 10% of those living in the slum lack access to an improved source of water. The water supplier uses a purification process including tons of chemicals and produces waste that is thrown back in the river afterwards. The pumps that distribute the water through the city use enormous amounts of energy. Constant leakage and illegal connections consume about 50% of
Uphill water source
the clean water. The water supply company Cedae, looses Hybrid system
profit because they are not able to install water meters and consumers are not always able to pay.
P.I.P.A. System Provides Safe Water The P.I.P.A. System is an alternative for providing safe water. It converts rainwater into drinking water without using extra Floor level installation
energy or chemicals. The system is fully independent from
Setup of the P.I.P.A. system has many options, so each user can choose the most appropiate and effcient way of gathering rainwater.
other sources or expensive infrastructure and untrained users can operate it. The design is user-oriented and fits into the daily life of
Rapid granular filter
Porous ceramic filter
people seamlessly. Local culture, in particular the common kite playing of children, inspired the form. The collection surface can be rolled up, so people can still use the rooftop for normal activities. Also, the frame structure provides the opportunities for the addition of other products, such as security fences and clothes dryers. The operation is based on free and clean water from
System operation includes multi-stage filtration, storage and distribution.
173
the sky. Total costs are kept to a minimum by simple
a country to economic growth, improve current physical
construction, inexpensive technology and material use,
and immaterial infrastructure, and innovation at the Base
small installation costs and it rarely needs maintenance.
of the Pyramid can be profitable and transferable to other
It can be partially or even entirely produced within the
countries.
community, utilizing local labour and technologies, as well
It was concluded that PSS research should to a greater
as readily available materials.
extent focus on the opportunities that are present in the
The stakeholders of the system were mapped, both proponents and opponents. It was noticed that most
developing countriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; context, rather than trying to directly transfer literature knowledge.
of the favelas are controlled by drug dealers or other armed militias. Violence is a major issue to consider when developing products or services for use in favelas. He
assessed
alternative
business
models
on
environmental, socio-cultural and economic criteria. After a SWOT analysis he concluded a mixed-model of two proposals would be best. A local cooperative is formed with investments of Favela-Bairro, a major government program running with money from the Inter-American Development Bank, including the community association and a Non-Governmental Organization. After installing all
The collection surface can be rolled up to use the rooftop in another functionality. Additions to the structural frame are possible to enhance this, such as fences and clothes dryers.
P.I.P.A. systems, the cooperative will provide maintenance and additional accessories and services.
Literature Conclusions After analyzing the literature available on PSS and the design, a number of relevant issues dealing with the relationship between PSS and developing countriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; context were presented. These issues were categorized under drivers, benefits or opportunities. The opportunities that were found were: scanning the PSS context, anticipation of unsustainable technology application in the search of
174
€
Company
Graduation date
Contextualizing Products
Philips Design
February 2, 2006
Jon Rodriguez Sustainable business helps provide better healthcare solutions for the world’s poorest people. Creating products requires understanding of the context and the people. Philips had done research into this subject and has gathered a large amount of data through both professional and student projects. However, this data did not fit the specific designer’s informational needs during the product development process. Jon Rodriguez aimed to develop a design toolbox that provides insight into the healthcare context in rural India. First the boundaries of the project were explored. The tool should be used at the beginning of product
The developed tools combine both descriptive and experimental information which have been identitied as fundamental for getting insight into contexts that designers are not familiar with.
development to identify opportunities. Also, it should build on existing knowledge within Philips. Target audiences are design students and professionals as well as managers and technical developers. To visualize the different users, Rodriguez created personas, resulting in usage scenarios of the toolbox.
Three different personas have been developed for the test of the toolbox, one patient and two healthcare providers. The scenarios explain the interaction between the personas and put some of the problems in their context.
From a first exploratory workshop, it was concluded that professional designers as well as students need experiential information to design for an unfamiliar context. Secondly,
Indira, 40 is female Health Worker of Kaup for 10 years. Kaup is a village in Udupi district of the state Karnattaka. Background:
Indira has a husband and two sons, Sampath (15) and Santosh (24). Her husband works on a coconut field. Indira herself has lost 1 son which was special motivation for her to start the challenging work for Health Worker.
“This work has given me a life of dignity. I feel I am doing God’s work on earth. What can be more rewarding than saving babies?”
receives experiential information and interacts with other
But becoming a Health Worker hasn’t been an easy job. Indira had to learn reading and counting in order to start the training that took her 2 years in which she had to follow the special manual for female health workers.
people. The workshop gave hints to some interesting ideas
Indira also had to work hard to gain acceptance as a Health Worker in her community. She comes from a poor family and her work meant working with women from all classes and castes. This was a difficult proposition in the extreme feudal and patriarchal social system that Indira works in. Over time the quality of her work has won her acceptance and she has emerged as a leader amongst the women in the village.
to develop. The content and characteristics of the tools are visualized
‘One has to keep learning and not waste time”
in a pyramid (see figure on the left). All personas use
Everyday life and activities: Indira is a field Health Worker and divides her tasks between the field visits to the villages and the work at the centre.
the descriptive parts, such as the introductory overview.
In the field, she has to register and maintain maternity record of pregnant women, married women and children. She gives advice in family planning and creates awareness campaigns on the topic . She also gives vaccinations and conducts the deliveries of children. She diagnoses and gives treatment for minor diseases (fever, pains and vomiting) advised by the Community Health worker who is at every village and helps her directing to the people in need. When the diseases are not cured she refers to the doctors or hospitals. In the centre she collects and stores all the data gathered. She helps and assists the doctor in anti-natal care. She also conducts urine tests and gets blood samples from patients.
