to improve
of
STUDENT:
PROJECT:
PRANAV
-
SPONSOR: Industree Foundation
PROGRAM:
Dharun
Impact edge
(Undergraduate Professional Programme)
Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology Bangalore - 560064 Karnataka
No part of this document will be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, scanning, photography and video recording without written permission from the publishers namely Krishna Pranav and Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore.
Written, edited and designed by Krishna Pranav.
I, KRISHNA PRANAV, hereby declare that the content of this student documentation and final design/artwork submission is my own original work and has not been plagiarised in full or part from previously published/designed/manufactured material or does not even contain substan tial propositions of content which have been accepted for an award of any other degree or diploma of any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in this thesis project. I also declare that the intellectual content of this Thesis Project is my own original work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style and presentation is acknowledged and that this thesis project (or part of it) will not be submitted as assessed work in any other academic course.
I, KRISHNA PRANAV , hereby grant Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology the right to archive and to make available my Thesis Project in whole or in part in the institute’s databank and website, and for non-commercial use in all forms of media, now and hereafter known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act.
The completion of this project needed many individual’s advice and encouragement and I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of them. I would like to thank Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology for offering the project Impact Edge. I would like to thank my facilitators Jacob Mathew, Tulip Sinha, Dharun rao for having directed me during this project.
My primary research would not have been competent had it not been for Suresh, Subrojeet and Praful of Industree for their admirable help, I thank them for guiding us all through the study tour, helping us interact and interview multiple locations and people. I would also take this moment to acknowledge my team, Ria Shah, Anushka Sarkar, Bhavya Agarwal, Kavya Murugan, Mrunmayee Deoras for their support. Finally, I would like to thank my mother for her contribution to this project and her boundless encouragement through the course of this project.
Industree builds sustainable livelihoods in the farm and creative manufacturing sectors to ensure that unemployed women can have high and regular incomes, decent and working conditions, and resilience to a life crisis.
Industree envisions a world in which millions of producers rise out of poverty by building sustainable livelihoods in creative manufacturing. We believe that when producers have access to an enabling ecosystem they are able to pursue their futures with dignity and that when women earn they are empowered at home and in their communities
Design can be used as a tool for social transformation to enhance livelihoods and put more money in the pockets of the poor. This enhanced income then allows them to afford the products and services that give them access to health, education, clean water and sanitation, energy etc. The projects at Impact edge aim to develop such transformative design interventions that are primarily business and systems oriented. Arriving at these interventions would require validation at every stage to ensure that they are viable and economically sustainable in addition to being environmentally, socially and culturally relevant.
Forest communities now have access to Non Timber Forest Produce that includes, leaves seeds, pods fruits and bamboo. How can we use leaves as plastic substitutes can we use other products like pods and seeds to create products of value. Tribal women have cash incomes of just Rs 100 per month, can we multiply that at least 5 times using design to add value? Forest Green Kraft has just set up a unit in Baliguda in Odisha in the Kandhamal forest range with hydraulic heat presses for forming sal and siali leaf plates as a substitute for single use and throw plastic plates. The leaves are seasonal so in addition to pressed products, other available materials like wild tamarind, seeds and pods be used to create income.
Industree works with 2 clusters - Lundruguda and Sirla cluster.
We visited 5 villages: Lundruguda Barakhamba Dholavali
Pidama Sirla
There are 7 tribes in the Kandhamal district. Kui tribe was prevalent in all the villages we visited.
Interviews
Seasonal calendar
Conversations
Market research
Fish-bone diagram Affinity mapping Aspects of ecosystem Fears and goals
Petra and his wife from dholavali have two boys that study in Kerala. In there house they own a - A bed - 1 bulb - 1 bike - 2 stoves
Petra owns two cattles - 1 pig - 1 cow
School fees around dholavali are RS 400 for a year.
• It has multiple villages under it
• A smaller number of villages make one VSS(named after located village)
• Each village can have multiple SHG’s.
• One SHG can have women from multiple villages.
• They have a VSS building where the SHG meetings are supposed to happen .
• The government has provided facilities within the VSS building such as generator, chair, cupboard, utensil/handi, and some had solar .
•
Talk about money and what to do with the loans. Going to bank after meeting, for deposits and withdrawals is an issue because of the distance.
• Talk about the khali production
• Talk about other ntfp materials, how much they are going to sell, when and how to collect.
• Development plans of SHG’s.
• Discuss the problems that they face at home along with the problems of the village
•
• Only registered SHG’s get loans. The forest ranger approves the loans .
• The funds given to the SHG’s are used for projects related to agriculture and farming, poultry and cattle rearing.
• Most of the SHG’s don’t repay the loans with interest , but from the forest departments end also no one is there to check as well.
Due to the inability to pay the loans back with interest the SHG’s get dissolved.
• People move to other SHG’ groups and avail loans.
Traditionally, Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) refer to all biological materials other than timber extracted from natural forests for human and animal use and have both consumptive and exchange value.
NTFPs enhance economic development and help in poverty reduction with the conservation of ecosystem. Tamarind, Sal leaves, Mahua, Amla, Kendu leaves, Karanj, Satwaar Zaar, Mushroom, etc. are important sources of cash income.
Seasonality (inconsistent abundance) - mostly available for 6 months except for a few. Summer is when most of the NTFP are procured.
Provides livelihood support to tribes throughout the year.
8:30 a.m.
Husband leaves for work
8:00 a.m.
Feeds children and sends them to school/aanganwadi (10:30 a.m.)
7:00 a.m.
Gets water and cooks
6:00 a.m.
Wakes up and cleans her home.
9:00 a.m.
Collection of sal and siali Work with other NTFP material
12:30 p.m.
Children come back or she goes and gets them.
5:00 p.m.
Comes back from work
5:30 p.m.
Gets water and cooks food Feeds children and family eats dinner
9:00 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
Vegetables, spices, s alt, cooking oil, shampoo, soap Rs. 1500 - Rs 3000
Electricity Rs. 100
Education Rs. 50/month - 400-500/year
• People exchange Dhaan(Rice) for money to buy products
Dhan and Biri Rs. 10,000 - 20,000/year
• Puffed rice, atta and other products and get back the due change.
Khurto (Wheat ) Rs 3000 for 100 kg
siali leaf collection Rs 1000 (Rs800-1000)/month
Transpor t
Total Expenditure
Health Care Rs. 1000 Rs. 2000-4000
Rs.40/Round Trip
NTFP material collection Seasonal Labour Rs. 200/day
Total Earnings
Rs30,000 to Rs40,000
• The richest person in the village is one who owns land.
• Next richest person is a person with cattle.
Prices for NTFP materials
Rs 10-12/kg
Off Season - 50-100/- Kg
Rs 50/piece Haldi Forest Farm
Rs 80/kg Rs 50-60/kg
Rs 150/kg Rs 240/kg Rs 200/kg
Sal is an evergreen in wetter areas and deciduous in drier areas and is native to the Indian subcontinent.
The sal forest of Odisha occupies around 30% of total sal forests in India.
The leaves are used in Ayurveda and Unani for treating ulcers, wounds, leprosy and headache. Known for its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties .