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getting insight in a context is a process, in which one
Relationship with others:
Indira is a real chatterbox, who loves to be surrounded by family and friends. She is a mother figure; clam, caring and loving. She is the first contact of the villagers with the healthcare services and she feeld big responsibility for it.
“The respect I get in the villages is more than in the hospital. I have a certain responsibility, when I arrive to the villages people say: the nurse has come!”
Experiential information should trigger idea generation. The Her job consists for a major part of conversations both on healthcare and social related topics
“ Doctors don’t want to stay in villages so it is up to us to find solutions to our health issues. After all we need to be reliant and cannot expect the government to provide for everything”
professional designer would use information in a workshop.
www.philips.com
Students, who eveluated this model, even wanted to
participants received the booklet with more information and
experience the complexities of the Indian rural healthcare
the login for the website.
situation by going to India.
Tools The final toolbox consists of several tools. The summary tool was an introductory presentation to Indian rural healthcare. Facts and figures are shown about India, and photographs of medical environments and service users provide insight in a global overview. A booklet was made to structure more profound information on the context. More background of this information was presented at a secured website, including papers on the topics. To experience the context, several tools were developed. Three video personas were developed; a patient, a nurse and a doctor. Then these the problems were put in their context by creating scenarios for several diseases, seen from the different points of view of the personas. Finally, perhaps the most important tool was developed, based on learning gained about how to use role-play in design. A combination of the tools mentioned before was used and was combined with role-play in order to increase the engagement with the context and a role-play guidebook was written. Red health issue cards and green solution cards help designers to generate ideas and encourage creativity.
At the first day of the workshop, each participant took one persona, read the scenario corresponding to the persona and was asked to role-play this persona. After developing scenarios themselves, the second day they created solutions and mock-ups to play this scenario. The students showed their solutions to the health problem in an informance or informative performance to a multidisciplinary audience: experts from Philips design, Philips research and Philips Medical Systems. The main contributions were that the experience workshop gave insight into Indian rural healthcare; it could be used to prepare designers to work in the context and helped focusing on the relevant topics. In short the roleplay made the (lack) of knowledge participants had about the context explicit. The bodystorming created an embodied and common understanding of the ideas and concepts that were generated. The presentation of the ideas to the audience of experts allowed for communicating the ideas and concepts in their context. It was concluded that putting designers in the shoes of the people they are designing for does increase the insight in peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs and engagement and understanding of the context.
Workshop with Students Rodriguez tested the toolbox in a two-day workshop, with a group of tool users: students. The test followed the same order as the toolbox sequence, starting with an introduction with the summary tool a week in advance. Afterwards the
176
€
Company
Graduation date
Microsoft & KIVA & DUT
Sept 14, 2006
Online Microfinance: into(context) Cale Thompson Microfinance has proven to be able to stimulate economical and social development in developing countries around the world. The young African organization KIVA started an initiative in early 2005 to enable individual people all over world to lend money to entrepreneurs in the developing world. For example African entrepreneurs post their business plans on the KIVA site to attract capital for micro loans from people all over the (developed) world. Through the use of ICT KIVA is delivering new opportunities to access capital for micro loans by partnering with existing Micro Finance Institutions (MFI). KIVA has thus created a channel through
In all stages, local people helped and cooperated in understanding the problem and the design of solutions. This people-driven approach results in a context sensitive understanding of the problem. The solution is again tested in the actual context of the intended use.
which those MFI’s can market their borrower’s stories via the Internet to access inexpensive capital from individual lenders.
Borrower’s Information Online Microsoft Research began the digital inclusion programme to try to develop solutions to overcome the barriers that face the developing world in gaining access to the resources that are necessary for sectors like education, agriculture, finance, governance and health. The Microsoft Digital Inclusion Initiative (DII) programme supports projects that try to overcome the digital divide between developed and developing world and that investigate the role of ICT in this context. The problem KIVA addresses fits the goal of DII. The KIVA concept had problems getting the borrowers’ stories online. Remarkably, interest and capital flowing from online lenders was not the limiting factor; instead the bottleneck was the ability of the partners to post the
Testing the MiMoSo in the field. After taking a photograph with a mobile phone it is uploaded to the KIVA website.
177
borrower’s information on the web. The users, or borrowers,
www.KIVA.org
must have access to the Internet and become familiar
values and behaviours within the system. During this two-
with web navigation and content management. However
month period Thompson identified bottlenecks regarding
many environmental factors can limit their ability to do so
both the system and available technologies. Concepts and
easily. The goal of this multidisciplinary project led by Cale
prototypes were generated to solve the bottleneck problems
Thompson was to do research on appropriate technology
in the third phase. The prototypes were tested in the field
interaction forms for MFI working in Uganda, Kenya and
and evaluated qualitatively by users and quantitatively
Tanzania.
against the existing micro-lending system.
into(context)
Miracle Mobile Solution
The main goal of the project into(context) was to do
The project ended up with the development of the Miracle
research and improve the interface between the technology
Mobile Solution (MiMoSo). This is a piece of software that
and the MFIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. The project consisted of five main stages
allows Multi Media Service (MMS) messages to be sent from
including research preparation, context research, concept
a mobile phone to an individual KIVA email address. Via the
generation, prototype testing and dissemination.
email address, the text and image are parsed and uploaded
Driven by a people-centred design approach, the project
to the KIVA website where they can be seen by lenders.
started with asking questions in Africa rather than arriving
Ultimately, the MiMoSo was tested in its intended context
with an answer. This approach reflected the fact that the
in Africa and has been implemented by KIVA. The project
technology should eventually fit the people and not the
demonstrated the strength of a people-centred approach
other way around.
through the successful context-fit solution that was
The
research
started
with
benchmarking
existing
practices for facilitating microfinance through technology. A
developed. It also showed that the cell phone is a legitimate technology platform to facilitate web-based activities.
stakeholder mapping of the context of microfinance system provided a clear picture of individual stakeholder goals, Entrepreneurs can upload their business plans to the KIVA website via their mobile phones. Lenders can access the KIVA website and provide microloans to the entrepeneurs.
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Photo: Jaap Daalhuizen
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Man at Home Chongming Island, China
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â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
Philips Medical Systems
Dec 23, 2005
Creating Market Insight for Designers Jonathan Stranders Philips Medical Systems (PMS), a large manufacturer of medical diagnostic and treatment equipment, is currently involved in creating business opportunities to serve the rural healthcare market of India. The healthcare market of rural India has many contrasting aspects compared to the western healthcare market. This concerns the type of patients, diseases, healthcare infrastructure and healthcare approaches. Jonathan Stranders focused on the widespread market of tobacco users in rural India, because of the high
Especially the Indian youth increasingly uses tobacco. Tobacco industry nowadays aggressively markets (filtered) cigarettes instead of smokeless tobacco products (chewing tobacco and spit tobacco).
prevalence of one of the most common cancers in India, oral cancer, is enhanced by tobacco use. To develop solutions that successfully meet the healthcare needs of the rural population, product designers must first get a good insight in the market to really understand the rural patient in relation to the involved stakeholders. However, thorough market research is time-consuming and expensive. Moreover, gathered information and experience are often lost because of its nature. Information like this is hard to communicate and transfer to other designers and succeeding projects. Stranders has developed a supporting software tool to create insight during the market analysis phase in product development.
Web-Based Database The Market Insight Tool (MarkIT) meets the designerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s information needs on three aspects. Using a personascenario approach designers can empathize with the target group. To benchmark this information, the scenarios are A tool can help to bridge the gap from an undetermined and vague Western mindset of the rural healthcare context in India towards a more specified, unambiguous and defined awareness.
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enriched with experts who give their opinion on various issues. Also, the tool includes a glossary to give background
www.philips.com
information on unclear topics and words.
zoom into the market situation on micro-level: individual
The tool is web-based in order to be accessed by Philips
persons. That helps both strategic and practical designers
designers all over the world. The database structure enables
to get more insight in the needs, but strategic designers
other employees, such as market researchers, to insert new
demand more statistics next to personas. Designers
information effectively. In this way, the tool functions as an
evaluated the tool during other stages of the development
interactive communication platform.
process as a useful support and source of inspiration.
Insight in Market Context The tool was prototyped and tested with a group of product designers. Stranders asked what they thought of the web-based database structure and the contents. The tests showed that MarkIT succeeds in communicating the healthcare market to product designers in a structured way and that it saves time during the first phases of a product development project. Using personas helped designers to
Because of the visual orientation of designers, Stranders concluded that the prototyped tool had too much text instead of pictures and movies. Hence the content of the final version should have a better balance between textual and visual information. Also, the tool should be validated using real experts. The MarkIT tool does succeed in structuring the information on the market and enhances the individual insight of designers in the specific situation.
MarkIT meets the designerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s information needs by making use of the persona-scenario approach in order to empathize with a rural person.
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Company
Graduation date
Philips Medical Systems
Nov 11, 2005
Device for Early Oral Cancer Detection Suzanne Hendrikse Oral cancer is a major health problem in the rural areas of India, 50 to 70% of the cancer cases are oral cancer. Early detection in the pre-malignant state of oral cancer can prevent surgical intervention. Philips aimed, via a partnership with Manipal University of higher education in India, to develop a portable device for early detection of oral cancer. The product is meant for use in the rural areas by local medical staff and in local facilities. Furthermore, the detection should be done using the Light Inducing Fluorescence (LIF) technique. The project fits the Philips social responsibility programme.
Oral Cancer Detection In rural India, limited medical facilities and staff are available. Chewing tobacco is a popular practise, but it is also a major cause of oral cancer. In addition to low oral hygiene in addition, oral cancer occurs often.
Oral cancer has a long process of developing from a precancerous, non-malignant state into lethal oral cancer. Early detection and a corresponding change in life-style of the patients can eliminate the risk factors that cause the cancer. This should prevent the necessity to remove the lesions surgically in a later stage. Factors that complicate the detection and treatment of cancer are stigma on cancer and low awareness of the disease. The social factor of developing a cancer detection device is an important aspect of the design problem. Chewing tobacco is a mayor cause of oral cancer and a popular product in India. The oral hygiene of people in rural India is also low, and limited medical facilities and staff are available. These social aspects have been major factors that determined the design of the detection device.
The demonstration model of the oral cancer detection device showed advantages such as three colour diagnosis, simple interface and precise handling.
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Light Induced Fluorescence When oral tissue is exposed to high-energy light, it emits
www.philips.com
a diffuse, low energy light. The resulting spectrum can be
medical staff from urban areas to rural areas on the short
analysed and gives insight into the health of the tissue.
term. On the long term, community health workers should
This method is called Light Induced Fluerescence (LIF)
be trained to detect cancer at an early stage and handle the
technique. By using LIF, oral cancer can be detected even
detection device.
before it becomes visible to the eye. The advantages of LIF detection are its speed, the fact that one can avoid unnecessary biopsies and a painless procedure. The development of the device started with understanding the problem of early cancer detection in the context of rural India. A multidisciplinary approach was used to understand the problem from eight different perspectives. This resulted in a list of design guidelines that was context sensitive. Insights from for example physicists, patients, dentists, etc lead to the rich basis on which the product was further developed. Sub problems were solved individually and integrated into a demonstration model. This was optimized and developed into a final product design.