Siali is a creeper with large leaves that typically grows around sal trees. It is commonly found in the forests of Odisha, and parts of Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand.
Rich moisture content of the Sal forests is conducive to Siali’s growth.
Its size, texture and durability make it a preferred raw material to make plates and bowl.
The women decide which part of the forest and which route to take, they revisit the same route after 15 days once the leaves grow back.
Scan the tree and decide which leaves to pluck.
Start plucking based on criteria that the leaves should be big, preferably not with black dots, no major holes and needs to be green .
They collect 20-30 leaves and then stack it in the bag made of cloth. Way of plucking the leaf- needs to be bent against the grain until it snaps.
Collecting date palm and splitting into sticks.
Collecting other NTFP materials- Bhalia Munji, Jhuna, Mahua.
The leaves are bundled and carried on the head.
•
They walk without footwear into thorns and broken branches, therefore, causing an injury or damage to their clothing.
• Irregular terrain - slippery rocks and slopes.
• 10:42 : Walked for 10 minutes to reach the forest
• 11:00 : Started plucking the leaves
• Every woman had her own collection
• For siali collection- Snake bites are very frequent. Help for such emergencies is far.
• Extracting Siali fibre from the plant also threatens the species.’
• Siali is considered to be an endangered species as it uses the host plant to feed on; therefore, when the plucking is ungovernable it is a challenging to keep the species alive.
• After collecting, some leaves fall out of the bag.
• The women cannot reach the leaves on the top of the tree. Hence they have to bring the entire tree down to pluck leaves.
• Collected date palm shoots as stitching material
• 12.08 : Took a break
• 12:30 : Going back to the village.
• Collected Bhalia munji and jhuna on the way
• Prepared for siali collection
• 1:00 : Took a short break
• 1:04 : Walking back to the village
• There is an emergency fire exit route that can be taken
• 1:15 : Take the bag of leaves back home
JAN
3-4 times a week 3-4 times a week 4 times a week 4 times a week 2 times a week
Weekly collection Twice a week. Once a week No Collection
Reduced Collection Reduced Collection
200
500 600 500 500 700 700 200
2-3 times a week 2-3 times a week 300 6/10 5/10 0/10
200
7/10 7/10 7/10 7/10 9/10 9/10 9/10 6/10 6/10 100 0
- Planning of Crops for the year -FieldPreperation (planting seed) Dal cultivation (3 types) -Ploughing + Collection -Harvest+Storage 25th Dec - Christmas (local festival)
Leaves are collected and stored in the basket for stitching.
These are collected during the collection of sal-siali leaves and are used for stitching.
There are 3 types of stitching: Rough Fine Machine
A khali comprises of 9-10 leaves.
The drying happens in the backyards, some weight needs to be put on the khalis to prevent them from flying.
It is sold to Industree for: Rough Stitch khaliRs. 15/chakki Fine Stitch KhaliRs. 80-90/Chakki Machine Stitch khali - Rs. 100/ Chakki
No alloted time to work on stitching the khalis
The thickness of the date palm shoots varies because of which the quality differs
Problems with stitching A week of salsiali process.
Hygiene and place of storage for the Khali’s.
Current technique of tying khali’s together causes the top and the bottom of the pile to be futile.
- Takes a day to dry. Sell the chakkis twice a week to either the traders or to Industree.
- Goes for collection twice a week. Tie it with siali or any other fibre.
Stacks of sal and siali are kept ready for the gluing processes
2 Sal and 1 Siali leaf is glued together. They stack the leaves together making it ready for the machine.
The stacks are put into the machine and the women get ready for the pressing
The button is pressed and the women
mentally count the time it would require for the plate to be ready approximately.
Waste generated from the pressing was moved, cleared from the machine and put on the ground.
Plates are stacked and counted.
The plates are shrink wrapped in low quality plastic.
with
- At the unit, one of the objective was to increase the strength of the plate. Currently the plates are made of 2 Sal kahlis and 1 Siali khali.
- The above patterns are made of thin strips of bamboo which are placed between the layers of sal to increase rigidity of the plates, The Hash pattern seems to have brought a higher strength to the plate, but slowed down the process.
Reasons for low production at the pressing unit
To understand the information gathered during the research phases, using different methodologies in order to find the appropriate intervention.
We collated 21 insights from the research as a group. The following are only the insights which drive the project forward towards individual research.
1.) There is a need to design a way to collect leaves in the forest in an efficient way.
The leaves collected fall out of the bag/ cloth tied around them.
The higher, good quality leaves have to be collected by pulling branches down or climbing the tree.
Women do not always carry same amount of leaves, lack of space makes items in the bag inaccessible.
Fewer safety measures taken to prevent injuries which slow down the collection process.(Walking into thorns, snakes etc)
The system for emergency situations in the forest is faulty.
There was limited time that could be spent in the village due to restricted hours. (Early morning and Late evenings)
The number of visits to the village were limited to three at Lundruguda, one to Dholavali and 1 to Pidama.
Requirement of translator constantly affects the first hand information.
Unable to attend a SHG meeting due to time unavailability.
The forests of odisha are naxal sensitive hence the deployment of CRPF personnels in the region act as a barrier for collection.
The time of our research was during off-season for most NTFP materials.
Network issues in the area make it difficult for clusters about material availability.
The explorations and understanding of the unit was limited due to the irregular elctricity supply.
The production in the Lundruguda unit has begun at the beginning of this year and therfore we could not witness a full-fledged running of the unit.
The pressing unit in Lundruguda is a temporary set up and is being shifted to Baliguda.
Project tends to look at finding a sustainable way of balancing the supply and demand with an emphasis on alternative incomes and safety for women by creating value for the collection, storage and processing of NTFP materials incuding Sal/Siali leafs. Thereby helping women generate higher income and Industree with better quality and high range of products.
- Women carry a cloth bag usually made of cotton Saree
- This saree is knotted on the shoulders to make a bag for the leaves.
- Generally about 7- 12 women go for collection.
- Some women carry extra carry bags to collect NTFP materials
- They walk till the forest and decide a route to take and which is generally about 8 to 15km long
- They either wear the bag before starting the route or wear the bag inside the forest
- During their collection of leaves they also collect Sal leave stems(Dantakanti/Sticks)
- These sticks are held under their arms when the bag is full
- Women also carry an Axe, some of them carry a small Axe and some big.
- It is usually held in the hand or rest on their shoulders, the small axe is also placed in the bag.
- They carry about 600-800 leaves in a single a trip but varies on season - Bag is worn on their shoulders and usually has some damage done to the bag, either due to thorns or usage.
- They go on an irregular terrain and harsh conditions to collect the leaves
- The woman in this image is about 5 feet high from the ground on the tree, collecting leaves.
- They use a certain type of leaf called Dokadaka(Kui language) which they apply on their wounds.
- This leaf is collected on the foothills of their climb.
- The fiber above is collected from Siali tree, they strip some from the branches and leave the rest to grow.
- They generally use it to tie bundles of leaf plates or make products like, bags, baskets, purses etc.
Doing this endangers the siali plant.
Understanding needs for design interventions.
• Bag leans forward whenever they bend, restraining hand use.