Early Cancer Detection Device The design phase started with designing and making a demonstration model to show relevant strong points: three colour diagnosis, simple interface and precise handling. The limitations that surfaced from feedback were low safety of the probe, low portability, unfriendly appearance and unsatisfactory housing compartments. The final design featured improved functionality on the portability, measurement, interface and manufacturability. The implementation of the product asks for an active approach of early cancer detection, which the current staff does not yet have. Hendrikse recommends transferring
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€
Company
Graduation date
Ecofys / Kamworks
October 28, 2005
The lighting resembled the form of the Angkor Wat, which is a traditional temple Cambodians are proud of.
Solar Lighting Stephen Boom About 90% of the Cambodian households have no access to a secure and reliable electricity infrastructure for lighting. They mostly (55%) use car batteries as electricity storage to power television and lighting. Providing these people with safe and reliable electric lighting is a small, but important step to overcome their impoverished situation. Kamworks, a start-up solar company considered Cambodia’s problems and solar resources as an opportunity for local production of solar lighting products. The lights should fit to the purchase power of rural households. The company started a project in cooperation with Ecofys, in which Boom researched the market and designed the solar lighting product.
Translating Needs Prior to the product development phase of the project, field research was conducted in Cambodia; visiting and researchgin people in rural areas. Both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the lighting needs of the target group were reserached. A translator translated the questions and answers for the research, but sometimes informed the respondents too much, or when they talked for half an hour, he simply translated it with a short ‘yes’. Boom showed people pictures of available lighting solutions and confronted them with a solar lantern. This survey resulted in understanding the requirements that a new solar powered product should fulfill. They mentioned the product should be affordable and of high quality. The plastic look of the lantern was associated with modern, high quality and status (instead of for example bamboo). Generally, people thought that solar energy was Angkor Light can be placed on a table or hung from the ceiling.
185
www.ecofys.com www.kamworks.com
expensive and would not provide enough energy during
Angkor Light
the rainy season. Apparently, creation of awareness of the
The final design was a vacuum-formed quality lantern
advantages of solar energy would be an important sales
called Angkor Light. The design appealed to Cambodia's
issue.
national symbol, the temples of Angkor, which Cambodians
Boom also investigated the local distribution and
are very proud of. Vacuum forming is an appropriate
production possibilities for solar lanterns. A questionnaire
technology for a start-up company like Kamworks. It
about solar lanterns among retailers concluded that more
combined the advantages of low investments and simple
than half of them were interested in selling solar lanterns,
processes. The technology was applicable for relatively low
with a maximum price of $50 and a profit of 10%. The
production volumes (up to 10,000 per year). The moulds
product should be easy to understand, because the retailers
could be produced locally and were cheap in comparison
did not want to be responsible for the consequences for
with injection moulding. The Angkor Light used replaceable
malfunctioning. Quality and availability of spare parts was
quality electrical components. The product would fit to an
an important issue for them.
international standard (“PV-GAP”) to encourage quality
Vacuum Forming and Reflector Combined
solar products for the global market.
Field research resulted in three product-market combinations (PMC) of affordable lighting for rural people. The first was extending the lifetime of car batteries, the next combination
Boom finally built a second prototype, which would be used for a more profound market evaluation of the product in Cambodia.
was a solar powered headlight. The third PMC, a mobile
Awarded
solar lantern, has been selected for further elaboration.
The World Bank 2006 Development Marketplace awarded
In a technical analysis Boom selected the light source,
Kamworks with $174,000 for developing an innovative
battery type and solar cells. Next, he generated several
distribution model. The model aims at training young
product sketches. Boom detailed a combination of two
Cambodians
solution clusters, vacuum forming and using a reflector.
project called “Rural electrification through solar micro-
Several concepts were generated using the reflector in
entrepreneurship
different ways. He chose a lamp with a separate reflector
Cambodia”. It is also
that could be placed on top of the lamp and built a
starting up assembly of
prototype. Fifteen potential end-users living in the rural
its own solar products,
areas of Cambodia evaluated the product's functionality,
to start with the ‘Angkor
robustness and appearance as positive.
Light’.
to
become
micro-entrepreneurs
in
a
in
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â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
Philips Domestic Appliances
October 21, 2005
Adoptability of the U-Specs Roseliek van de Velden Philips has been operating worldwide for many years, yet they have mainly targeted at the top segment of the markets. Philips is now entering the largest segment of the market in India, the Base of the Pyramid (BoP), and needs suited approaches and business models to reach the people that live from an income beneath the poverty line. The theory of Prahalad provides a business model to deal with the circumstances in the BoP, yet very little is known about actual product development for the BoP. In this graduation project guidelines were developed for product development for the BoP in India, based on a case study on U-Specs. U-Specs is a concept for affordable spectacles that can be adjusted to compensate for refractive error by the user.
Participatory research resulted in useful local knowledge to develop solutions.
Cultural Context Product development for the BoP involves designers (and a company) that develop products for a different cultural context. In this project participatory techniques were used to do consumer research and understand the needs of the people in the BoP, to understand how users would adopt the U-Specs and to check the scenario that described the implementation of the product in the Indian BoP context. Users were involved to give insight into, for example, how the problems concerning sight impairment were interpreted. This showed that instead of being viewed as a health problem, sight impairment is seen by the consumers as a
The analysis was started with the definition of search fields, after which the u-specs were analyzed. An idea generation and scenario development phase followed. Finally guidelines were defined for future product development for the Indian BoP.