• They put multiple items like (axe, sticks, bottle, boots, blades, fiber) in the bag which increases the weight and hurts their shoulders.
• Each time they dig, they place the bottle down so as not to hinder the movement, while holding the bag with one hand.
• Women grab the trees on terrain for support, but most of the times it is difficult
• Sometimes they use the larger Axe as a hiking tool.
• Most of them remove footwear for better grip during decent.
During the second phase of the study , it was found that the collection of leaves itself had potential areas for design intervention.
Women who go to collect Sal / Siali leaf need a better and more structured design to solve their current problem of shoulder ache, minimum accessibility to all items put in the bag, damage to the leaves and support them in the rough terrain as well.
The project aims to find a practical way of designing a bag for these women to hold materials gathered in the forest, with an emphasis on safety for these women during the collection in the current value chain of Sal/Siali plates made by the two clusters, by developing a design intervention without a learning curve or by a third party manufacturing a product for these women, a concept that is designed without a learning curve.
Fashion designer Anuj Sharma (IND) works mainly in areas of craft development and sustainability. Sharma’s other areas include teaching fashion and understanding human behaviour with the help of fashion. He has previously shown collection in Japan, UK, Sweden, and Bangladesh.
Anuj Sharma has come up with a unique method to construct clothes without any machine, tools or stitches technique.
It is titled Button Masala. The method has led to the Button Masala collection, which has been shown internationally for e.g. as part of the travelling exhibition
Connecting Concepts by Dutch design DFA, and part of the exhibition Bliss at the Taiwan design expo 2011. He has taught the technique of Button Masala to over 20000 people across the world.
It is a simple joinery system, which replaces sewing from the clothing or home furnishing. The technique involves only buttons and rubber bands. It is pretty much like tie and dye technique but done with rubber bands.
Button masala is a very quick construction method, possibly the cheapest in the world and the greenest for the environment. Each product can be recycled and restructured by simply removing the buttons and putting them in another place. The technique is also used to make carpets, bags, jewelry, shoes and many other useful products. What is nice is that that, everyone can use the technique. The technique is easy to be taught and is an open source.
Either a button/ stone/coin or anything small is taken and placed under the two layers
2 pieces of cloth are overlapped.
Highlights of the discussion:
- Authenticity of their current process needs to be intact.
- Wider strap is a must for weight distribution.
- Keep the design simple.
Once tied, this makes a fabric joinery.
Once the stone is pushed up through layers, its tied with a rubber band
- Button masala technique for the bottle can be used
-Additional bag, embedded with same technique can be used to carry the sticks
The other end of the fabric is held up in the same way, holding the two ends
Women hold two ends along the same width of the cloth
Its wrapped under their arm on the chosen side.
They make another knot tying the two ends
This knot is then placed on their other shoulder, making a bag to collect leaves.
They tie the two ends of the fabric on the shoulders making a knot.
Time taken: 45 - 60 sec to wear the bag.
Understanding requirements and non negotiable attributes of the design
Attributes that have been identified which keep the authenticity of their current design intact, and to be take forward to the new design
- Volume of their current bag needs to be intact.
- Bringing out simplicity through intuitive process of wearing the newly designed product .
- Cannot exceed a certain time limit to wear the new design. [(2-2.5 min) time taken to walk to the forest]
- No learning curve to wear the new product.
- No hindrance to their current techniques.
Sketching out the movement of the bag to understand at what points can the bag be hooked on to the body.
As the bag is considerably long they leave some extra cloth by folding it, this piece can be used to make compartments for other items in the bag and reduce weight on the shoulders.
As women have a preferred side and also need their hands for support, what if the bag could swing into the side they want and swing back?
The same bag which allows controlling the length, with required sections
During lesser collection of leaves, what if extra cloth can be used to protect from rain(Head gear)?
Rapid construction of the existing scenario to identify problems
Things they carry - Bag - Bottle - Footwear - Fiber - Dantakanti
- Axe(Small)
Values - 600g(Only leaves) - 1Kg - 300-500 gm - 400 – 600 gm - 500 - 700grams - 1.5 - 2 kg
Approx total weight - 5Kg
Although 5 kilos is not a lot of weight to carry, the problem is when, this weight is concentrated on the shoulders only.
• High tension on shoulders as there is no weight distribution.
• The strap of the bag slips down the shoulder frequently.
• Multiple items placed in the same bag, reducing accessibility.
Implementing quick solutions to the bag
•
This simulation is only to understand the tension points and the ‘X’ strap configuration
• The ‘X’ configuration seems to be a well balanced strap around the body
• The strap can have pockets for holding the tools/Axe.
• This configuration keeps the hands free but has a slight learning curve
• The bag is not effective when the weight in bag is not in the center
• A holder for the sticks(Dantakanti) which can either go on one side of the chest or on the back like an arrow holster.
• A space near the hip for the bottle is also a possibility with extra cloth.
• Sticks can also go on the side of the hip staying perpendicular to the body, although it is probably a hindrance to them but it is a possibility.
• There can be a lower section in the bag which can have storage space for the sticks.
• Siali fiber, as it takes up space in the bag, it can be placed on other areas of the body, it can placed along the straps of the bag or around the bag it self, the weight of the bag can also hold the fiber onto their chest.
• The water bottle can be placed inside one of the upper straps like a baby tucked in and tightened.
• It can also be placed on the waist with an extra section for the holders.
The bottle is hanging just below the hip, thus preventing their arm movement from being restricted.
This design has two purposes, holding the bottle close to the body and reducing bag swing as well.
The bottle holder is part of the current bag, where it sits on the chest after worn using the bag ‘s extra cloth.
The bottle is hanging on the hip, which reduces swing of the bottle holder.
The holder is placed close to lower mid back, this allows free arm movement and is also much more stable.
This design lets the women also carry pouches with them, to collect any extra material. (Needs extra cloth to make pouches)
• Women choose to wear a saree that they are comfortable in, usually the same saree for every collection.
• They sharpen blades and carry any extra bags
• Women also tie a head cloth, which protects them from harsh sun and cobwebs.
Typicaly around 5 to 7 meters, but women also wear bags which are shorter than 5 meters. Length - 5-7 meters Width - 0.8 - 1.3 meters
• Women come back after collection and put their cloth bag to the side and use them for the next trip.
• They usually have separate sections at home for daily use clothing and for collection.
Insights from simulation and ideation taken forward to prototyping
• Increase length of the bag by adding fabric to ends, for free movement under the arms
• Tying one end to the adjacent side of another end on the same side controls it’s width trading for the length of the bag, allows free movement for the arms.
• This fabric is only tied to the ends that go under the arm over to the shoulder, to loosen tension.
•
• A probable identified area for the bottle is on the straps.
The strap or the extra cloth after wearing the bag is widened to place the water bottle and tuck it in the pocket.
• The pocket can be either shut by knotting or using the button masala technique(Pg. 58)
• An extra fabric can be added around their waist for supporting the bag and probably also the tools.
• This band around the waist can have holders for tools, bottle and the fiber .
• One end of the bag is stitched to this band for stability.
• This can be either multiple bands or single band with multiple holders.