187
well-being problem. First a difference between the needs of the consumers and the ones of the government and Non-Governmental
www.philips.com www.u-specs.org
Organizations (NGOs) was detected. The NGOs and government see a problem in uncorrected refractive
General guidelines
errors that are causing sight impairment. They see that it
· Partnering with NGOs and governmental bodies necessary;
is hampering education, causing rehabilitation costs, and
· In the BoP an open mind is a prerequisite for success;
causes a loss of productivity. The consumers however usually
· Transparency; communicate intentions of stakeholders;
do not recognize sight impairment and its consequences as
· Organization should facilitate shared decision making;
a problem. They rather ignore that there is a problem at all.
· Volunteers could enable experimental BoP projects;
The barriers that existed in the India BoP were linked to
· Consumers have different priorities than NGOs and
the competences of Philips to find opportunities for product
Government
development.
Process
Guidelines
· Find the barriers of a problem before trying to solve it;
The case study resulted in a list of guidelines for product development for the BoP in India. The guidelines were
· Map Barriers to Core Competences; · Use local experts’ knowledge for interpretation of data.
categorized in four groups, namely general guidelines,
Remote product development guidelines
guidelines to optimize the process, remote product
· Gain input from different locations to make the product
development guidelines and adoptability guidelines. These
suitable for a broad target group; · Increase respondent feedback: propose multiple options;
guidelines are described at the right.
· Increase feedback on conflicts with proposed scenarios by
NGO
Barriers were linked to core competences of Philips DAP to ensure a successful product development process.
forming groups of similar stakeholders in user research; · Provide sufficient input to prevent biases; · Detailed content needed for input design workshop. Adoptability guidelines · Accessibility, empowerment and reliability are the most important aspects for adoptability by the BoP market; · The adoptability is best considered in both product design and scenario; · Use the guidelines on implementing aspects of adoptability: accessibility, compatibility, reparability, empowerment, affordability, desirability, reliability, usability and comfort.
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â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
NPSP Composieten BV
November 18, 2005
Natural Fibres in Doors and Windows Joan Boekhoven NPSP Composites BV produces composites based on natural and conventional fibres. The company intends to promote usage of natural materials like flax- and jute-reinforced composites. They have developed an innovative production method that could be used in combination with natural fibres. The labour intensive manufacturing process made production in low wage countries sound profitable. The company chose for India for expanding their production
Boekhoven based her final design on the 'thick' concept, that replaced conventional materials like wood and reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC).
process for three reasons. First, India is rich in natural fibres. Second, India has low wages for labour. Third, NPSP wanted to provide for some of the profound needs of the very poor, such as housing. In this project the possibilities of manufacturing fibre-composite products in India were explored.
Rising Costs in Building Sector Coir fibre
Wood
After an internal analysis of NPSP, an overview of the
Polyurethane foam
strengths and weaknesses of the company was created. Mould
Details
Coir fibre mat
Local potential business partners could increase their own production capacity and benefit from the knowledge transfer of NPSP. In this way, NPSP could give the composite sector the opportunity to specialize. The most promising partners
Polyurethane foam
Woven fibre coir mats are placed in a metal mould, covered by polyurethane foam and another mat. The mould is closed and the polyester resin sucked inside. After an hour the product can be discharged.
189
Wooden frame Coir fibre mat Mould
for a joint venture with NPSP were the companies Festel Doors and Water Tanks, and Technocraft. From an external analysis, Boekhoven concluded that specific knowledge on composites is not commonly available. Also, the building sector is dealing with rising costs of conventional materials such as wood, cement, concrete and steel, because of its increasing scarcity. Using the formulated strengths and weaknesses with
www.npsp.nl
the found opportunities and threats,
three product-
market combinations were formulated. The first included developing a product to lower the rural housing costs. Also, in the field of hygiene, a product to improve more peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bathing and sanitary conditions could be developed. Another product would provide easier access to water. For all three combinations, the design problems were identified and product ideas were generated. After selection, by using nine weighted criteria, it was decided to elaborate within the house & construction field.
Thick Window and Door Frames
in a choice for the thick concept, which was elaborated further.
Low Costs and Weight The final design proposal could meet all criteria. Its purchase costs would be 28% lower than its wooden alternative. It was found that highly decorated and arched designs would appeal to Indians. Moreover, the environmental sound material is maintenance free; it is corrosion resistant, no painting or pesticides are needed and it will not swell like wood does. It would be manufactured using the vacuum assisted-
The goal was to consider procedures of building houses in
resin transfer moulding process in which NPSP is specialized
urban as well as in rural areas. The costs of a basic house
(see figure on the left page). A prototype (scale of 4 on 1)
were calculated and the elements that might be replaced by
was manufactured to show details and possible decoration.
natural fibre reinforced composite products were identified.