• The pocket created for the bottle is shut with an extra piece of fabric, as this allows free movement and easy access.
• Although this design did allow space for the bottle, it was not efficient in terms of reducing tension on the shoulders.
•
Based on multiple reviews and parameters of non-negotiable attributes of the design.
•
Reduces tension under the arms, distributes the weight
• Changes the orientation of the bag by tilting to one side.
Keeps the weight close, easily accessible.
• Increases tension, reduces length of the strap
• Takes weight, easy to access.
• Multiple pieces of clothing, Compromising safety.
•
•
Avoid cross straps as they increase tension on the neck.
Although tool strap placements work, it needs reinforcement.
• Strap ‘A’ and ‘B’ with knots ‘A’ and ‘B’ on the shoulders move a couple of inches down on both sides to widen the strap.
• In the current bag, the knots stay on the shoulder, creating sharp tension points.
A BBA• A bottle is placed on strap ‘B’ below the knot ‘B’, a pocket is made by tying a knot at the bottom to hold the bottle in place
• Button masala is used here to keep the bottle in place, two coins and hair bands.
• Button masala can also be used on strap ‘A’ to hold the bottle.
• Strap ‘B’ moves on the shoulder with strap ‘A’ to prevent it from slipping down the shoulder, although it creates tension on the neck.
Water bottle is placed inside the pocket created.
One side of the strap ‘A’ is opened to make space for the bottle
The pocket is shut but knotting the bottom of the strap to itself
Based on multiple reviews and parameters of non-negotiable attributes of the design.
Moving knots in fact reduces tension on strap, button masala keeps the bottle in place and is convenient to use.
Water bottle on strap ‘A’ is inefficient as it is hard to access because of the knot and not stable on the shoulder at all.
Button masala is a time consuming process, when it has to be applied at multiple places.
Slightly changes the orientation of the bag by tilting it back, as the space for the bottle uses up surface area.
Avoid weight on straps, as they make it harder to move with constant tension on the shoulders.
• Fabric twisted with ends, tied to make a circle.
• This is placed in cloth of width 50cm or higher at point ‘A’ and pinned or tied.
• Point B of the fabric is tied to make a knot, making a base for the bottle.
• The bag for the sticks is completed by sealing the opening between the two points using button masala technique.
Two pieces of cloth ‘A’ and ‘B’ can have approximately the same dimensions
1st piece of cloth is folded multiple times, making it stronger and reducing its width
After that the cloth is twisted, just like how a wet cloth is rinsed.
This twisted piece of cloth holds its shape after tying the ends together to form a circle.
Once the twisted cloth is placed on cloth B, the edges are wrapped inside creating a mouth for the sticks to enter from. The bottom half is just knotted, acting as a base of the sticks.
Stick holder is placed on the hip, it is tied to the waist strap, using the button masala technique
•
Based on multiple reviews and parameters of non-negotiable attributes of the design.
This design makes it easy to place the sticks, but it restricts arm movement.
• Placing sticks in the bag sometimes might be difficult, as the mouth of the bag moves a lot.
• There is a lot of friction while placing the sticks inside, due to the fabric.
• Making the bag seems to be a tedious process and involves multiple items to function, therefore not effective.
• Stick holder on the waist is not ideal
• Size needs to be increased
• A rigid surface needs to be incorporated.
This a 2D representation of the current bag. After the bag is folded at the center ‘FG’, Knots ‘AB’ go on the left shoulder and knots ‘ED’ on the right of the women.
Problem Solution
Bag strap slips of the shoulder Free arm movement, by holding the strap in place
Women tend to hold the bag in place by pushing their elbows in.
As the straps slip of the shoulder, it restricts free arm movement
Due to rough terrain, women need to use their hands a lot to balance and take support.
Inner square is the volume used by the leaves in the bag
Current saree/cloth they use to make the leaf bag is ‘A,B,D,E’
Current bag is made by knotting ends ’AB’ and ‘ED’
Adding folds ‘EH’ and ‘AC ’ to lengthen the straps.
Step 1 : Open phone camera/ QR scanner
Step 2 : Focus on QR code
Step 3 : Click on the link that pops up.
Scan the QR code to access the video of the technique. https://drive.google. com/file/d/10vb4w0emGNyHBu2_wD2s4YW3hfyoN-1/ view?usp=sharing
Volume for the leaves does not change, Increased width allows free movement
• The idea here is to distribute the weight and widen the straps.
• Moving the knots ‘EH’ and ‘AC’ completely to the front or the back results in changing the orientation of the bag, causing the leaves to fall out.
• Moving the knots ‘EH’ and ‘AC’ away from each other resulted in a much more stable bag orientation and wider strap, therefore distributing the weight.
• ‘AC’ and ‘EH’ represent knots on the straps
• An extra piece of fabric is added connecting the front and the back of the same strap ‘EH’, avoiding the slipping of the strap down the shoulder.
• This fabric is tied on the back of the bag before wearing it and knotted in the front based on required tension.
Problem : Loose strap causes the bag to slip of the shoulder
• Another piece of fabric is added connecting the center fold, point ‘F’ on the bag, to the 1st fabric added around the arm.
• This piece of fabric acts as a suspender, holding the bag up so that the women can move their hands freely.
• Orientation of the imaginary axis connecting points ‘F’ and ‘G’ is parallel to the ground.
GFF• Orientation of the imaginary axis connecting points ‘F’ and ‘G’ is almost perpendicular to the ground.
Problem : Designated space for the tool, as it currently makes the bag too heavy and inaccessible.
• As the area on the chest has been identified as a place which is safe to place weight, A tool can be placed in the 1st strap which goes around the underarm.
• The tool stays in place with ‘one’ or ‘two’ turns of the fabric, anything more will increase the tension under the arm.
Based on multiple reviews and parameters of non-negotiable attributes of the design.
•
The change in the position of knots on the straps has worked to widen the strap and distributing the weight of the bag.
• Although the extra fabric did add stability to the strap, using multiple pieces of fabric and a complicated way of knotting is not viable.
• Adding suspenders to the bag did not add to the function, but instead complicated the process.
• The technique used to wrap the tool on the chest is not reliable and needs a safer design.
Consists of multiple elements, designing a single contraption from the combination of all the elements will be simpler and much more efficient.
• This design has a thin fabric or string connected on top and the bottom of the carrier allowing it to be tied around the upper body.
• It stays close to the body, replicating an arrow holster for the sticks(Dantakanti)
Based on multiple reviews and parameters of non-negotiable attributes of the design.
Change in material of the carrier to something more rigid will help with the structure stability.
• The stick carrier design itself has multiple elements.
• Using a rope or thin fabric holds the structure in place but it is not easy to access or to place the sticks in the bag.
• The mouth of the bag constantly moves from its initial position making it harder to keep the sticks.
• As the bag is made of fabric, it causes friction between the stick and the fabric, not allowing it be placed in the bag.
• A design solution made out of bamboo stems.
• A design solution made out of thicker cloth.
• A design solution made out of bamboo weave.
• A design solution made out of bamboo weave.
Based on multiple reviews and parameters of non-negotiable attributes of the design.
•
•
It makes the carrier heavy, and not all stems are straight and wide enough to place the sticks.
• Cloth design needs pins and other joineries to keep it together, the vigorous movement of the product does not make it long lasting
Bamboo weave is perfect as it is lightweight and durable and also can be made accordingly
• During our initial research, we found that some men there, help women by slicing the bamboo into thin strips which are later used to stitch and make khalis, but they mostly use date palm as it is relatively cheaper and found in abundance. Men and women their know how to weave a basket with bamboo as they use it for their daily chores
• As there were certain challenges to make a similar prototype, I used cardboard to make the desired basket for the sticks.
• Replicates weave of the bamboo, it is rolled to make a tube like structure for the sticks to sit in.
• Lighter
• Long-lasting
• Rigid
• No learning curve
A mock up of the final stick carrier iteration, imitating a bamboo woven basket.
This particular design uses hooks and minimum stitching for ease of access and comfort.
The idea was to make one contraption which is easy to wear.
There are three parts to this contraption, one running horizontally across the bamboo weave with a stitched compartment for the bottle which goes around the hip.
The the other is running vertically across the weaves, a strap which is tied around the upper body.
The stitched compartment for the bottle from the first iteration, is moved on to the vertical strap going across the upper body.
Water bottle tends to slip out of the pouch if the user bends close to 90 degrees.
It also creates a distance between the torso, making it sway every time the user moves.
Based on multiple reviews and parameters of non-negotiable attributes of the design.
• A stitched pocket on the strap is not efficient as the strap moves a lot, causing damage to the pocket.
• Position of the bottle below the chest was inefficient too as it slips out every time the women bent to pick up something.
• Consists of multiple elements, designing a single contraption from the combination of all the elements will be simpler and much more efficient.
Hooks for quick adjustment.
Bottle holder, a stitched compartment on the ship
Hooks made of wire acting as a carabiner, they can also be used to add extra bags.
Knot is tied under the bag
A design solution made with bamboo stems to hold the sticks.
Based on multiple reviews and parameters of non-negotiable attributes of the design.
• This design still has multiple contraptions, need to be reduced to reduce the time taken to wear the contraptions.
• Although hooks do reduce time taken to make the knots, the length of the fabric is not adjustable.
• It also compromises safety.
Reduce the number of elements required to achieve a function.
More elements makes it more complicated, therefore higher learning curve
• Bottle holder on the hip seems to efficient interms of comfort,accessability and weight baring capabilities
• Stitched compartment on the strap, might not last long
A cloth of dimensions 0.7 x 0.4 meters is folded in half at the center, The opening sides are stitched together
This acts a bag for the bottle that can be carried around
One end of the opening is tucked through the strap around the waist
The button masala technique is used to connect the bag to the waist strap, either using a flat stone or a coin.
Scan the QR code to access the video of the technique. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ytC_ lniGcR0CxsOf3Wyk8i-MJjTYQ242/ view?usp=sharing
Based on multiple reviews and parameters of non-negotiable attributes of the design.
• Button masala technique on the waist strap is working.
• Although it involves stitching the initial bag holder
• Button masala relatively has higher capability compared to stitching and does not damage the cloth
• This technique makes it easy to place and remove the bottle from the pocket.
The design is effective, as it allows easy access to the bottle. A solution replacing stitching of the cloth is required.
Stick holder is worn on the back, the ends of the strap are brought on top of each other to the front.
Once the ends are overlapped, either a stone or a coin is taken.
This stone is placed under both the layers of the straps, and a hair band is used to join the two layers tightly.
A hair band is used here as it is readily available to the women, and is elastic as well.
Based on multiple reviews and parameters of non-negotiable attributes of the design.
• Button masala technique on the waist strap is working.
• Although it involves stitching the initial bag holder
• Button masala relatively has higher capability compared to stitching and does not damage the cloth
• This technique makes it easy to place and remove the bottle from the pocket.
Button masala at multiple points is not ideal as it increase the time to wear the bag.
From idea 1 - Stick holder strap
• A second stage of digital prototyping has allowed me to understand the logistics of the bag.
• Here its been identified that, a continuous strap ‘A’ running under the arms around the torso has a important function.
Strap ‘A’ has two significant purposes:
• Stops the leaf bag strap from slipping down
• Keeps the leaf bag stable and close to the body.
The cross straps were placed to counter weight of the bottle.
Based on multiple reviews and parameters of non-negotiable attributes of the design.
• The cross straps turned out to be ineffective, as they increase the tension on the shoulders and neck.
Strap ‘A’ has clear and workable functions, which needs to be take forward.
• From the previous idea, Strap ‘A’ slips down the body with no support.
• Straps ‘B’ and ‘C’ provide this support over the shoulders to keep Strap ‘A’ in place.
• Straps ‘B’ and strap ‘C’ have been stitched to the front and back side of strap ‘A’
• This whole section is stitched to another waist strap with a diagonally passing support[Dark green strap]
• A connecting strap between ‘B’ and ‘C’ is to not allow them to slip over the shoulder
• Sick carrier is on the middle of strap ‘A’(Circle) and not the connecting strap between ‘B’ and ‘C’ because of weight baring capability.
• Scan to see the test, Strap ‘A’ distributes weight equally.
• https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y 5wOli4MY5ZjCLyy7j6m864lYCIa1o
• A stitched garment with strap ‘A’ and waist strap have open ends where it can be knotted based on required tension.
• Strap ‘A’ has been widened as this takes the weight of the stick carried from the back.
• Strap ‘A’ passes through the top half of the stick carrier’s weave, while waist strap passes through the bottom half allowing it to hang on the back.
• The weight of the basket[with sticks] pulls strap ‘A’ down, strap ‘B’ and ‘C’ counter this weight as they are stitched to strap ‘A’ on the front and the back along the shoulder.
• The gap between strap ‘A’ and strap ‘B’ allows the head to pass through. This is worn on top of the leaf bag.
• Once worn, strap ‘A’ has open ends which are tied based on required tension.
• After that is completed, women take the waist strap which passes through the basket weave around their hip and knot it based on required tension.
• After that, they place the water bottle in holder and start their journey.
Click the link or scan the QR code to access the video of the technique. https://drive.google.com/file/ d/1m0APgMLP2jR8jgDqM_oDCfPs8sKyN4dj/ view?usp=sharing
Based on multiple reviews and parameters of non-negotiable attributes of the design.
• Durability of the design is compromised as it is completely stitched.
• Strap ‘A’ seems to have solved the problem but it has complicated contraptions
Although this design is not effective, design areas with maximum efficiency have been found. it should be much simpler and intuitive.
• Bamboo basket/Stick carrier, which goes in the upper back for dantakanti(Sticks women carry)
• Water bottle holder which goes on the waist with the button masala technique
• Strap ‘A’ going across the chest and the underarms from the stitch iteration, helps to keep the bag in place and prevents straps from slipping down
Looking back at the process and actionable ideas, combining multiple ideas into one.
• Returning to all the insights gathered until now after many feedback sessions with the faculty, have helped to link the missing elements in the design.
• Single element design that combines the three ideas into one.