To conclude the project, a marketing strategy for the final
These were window frames and shutters, doorframes and
product was developed. This included xtensive discussions
shutters, sometimes even entire roofs. Based on a number
on the four aspects of the marketing mix: product, price,
of reasons, it was decided to develop windows and doors,
place and promotion.
but mainly since these parts contribute most to the total costs of a house (23% of the total costs). However, the prices of existing alternatives could hardly be met, so to have a product with an edge over the competition, an arch or decoration was added. There were two design concepts, the major difference laid in the thickness of the frames.. Within the thick concept conventional materials like wood and RCC could be replaced; the thin concept replaced materials like steel and coir. Evaluating the advantages and disadvantages on
The fringes were created with clay and some creativity. Alongside the door shutter its clay details can be seen. It was chosen to decorate this door with Lord Ganesh who is supposed to bring luck and prosperity.
production, costs and appearance of both concepts resulted
190
â&#x201A;Ź
Company
Graduation date
Intermech Engineering Ltd 2004
Small Scale Cassava Starch Processing Dirk Smallenbroek All over the world the demand for starch is rapidly growing. Traditional starch sources (potato) in the western world have reached their limits in growing capacity. At this moment in Tanzania all starch is being imported, although the agricultural industry supplies sufficient amounts of starch containing crops and is capable of increasing production. Cassava, a tropical tuber, is one of these starch containing crops. Now the main part of the cassava production is used for human consumption. The cassava is processed. Grated, dried and milled to flour, which is the base for various meals. Intermech is a Tanzanian company designing and manufacturing cassava graters, at this moment used for local small scale processing of cassava for human consumption. This grater is also suited for the first step of the winning of starch from cassava. For the next steps of this process a machine line was to be designed, fitting on to the grater qua philosophy and capacity, manufactured by Intermech and capable of supplying high quality cassava starch for the Tanzanian industry.
Promoting Cassava For Tanzania it is now important to take the step towards producing big scale amounts of cassava, in order to provide starch to the world market. This can be achieved by promoting the planting of cassava amongst the small farmers all over Tanzania. The goal is that with the development of this machine and giving the people an opportunity to increase the value of their harvested cassava, we can contribute to In Tanzania the cassava starch winning is still done the traditional way.
191
the scale up of the amount of cassava grown in Tanzania. The possibility for local farmers to process their harvested
www.intermech.biz
crops into agricultural products which are better to store and
For Tanzania it is now important to take the step of
to transport will result in a decrease in post harvest losses.
growing cassava on a larger scale so it can become an
Additionally, the processing of cassava offers the farmers an
important supplier of starch to the world market. With this
opportunity to add value to their harvested crops, creating
project a small step is set towards a more sustainable and
the possibility of investing in their own farming company.
better economic developed future for Tanzanian cassava
This way the first step to further mechanize the cultivation
farmers.
and irrigation of the land and thus increasing the efficiency. This will be resulting in the important growth of the national agriculture output. Furthermore, this way of processing offers a change of cooperation between local farmers and local industry, reducing the distance in supply chain and stimulating the local agriculture.
Local demands and needs Within this project it has been demonstrated that a small group of people can give the start to tackle a large national problem (how to promote cassava, so the agricultural production and security of the national food demand is increased) when the problem is approached from the bottom up. It has also shown that small production companies in less developed countries do not necessary need to copy the designs of existing machines of (inter) national competition. With the implementation of the basics of the design process these companies can come up with unique innovative products that are designed to fulfil the specific (local) needs. Since these products and machines are designed and manufactured in Tanzania, they meet the local circumstances (for example no running water) and demanded scale much better. Besides this, the repair and
The University team & the Intermech team with the prototype.
â&#x201A;Ź
maintenance of the machines can be executed locally.
192
Photo: Jaap Daalhuizen
193
Toilet in a Rural Village Chongming Island, China
194
Epilogue
The First Learning Experiences of Designing with Emerging Markets Dr. Jan Carel Diehl After browsing through all these Base of the Pyramid (BoP) graduation and IDP projects, one can state that a huge challenge for the design world lies ahead. Large as well as medium sized enterprises are becoming more and more interested in exploring the BoP to alleviate poverty and other sustainability problems as well as to exploit new consumer markets. The Base of the Pyramid is becoming both a strategic focus for long-term growth and critical for promoting social equity in line of the global companiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sustainable policies. However, these markets remain poorly understood and success stories are far and few in-between.
Table 1: Summary of the identified differences in the Product Innovation Process (Chang 2006).
For a company or designer to be successful in these emerging and developing markets, it takes a lot more than just making minor modifications to existing products. They
Process
Differences in the Product Innovation Process
Strategy Formulation
Motivation on CSR, new business model creation, local and NGO partnerships, Greenfield opportunities, influences from government policy
Design Brief Formulation
Ethnographic research, NGO partnerships, local university collaboration, study local life, live with the poor, listening deeply
Product Development
NGO partnerships, local university collaboration (on pilot testing)
Product Launch
NGO Partnerships (training, distribution, collect feedback), new channels, new business models, local ecosystem setup
195
will have to develop new business and product innovation practices, capable of establishing a mutual value creation process between themselves and local stakeholders, as well as to have a deep understanding of these new contexts, and the issues and the opportunities related to the targeted areas (Simanis and Hart 2006).
Eco-Efficiency and Socio-Cultural Preferences The challenge lies in the creation of accessible and affordable solutions to fit the local economical and sociocultural preferences, without expanding the current use of environmental resources (Rocchi 2006). The target here is not only the poverty of the people in the BoP, but
Organizations (NGOs) play in this context a vital role in
traditional utilities, such as electricity, water, and gas (i.e.
the innovation process of several companies, especially
in rural Africa less than 2% of the population is connected
when they intend to approach consumers at the BoP. Most
to the electricity grid). In addition ICT and transportation
important is the willingness to listen deeply to the local
infrastructures are also often very weak. The outcomes
people and local stakeholders, and understand what they
of the Intocontext project demonstrate that sometimes
need, not what product innovators think they need.