• Therefore, saving time effort and cost
• Looking through the initial brief and non-negotiable attributes, a quick brainstorming started to bring these elements together.
• Since the stick carrier can not be modified, it remains the base for the design.
• The linking element can be one single long fabric cut out from the length of the saree or two strips of cloth knotted together.
As the basket stays at the center of the single strap, it acts a midpoint for the straps to go around the shoulders
They are then taken under the arms and around the back.
The two straps coming over the shoulders are knotted at the chest.
These straps come to front from under the bag to the side of the hip, where bamboo basket for the bottle is placed.
Click the link or scan the QR code to access the video of the technique.
Once basket is knotted, women place the water bottle inside the basket.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18MJdQP3iQtGnKQWf1UJBy_ AsZ6TmZN8c/view?usp=sharing
Final view of the basket and the single strap design.
Click the link or scan the QR code to access the video of the technique. https://drive.google.com/file/d/129INzRTJC8Ngb8twEnfbQC YH3kb7mKCG/view?usp=sharing
This design uses the extra fabric that is left after knotting at waistline, both ends of the strap form a weave which hold the bottle in place.
Click the link or scan the QR code to access the video of the technique. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1434fYE8YOY5qRfGASDbRhL sdX6oJKouz/view?usp=sharing
This design is specifically for the axe that women carry ( Hammer is used in the video to imitate a small axe). It shows a kind of knot women need to make to hold the axe in place.
Note: All women do not carry an axe and a water bottle, the test was done to only see the weight bearing capabilities.
This design uses an ear ring instead of knot at the center of the chest, it follows the same technique as the cross strap.
Click the link or scan the QR code to access the video of the technique. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dHbZpeN5lSee8SgBW5A4vD NaX2L3udMd/view?usp=sharing
Click the link or scan the QR code to access the video of the technique. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1roWHK5hvfsEyOspmqbuYP Hd2a0JeNYTt/view?usp=sharing
This design has same technique of wrapping around the waist like the cross strap, but instead of crossing over the chest, they directly go under the arms and around the back.
Point 3 Point 2 Point 1
• Results of the strap passing the 3 different point 1,2 and 3.
Scenario 1 Point1 Point2 Point3 Scenario 2 Scenario 3
• The basket tilts extremely to the back when the strap passes through point 1
• Tilting of the basket is still high when the strap passes through point 2. Tough to places sticks inside
• Tilting of the bag is minimum as the strap passes through point 3.
A handle is required on the basket to carry the sticks after collection, which makes it more convenient.
• The basket oscillates a lot at point 3. But this is countered by the extra strap holding it in place in the complete design.
• When the handle of the basket is at the center, the basket tilts extremely towards the body making it difficult to use.
• When the handle is placed to one end of the basket, it acts like a extension to point 3 from the previous scenario making it easier to use.
The design uses a
from a
Dimensions
Basket length -
diameter -
-
Based on multiple reviews and parameters of non-negotiable attributes of the design.
•
Idea 1
Given the design works, it can’t be used for longer periods as there is a slight tension built on the shoulders.
Idea 2
• For the bottle, the pocket weave works as long as the bottle remains in the pocket, which is not effective.
Idea 3
• It is a simple and effective way to hold the axe, as it also has the capacity to bear weight.
Idea 4
Idea 5
• The ear ring is effective in distributing the weight evenly, but pricking and slipping make it more difficult to use.
• Strap going under the arms directly, fits well. As it imitates a traditional bag wearing, and has no downsides.
This technique is necessary when the strap is made of two pieces of cloth, combined with a knot or a stitch.
It helps distribute the weight on the straps evenly, and does not cause harm to weak areas such as the stitch.
Under the bag again and under the basket to the back
Comes to front on the waist
Knotted on the waist to complete.
A complete process of the final design in context.
Click the link or scan the QR code to access the video of the technique.
Click the link or scan the QR code to access the video of the technique. https://drive.google.com/ file/d/1opeYTv8tb49bnBc0LTPr RZccOntDutkX/view?usp=sharing
A complete process of wearing the final design
They make a loop, leaving about 2 inches from the knot.
This loop is folded up on top of the two inches left earlier of the strap. The 2 inches of strap are pulled out through the loop
This creates a section for the axe to sit in.
The left over strap can be used to tighten the knot.
To view the technique, click the connection or scan the QR code.
This form of knot for the Axe can only be done on the strap that runs around the body and not around the basket, which is the second loop that runs around the waist, as this has higher weight bearing capability.
https://drive.google.com/ file/d/18iCH6OYrKOXTEG4dVOIo N27ZMwFSJ8S6/view?usp=sharing
Women can also use the same area and the left over strap to tie their footwear as they remove it during the decent.
It hangs to the side on the waist, As mentioned before, not all women carry both Axe and the bottle. They either have footwear and the bottle or footwear and the Axe on the waist.
To view the technique, click the connection or scan the QR code. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dzShicdWrAy3PXMKQPJgW9PnFeu_0XW/ view?usp=sharing
Knotted section acts as a base for the water bottle The other end of cloth is put through the strap around the waist
The overlapped piece of cloth and the two layers are held together
https://drive.google.com/ file/d/1CZOF7Hmxftyu A95vomU_SjDNLpP-yee6/ view?usp=sharing
To view the technique, click the connection or scan the QR code.
A button masala technique is applied with a stone and hairband.
• Widening the leaf bag strap
Bottle holder using button masala
Knot technique for axe holder
• Designated space for the sticks
• Designated space for the bottle
• Any additional space can be added through the current design
• Collecting more leaves than expected
• Going safely through the terrain
• Collect enough leaves (Sal/Siali)to reach the required chakki count
• Collect any other Ntfp material if possible
• Distributing the weight on the shoulders
• Too much weight on shoulders
• Pain in shoulders and traps
• Single strap around the body to distribute weight
• Broken leaves in the bag
• Multiple items in the bag
• Cannot use hands for support effectively
• Button masala on the waist to stop the oscillating motion of the bottle
Comparison between traditional leaf bag and the new design
Volume of the bag remains the same
No alloted space for the sticks
Volume of the bag has increased
No alloted space for the Axe
Yes, there is designated space for the sticks
Yes, there is designated space for the Axe
No alloted space for the bottle
Yes, there is designated space for the bottle
Maximum bag swing
No, weight is concentrated at one point
Around 1min to wear the bag
Reduced bag swing
Yes, weight is distributed on the body.
Around 1.5min to wear the new design
If the distribution of required materials from Kurtumgarh market is implemented by Industree, the bills of materials is based on the distance traveled to each cluster by the local authority from Industree
Made from cotton saree
Made from Bamboo strips
Made from cotton saree
Saree price is 50 - 80 /Nil - Grows locally Cut out from saree
20 - 50/- Nil Nil Nil
20-80/- 50/-
Approximately around 7 to 12 women go for collection from the following clusters: Sirla, Pidamma, Lundruguda and Dholavalli. Saree is available locally in kurtumgarh market, Each saree can be stripped into 8 - 15 straps depending on the width
*Labour cost includes transportation costs based on distance between material and villages
*There are two types of processing costs, direct and indirect;
Direct costs include weaving a basket in the event that the women of a given SHG do not know how to weave it (such women’s percentage is low). Indirect cost includes time spent by the women on weaving the basket
From the above mentioned cost sheet, it is clear that there is a minimal additional cost factor due to this new design intervention. This cost is a one-time investment which only needs a repair/replacement if it is seriously damaged, the product will last up to 6 months and much of the damage can be repaired by the woman themselves.