alternative solutions (mobile phone instead of internet via
For example the demand for renewable electricity based
PC) are available but not used (see page 108). Most BoP
light is a ‘derived demand’: no one wants electricial light
communities are fragile ecologically, so new products and
in itself but rather for the services it can provide (ESMAP
services need to be very eco-efficient (Sethia 2005). In that
2000). The biggest unmet need is not for better illumination
perspective the Kamworks projects (see page 38, 40, 56
but for safety from fire, savings, and greater independence.
and 116, on replacing kerosene lights solar powered lights)
There should be added value in the products, which can be
and the Philips Woodstove project (see page 102, on a
recognized by consumers at the BoP. Second, markets in
dramatic increase of efficiency and avoidance of negative
developing countries are not well developed, so it is necessary
health impacts) are convincing examples what Designing
to develop basic channels and business models and value
for the BoP can mean.
chains in order to bring the products to the customers. The
Critical Phases in Designing Products From our experiences, we have learned that most companies active in the BoP state the front end research (Design Brief Formulation) and Product Delivery (Product Launch) as the two most critical phases in developing products for the BoP market (See table on the right) (Chang 2006). First, it’s critical to adapt products so that the fit the context and resources of the target group. Most challenges derive from the unfamiliarity with the local context and the distinct infrastructure in emerging markets. Although some companies do have strong global resources and networks, a sustainable local enterprise network is necessary for them
Epilogue
also the context in which they live, which tends to lack
observed differences in the product innovation process are summarized in Table 1. Consequently, a basic starting point for successful product innovation for the BoP is to understand people’s needs and to interact with the material, economical and sociocultural world. Therefore, both researchers and designers should engage with the cultures directly. A unique set of design and business tools and practices adapted from social anthropology, ethnography and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is being developed, applied and evaluated (Hart 2004; Diehl and Kuipers 2008; Simanis and Hart 2008) for designers and entrepreneurs.
to interact with the local community. Non-Governmental
196
Design Tools At the moment, various design tools (such as personas, cultural probes, scenarios and user profiles in context-ofuse) are available to capture insights related users’ needs, aspirations and behaviour in their original contexts (Leonard and Rayport 1997; Sanders 2000; Rodríguez, Diehl et al. 2006). These new context and participatory techniques can introduce the end-user into the design process by co-design and get deeper information than the common focus groups or observational research methods (Sanders 2000; Gaver, Boucher et al. 2005). However most of them only have been applied in the ‘Developed Markets’. Currently we, at Delft University of Technology, are testing and evaluating these kind of context tools in emerging and developing markets in practice (Rodriguez, Diehl et al. 2006; Rodrigues, Thompson et al. 2007). In that perspective we can say that there is still a lot to learn with regard to which design tools and approaches fit the best in the context of designing new product (service) solutions for the BoP.......
We are looking forward to go through this learning process together with you!
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Chang, Y.-K. (2006). Innovation for the Next Billions:
Rodriguez, J., J. C. Diehl, et al. (2006). Design toolbox
Case Study of 7 Multinationals that Develop Products for
for contextualizing users in emerging markets. IEA2006,
Emerging Markets. Industrial Design Engineering. Delft,
Maastricht, Elsevier.
Delft University of Technology. MSc. Rodríguez, J., J. C. Diehl, et al. (2006). “Gaining insight Diehl, J. C. and H. Kuipers (2008). Design for the Base
into unfamiliar contexts: A design toolbox as input for using
of the Pyramid: Student Field Projects ub Cambodia.
role-play techniques.” Interacting with computers 18 (5):
DesignED, Hong Kong.
956-976.
ESMAP (2000). Energy Services for the World’s Poor. Washington, WorldBank. Gaver, W., A. Boucher, et al. (2005). “Cultural probes and the values of uncertainty.” Interaction 11(5): 53-56.
Sanders, E. B. (2000). Generative tools for codesigning: Collaborative Design. London, Springer Verlag. Sethia, N. (2005). “At the Bottom of the Pyramid: Responsible Design for Responsible Business.” Design Management Review 16(Summer 2005).
Hart, S. (2004). Base of the Pyramid Protocol, Cornell University.
Simanis, E. and S. Hart (2006). “Expanding Possibilities at the Base of the Pyramid.” Innovations 1(1): 43-51.
Leonard, D. and J. Rayport (1997). “Sparking innovation through empathic design.” Harvard Business Review 75(6): 102-113.
Simanis, E. and S. Hart (2008). BoP Protocol: Towards Next Generation BoP Strategy.
Rocchi, S. (2006). Unlocking new markets. P. Design. Eindhoven, Philips Design. Rodrigues, J., C. Thompson, et al. (2007). Multistakeholder approach for people centered solutions: Welcome to East Africa. Include 2007: Designing with People. Royal College of Art, London.
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Photo: Chetan Kaanadka Shivarama 199
Hennes, Kirsten Rijke, Tom van Diessen, Linda Schnieders,
inspired & inspiring students and enthusiastic colleagues.
Judith Goor, Jan Willem Findlater, Alexander van der Kleij,
Without the help and effort of all these people, this book
Miriam Reitenbach, Koos Munneke, Bernard Hulshof, Rutger
would not have been as it is now.
Bonsel, Hoi-Kee Wong, Yu-Kuan Chang, Annemarie Mink, Marion de Groot, Cathelijne Huis in ‘t Veld, Roelie Bottema,
Thanks to Ana Maria Alvarez, Anne Beeftink, Antonio
Mijntje de Caluwé, Elselien Epema, Willem Glasbergen,
Récamier Elvira, Chetan Kaanadka Shivarama, Guido
Marike Bijtelaar, Maria Nguyen, Leonie Ideler, Fernando Del
Kisman, Nicolas Voorzee, A.M. Eckhardt, P.V.D. Eerenbeemt,
Caro Secomandi, Jon Rodriguez, Cale Thompson, Jonathan
K. Heijne, C.M.V. Huisstede, G. Koemans, M. Stigter /
Stranders, Suzanne Hendrikse, Stephen Boom, Roseliek van
Igor Schouten, Anne de Jongh, Floor de Bruijn, Joep
der Velden, Joan Boekhovenand H.S. Smallenbroek.