Design can be used as a tool for social change in order to boost livelihoods and bring more money into the hands of the poor, enabling them to provide health, education, clean water, sanitation and energy services, etc. The impact project aims to create innovative design approaches that are predominantly business-oriented and system-driven. In addition to being environmentally, socially and culturally important, it would require evaluation at every level to ensure that the initiatives are effective and economically sustainable Client: Industree Foundation
Industree builds sustainable livelihoods in the farm and creative manufacturing sectors to ensure that underemployed women can have high and regular incomes, decent and equitable working conditions, and resilience to life crises.
“We believe that when producers have access to an enabling ecosystem, they are able to pursue their futures with dignity, and that when women earn they are empowered at home and in their communities.” Industree Crafts foundation was invited to the Partnership Collaboration Eco-System of OFSDP Phase II in Bhuvneshwar. An agreement was signed thereafter with defined goals of establishing value chain and Market linkage for the given clusters. The 3 products included Hill-Broom, Siali leaf Plates, and Kotpad weaving were
discovered. Kotpad weaver’s society is out of Forest departments direct control. The most prospective was Siali leaf plates which was considered as the only source of income for more than 5 Lakh tribal women in Odisha. Out of the 7 clusters, 5 clusters were Siali leaf Clusters and 2 clusters had good potential in terms of availability of leaves, infrastructure, working capital and member strength. The business plan was surrounded around these two clusters and how to develop upon the current accessed situation.
Rural poverty in India is generally viewed as a result of lack of access to or low productivity of cultivable land. Changes in the collection of objects collected from common property resources such as forests go mostly unnoticed and are not shown in the national accounts.
Nevertheless, about 100 million people living in and around India’s forests derive support from the processing and selling of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for their living. Thus the question of rights and access to, and revenue from, NTFPs is central to the forest dwellers’ sustenance and livelihood.
Non-Timber Forest Products applies to all other biological materials for human and animal use except timber harvested from natural forests. This includes plant tissue used for fiber, building materials, medicine, edible leaves, roots, herb, berries, seed, nuts, honey, resin, glue, lake, etc. They have earnings potential and provide
opportunities for employment. Prior to the 1988 National Forest Policy (NFP), NTFPs were popularly known as Minor Forest Products (MFPs). In addition to the economic value, the non-economic value of NTFP is more critical for forest dwellers.
There are 7 tribes in the clusters chosen by Industree foundation, for generations their livelihood is mostly based on plucking Sal and Siali leaves. Their routine has remained the same for decades, the women of the households wake up early to leave for the forests. They spend the whole day collecting leaves and return late in the evening and stack up the leaves and later start stitching the leaves to make a Khali. These Khali’s are later taken into production for leaf plates.
Kandhamal district in Odisha is in a relatively poor state, encouraging in an activity where it offers the people a stable source of livelihood and equips them to come together and capitalize on the large quantities of valueadded Siali-leaf plates to ensure them of higher incomes. Design brief
This project tends to look at finding a sustainable way of balancing the supply and demand and emphasis on the importance of safety for these women during the collection, storage and processing of the NTFP materials especially the value chain regarding to Sal/Siali plates made by the two clusters, it also studies the current scenarios of the NTFP materials in the market and in the
chosen geographical context where in it identifies there is a need to understand the potential of each material to produce a portfolio of market. It looks at understanding people’s sources of income generation and for selfconsumption like agriculture of Dhan (husk rice) and Biri (a type of pulse), Turmeric, Mahua, Hill broom, Amla, Jhuna etc.
The pre-production during the making of the plates(Sal/ Siali) and also other NTFP materials such as mahua flower, Harida, Kusum seeds Bahada, Sal seeds and Tamraind etc. need an intervention in terms of innovative design to increase the efficiency and cope/prevent with injuries caused by snake bites, thorns and trees etc of plucking, collecting and also storing the NTFP materials to optimize the process and value for the products. Establish your position Understanding human behavior has always been my primary interest, evaluating and interpreting human subjects, their activities, stated identities and experiences has and continue to be an influence in regards to my design practice. Community design has been an interest of mine as it holds “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs” principles. It says the needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied to meet the needs higher up the hierarchy. Emphasizing on bottom-up design yields more to all the sections on the ladder rather than traditional top-down thinking. I believe as a designer listening and truly understanding what the needs of the
lower section of the hierarchy helps in accomplishing the goals of the community as a whole as it focuses more on the experiences – what they do, what they don’t do well and what has or hasn’t worked. Community design puts forth the idea that design is not for oneself but instead, it’s creating an architecture where it brings the inputs of every stakeholder in the organization to develop a substantial livelihood for the people, this I think is a dynamic characteristic. It is an aspect of nurturing, supporting, helping, encouraging development; strengthening and cherishing.
The two clusters, Sirla and Lundruguda together have 675 members distributed across 57 SHG’s. The women currently produce both fine stitched and rough stitched plates. More than 50 % of SHG’s have good supply of leaves throughout the year and do consistent business with local traders. The loose leaves are made into rough and fine stitched leaf-plates by various producer groups. Rough stitch has the largest market, because there is more money to be made by traders who buy them at cheap rates and add value to them, and then sell at very profitable margins.
In some cases, rough stitched khali’s go through a quality check where in the stitches are more concise and which are then sold to urban markets.
From here on traders add value, these leaves are manually cut and pressed into plates which look more appealing,
in this process, there are multiple markets targeted such as a wedding, buffets, important functions, hotels etc. These plates are produced as multiple sizes 6x6 inch, 8x8 inch,12x12 inch (round) and 10x10 inch(Square)
As of now the highest demand amongst these plates is the 12inch round leaf plate which are sold to almost all markets, because of a slightly weak structure its competitors are slightly ahead in the race which are paper, areca and leaf print plates.
Some quantitative research during the market study: Odisha wholesale
The average prices of the leaf plate were: Leaf(Siali) plate rs.1.25/plate – 6inch leaf(siali) plate rs.3/plate -8 inch leaf(siali) plate rs.3.30/plate – 12 inch - Bhubaneswar, directly from manufacture
Various kinds of medium and training schemes are provided to the women in an SHG by the Industree foundation to device a better quality of products such as machine stitching, sorting of material, pressing in old and new machines.
Based on the customer study conducted, there is a preference for leaf plates if it is hygienic, healthy, religious aspects and sustainable option.
NTFP materials collected throughout the year vary and are seasonal, it’s vital to understand that these women have specific skills pertaining to each NTFP material collected, these skills can be observed during the process
of the collection, production and storing such as stitching, pressing, cooking, making oils and other labor work.
The local market for them is the easiest to access and to sell their NTFP materials, there are also traders who buy especially Sal/Siali from these women who give an immediate exchange of money.
Questions that need to be addressed
1. What are the different NTFP materials their household uses and their commercial uses?
2. What is the quantity available and how much of it can be collected?
3. Does Industree foundation share any profit produced with the women?
4. Finding out what could be grown on the soil apart from existing resources?
5. Are there any uses of local fruits that can be used along with NTFP materials?
6. What are the existing tools for the women and used by them for pre-production of Sal and Siali
7. What have been the measures taken up by Industree and the government to ensure women’s safety?
8. What tools can/are being used to harvest everyday collection of fruits?
During the initial stage, the wholesale and the retail in Bangalore was studied to understand the target market:
1. Who are the potential customers? (Individual consumers, businesses)
2. Where are they located?
3. How large is the target market?
4. What are the needs and wants of the target market?
5. What criteria do the whole sellers, retailer’s and the customers use in making their buying decisions? This was exercised to understand the needs and wants of the customers and to meet those more effectively than the competitions. A quantitative analysis was done to understand the current position of the existing product in the market.
The same techniques were used in the area which involved all the stakeholders resulting in significant outputs, some tools that were used and that would be used are1:
Social mapping
Competitive analysis
Seasonal calendar Interviews Shadowing 1 Marshall, Rushton, and Schreckenberg, “Practical Tools for Researching Successful NTFP Commercialization: A Methods Manual -.”
Fears and goals
Observations Analysis
Fishbone diagram
Affinity mapping
Materials
Activities, Environments, Interactions, Objects, Users
Empathizing with the community and understanding their challenges.
Market Research - existing markets.
Primary Research – conducted in Odisha, Baliguda
Phase II:
Market research new markets
Customer study on preferences
Conducting in depth primary research with focused scope Conceptualization of the proposed idea Ideation using various tools and methods
Phase III: Creating iterations for the final output User testing of the prototype to narrow down on particular iteration Reiterating based on feedback
Final Output Documentation Book. Materials and Resources
A lot of primary set of information was collected through interviews, observation and facts. Understanding the socio-economic structure of the community was vital; the secretaries of the SHG’s and the cluster helped us in being empathetic about the needs and wants of the people. The forest department enabled us to understand the policies that needed to be considered for design interventions. The infrastructure available at industree foundation opened
opportunities for creative design interventions.
• Prafulla Nayak : Cluster manager of Sirla, his knowledge about the cluster its resources and the language is an invaluable source of information.
• Srimanto Majhi : The training instructor of Industree at field.
• SHG secretary: for any communication with the SHG it is important to build a rapport with the secretaries of all the SHG’s.
• Suresh – Industree manager for Odisha NTFP project.
• Subrajit – Marketing head for NTFP Odisha Products.
• Subrat Mohanti – Manager of Manav Vikas pressing unit.
• Forest Department: To function around the clusters, it is important to be informed about the policies and the people of the forest department in case of emergencies, requirements etc.
• The women of the clusters who are the soul of the project scope.
• Health Departments. – Doctor, National health mission.
• School kids who helped us understand goals and aspirations.
• Atree foundation
To perceive the needs of the people through empathy and create an opportunity to learn, design and deliver solutions that are beneficial to all the sectors in the
community. Craft and process are medium of selfexpression that can be a way of learning sensitivity towards different cultural or ecological phenomena and also reflecting on the society as well as have a better understanding of cultural differences. As mentioned before, building an architecture that is stable enough to hold a particular aspect of community which would optimize the current lively hood of the people is ideal. References Foundation, Industree. “Green Kraft.” Handover Report (2017).Annual report – Industree foundation P, Ashton. “Shorea Robusta.” wikipedia.org. Accessed February 11, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Shorea_robusta.
Marshall, Elaine, Jonathan Rushton, and Kate Schreckenberg. “Practical Tools for Researching Successful
NTFP Commercialization: A Methods Manual -,” 2006, 72.
Narayanasamy, N. “Principles, Methods and Application.” Participatory Rural Appraisal (2009).
Being the kind of person who likes to learn and always trying to get more experience, especially excited about learning things relevant to my current and future careers, which is why I have been enthusiastic about this study on a topic of my choosing in this process. This project as a whole was out of my comfort zone to some extent, not being familiar with textile or natural material as such, this project forced me to learn so many things. Fortunately enough there was a wonderful team on board to work with, at first it was very overwhelming to go on a study tour without a facilitator but we’re grateful for Suresh and Praful who took care of us and directed us through different phases.
While dealing with so much detail and a lot of open ended questions and discussions throughout our initial study, I was personally confused as to where to have a design intervention, despite thorough analysis and structuring of the data we collected it was still confusing which direction to take, looking back and remembering my design principles, I could slightly carve my way out to something. Early stages were aimed to solve multiple things for these women as I noticed there were going through so much and so many problems, we wanted to solve every problem of theirs, later I realized it was not practical at all, slowing down and going back to different research phases, I noticed a very small detail which played huge impact on them, the bag they use during collection, women never spoke about this, until I noticed that it caused discomfort to them. After that so many things started digging out of that detail that I decided to stick to this problem area, solve it and make it better for them. The reason the detail was apparent was because my own design principles that reminded myself of having a more practical approach than emotional while observing them.
There was a concern that the end end result would be just simple pieces put together, thinking it was not my best for the final thesis, thinking I was failing and lagging behind, but then after receiving feedback from people and understanding the situation better, I realized that there is no need to design something complex or something that looks aesthetic with no or minimal functionality when dealing with real life scenarios, that defeats the purpose and the projects goal. Acknowledging that the design definitely works for these women as it follows all the non negotiable attributes and will be of so much value to them, helped me to finish the project successfully.
“Non Timber Forest Products India | Orissa | NTFP | Orissa Forest Development Corporation,” accessed February 11, 2020, https://www. odishafdc.com/products_ntfp_ofdc.php.
• Foundation, Industree. “Green Kraft.” Handover Report (2017). • Foundation, Industree. “Green Kraft.” Annual Report (2019).
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Prafulla Nayak : Cluster manager of Sirla, his knowledge about the cluster its resources and the language is an invaluable source of information.
• Srimanto Majhi : The training instructor of Industree at field. • SHG secretary: for any communication with the SHG it is important to build a rapport with the secretaries of all the SHG’s.
• Suresh – Industree manager for Odisha NTFP project.
• Subrajit – Marketing head for NTFP Odisha Products.
• Subrat Mohanti – Manager of Manav Vikas pressing unit.
• Forest Department: To function around the clusters, it is important to be informed about the policies and the people of the forest department in case of emergencies, requirements etc.
• The women of the clusters who are the soul of the project scope.
• Health Departments. – Doctor, National health mission.
• School kids who helped us understand goals and aspirations.
• Atree foundation
Product to improve collection of Sal/Siali
STUDENT: KRISHNA PRANAV
PROJECT: Impact edge - NTFP Odisha
SPONSOR: Industree Foundation
PROGRAM: Undergraduate Professional Programme
AWARD: Industrial Arts and Design Practices
Examiner 1 (name and signature):
Examiner 2 (name and signature):
Examiner 3 (name and signature):
Date: Academic Dean:
Final Examination Panel COMMENTS:
Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology Bangalore - 560064 Karnataka