Oberendorff, Rick Passenier, Reetje Boezeman, Louis Pierre Geerinckx, Gijsbert Koren, Martijn van Loon, Onno Sminia,
We also would like to thank all the academic staff, who
Claire-Marie Landré, Leonard Schurg, Sacha van Ginhoven,
supported students in their projects as well as all companies
Marieke Korthals, Julie Louwman, Willem Lysen, Bastiaan
and organisations that gave us the opportunity to work with
Tolhuijs, Colette van Montfort, Rieneke Boog, Koen van
them.
Boerdonk, Job Stehmann, Frank Goethals, Olav De Mello, Marjolein van Houten, Ivana Masic, Pranghat Chininthom,
Thanks everyone! And we hope you will all keep working
Laura Bohlander, Matthijs Vreeman, Mankin Chan, Matthijs
towards achieving those millenium development goals, we
Ravestein, Kiran Pal Sagoo, Swen Van Klaarbergen, Linh
will certainly keep doing our best!
Dinh, Wietske Koers, Han van Lier, Vincent van Rooijen, Petra van Schie, Marlies van den Bremer, Jan van Dijk, Anders Kunz, Igor Schouten, Rutger Wouda, Peter de Graaff, G.
Groeneveld, D. van Oene, E. Kingma, Inge
van de Wouw, Loucas Papantoniou, Stephanie Wirth and Doortje van de Wouw, Elly Doek, Merijn Janssen, Regine
Acknowledgements
We would like to say thanks, for these interesting projects,
van Limmeren, Charl Smit, Stefan Versluis, Veronie Croes, Bjørn-Evert van Eck Rasmussen, Swie Oei, Susan Oudshoorn, Rutger Bonsel, Sietse Cieraad, Stéphanie, Reintjens and Imke Schepers, Aparna
Bhasker,
Inge
van de Wouw, Ambika Samabasivan, Lieke Pijpers, Sierk
200
About the Editors 201
Prof. Dr. Prabhu Kandachar
Prabhu Kandachar is a Professor of Industrial Design Engineering with a focus on Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Technology, and Chairman of the Department of Design Engineering, at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE), Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. After a stint of five years (since 1975) at Delft University, he has worked for 15 years for Fokker Aerospace, in various technical and management positions. His teaching and research interests at IDE are focused on materializing design ideas. Additionally, he is extensively involved in projects involving students and businesses to identify opportunities as well as to design & prototype products and services for the Base-of-the-Pyramid (BoP) and emerging markets. Issues covered include water, healthcare, energy, housing, sustainable well-being, ethics, etc., in countries like India, Indonesia, China, Ghana, Colombia, Peru, Tanzania, Honduras, Philippines, Vietnam, Pakistan, Madagascar, etc. He has written several publications, has organized international events and has given many keynote lectures and courses on this topic. He is also Chairman of the Advisory Board of Aalto University BoP Network, Helsinki, Finland.
Dr. Ir. Jan Carel Diehl
Jan Carel Diehl graduated from the school of Industrial Design of Delft University of Technology and recently defended his PhD Research on product innovation knowledge transfer to emerging economies. His ongoing research is focussed on design with emerging markets and he has been involved in over 70 BoP projects. The goal of the research is to develop proper design strategies and methods for Multinational Corporations as well as for social entrepreneurs to enter the these markets. Next to his position at the Delft University of Technology he is consultant for UNIDO and UNEP and invited lecturer at universities in amongst others Portugal, Colombia, Mexico, Turkey, Japan and Austria. He is co-author of the UNEP Design for Sustainability manual for Developing Economies (D4S DE).
Vikram Parmar is an Associate Professor and Joint Director of VentureStudio- Center for Innovative Business Design, Ahmedabad University, Gujarat-India. In addition to VentureStudio, he works as an assistant professor with the department of Design Engineering of Industrial Design Engineering, TU Delft. He received his PhD in Industrial Design at the Technical University of Delft, the Netherlands on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Design Framework for Developing ICT Products and Services for Rural Development- A case of Persuasive Health Information System for Rural Womenâ&#x20AC;?. He is an architect and industrial designer working on base of the pyramid context since the past 10 years in the domain such as low-cost housing, medical devices for affordable health, agriculture, and education. His work focus is geared towards improving social well-being by bridging the digital divide between urban and rural areas by developing ICT based products and services. His expertise lies in designing socially and contextually aware interactive products and services particularly in the area of emerging markets. He has published in journals such as Communication of the Association of Information System (CAIS), Information Technology and International Development (ITID).
Ir. Chetan Kaanadka Shivarama
Chetan Shivarama received his Masters degree in Strategic Product Design from the school of Industrial Design of Delft University of Technology in August 2010. He holds a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering and has previously worked as product designer and creative digital sculptor with General Motors India, Bangalore. His area of interest revolve around consumer behaviour study, participatory design, product-service system design and business model innovation with focus on emerging markets. He has worked as an independent consultant for NGOs and SMEs, providing strategic advises to design and develop context sensitive products and services for emerging markets. He is currently working as Business Manager (India) for Codema Systems Group, Holland.
About the Editors
Dr. Vikram S. Parmar
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