Topic: Like development aid, much design for development has been increasingly criticised for not having real, sufficient, diverse or lasting value for the people it is intended for. Research three recent examples of capability-sensitive design from one or more design disciplines – architecture, urban planning, or industrial, communication, multi-media or digital design – that improves the lives of poor people in developing countries. One design should be sourced by a designer/s from a developing country. Discuss aspects of each example’s potential for real, sufficient, diverse and lasting value for the targeted users and the makers where is it made/built in a developing nation

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Design for development has continually been criticised for not having a real and diverse effect on people without any sufficient of sustainable value for the people that is intended for. This concept of design for development is not new and has been around in the world for a long time. Especially since the 1960s, the idea of developmental design and its process has been mentioned infrequently, however failing to be a permanent name in the process (Margolin 2007, p.111). Design for development are those designs that are beneficial for the population that are in need, that demonstrates the ‘pedalling to prosperity’ concept. Pedalling to prosperity involves designs engineered to be affordable to the dollar-a-day customers with a fair market price eventually leading families out of poverty. Many designers and engineers focus on providing the best services for the percentage of the world that is financially ahead and this has been seen as an opportunity where there is a monetary gain for the people involved. Such example of this are engineers developing elegant shapes for modern cars that only a handful of people can afford. However, there is a majority of people in the world who can only dream about riding a bicycle, and these designs intended for the rich would not affect their lives (Polak 2007, p.19). As the world continues on with advanced technology and an increasing awareness for the population inflicted with poverty, designers should focus on the designing and making the lives of these people better. Designing for those in-need plays an important role in the ethics and morals of designers and the services they provide. It is fair to expect a monetary gain in designing luxury items that appeal to the rich. Nevertheless, there seems to be a big opportunity for recognition and marketing in designing for the ninety percent of the population in developing countries afflicted with poverty and lack of resources. The slightest of contribution and effort into communities such as these would show a huge change in their daily routine, leading to a better quality of life. A capability sensitive design approach is required, where it focuses on the moral significance of individual’s capability of achieving life with value for developmental design.

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Sanitation and hygiene has been one of the most challenging areas in economically challenged communities in developing countries. Countries in South Asia, such as India has been facing this issue for a long time, with about 55% of the population in India having no access to toilets. O’Reilly and Louis (2014), have quoted that, “The focus of policy and research has shifted to the creation of demand for sanitation because low demand at the household level has been blamed for the failure of sanitation initiatives.” Many villages in India has lacked a proper toiletry system and factors such as poverty, inequality and minimal or no access to resources continually act as restraints to proper sanitisation. This leads to various waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, cholera etc. These diseases which can even lead to death, as in most cases with infants, thus has a negative impact on the well being of the overall community and greatly affects the quality of life. It is essential that there should be a focus on engaging the social and economic factors to lead people to toilet adoption, which comes from proving the right toilet designs, involving the community, providing specific solutions to the local area and understanding the people’s views on sanitation. The portable and eco-friendly eToilet concept introduced by civil engineer Bincy Baby with the help of Eram Scientific Solutions Pvt. Ltd. in the villages at India, which focused on providing a hygienically maintained toilet challenged the constraints and provided with a sustainable solution for the country.

Figure 1. The first hygienically and unmanned e-Toilet at the Surajkund Fair in India.

(https://www.thebetterindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Surajkund-fair.jpg)

The e-Toilets contain sensor-based technology that self-maintains and includes a water conservation mechanism. This toilet also provides instructional note outside the toilet and also contains audio commands inside activated through a sensor based light system. There are now 500 toilets in ten different states in India, especially at schools which has allowed the communities to practice safe hygiene and prevent any diseases and this has seen a gradual change in the public sanitisation scene in the country.

Hancock (2001), argues that a more human-centred development is required instead of an economic-centred approach and as a society, the idea of improving quality should be in the forefront of our minds while designing for development. In Kenya, due to the poor infrastructure and rural roads, limited access to facilities and a lack of modern technology, it has proven to be a challenge for local villages where agriculture is their backbone. There is also a high reliance on rainfall which can lead to fluctuating production and income in agriculture (Alila and Atieno 2006, p.5). Thus, small designs to make the people in the villages benefit from agriculture can lead to a better quality of life. Programmes such as the Kenya Towns Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitisation work towards providing access and increasing availability to water sources. The Africa Research Bulletin (2017), states that, “The programme aims to catalyse commercial activities, drive economic growth, improve people’s quality of life and build resilience against climate variability and change.”

Figure 2. The use of a treadle pump for irrigation purposes in Kenya

(http://gaap.ifpri.info/files/2011/12/kickstart-300×159.jpg)

Appropriate Technologies for Enterprise Creation (ApproTec) have supplied a treadle pump in the villages challenged by lack of water resources, that connects with a drum and costs starting from $45-$100. This gives an opportunity to the community and the people to purchase the products as an investment which allows them to feel like customers. This has a great impact on the lives of the people involved in agriculture, providing them with a cheaper technology to continue their work in a more efficient way, also saving the time spent on travelling long distances to collect water for farming. This treadle pump allows the farmers to use the collected rainwater for agriculture, which is also a great way of being less dependent of rainfall and saving water resources. Another innovative design developed by the Natural Resources Monitoring, Modelling and Management Project is the donkey carts to deliver water to the bucket kits situated in Nayuki, Kenya, which is a drought prone area. These are generally available for purchase and is a long term investment for families to use for the collection of water, avoiding the issues that arise with physically transporting water.

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There has been a crisis of water resources in Nepal for a very long time. Especially the southern Terai region, experiencing a lack of safe water source leading to various water related diseases which has presented itself as a roadblock in the country’s development. A huge factor in affective the life of the people has also been the geographical structure of the country, with transportation of water taking a long time due to the hilly terrain. This causes villages to go on weeks with scarcity in water, resulting in people turning towards to any contaminated source of water. Even the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu has been facing issues with contaminated water throughout the city, leading to an increase in deaths, common with infants. One of the major causes of this is due to poor filtration system for drinking water as high levels of arsenic are found in the wells throughout the villages. Ngai, (2007, p.1879) quoted that, “Although arsenic contamination in drinking water has received widespread attention, microbial contamination is still, by far, the single largest cause of waterborne disease and death.” Although there have been technologies implemented treating drinking water, they have proven to be costly, thus being more common in cities where people are able to afford the system. Therefore, Environment & Public Health Organization (ENPHO) in partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), instigated the Kanchan Arsenic Filter (KAF) made up of materials found in the local markets and put together using simple tools such as wrenches and screwdriver. The filter contains a sand filter and a  diffuser basin consisting of iron nails which helps remove the arsenic from the water.  This easy to use design requires low maintenance and is affordable for families with little to no income. This design was also supported by the society and utilised their input in construction, also providing people with employment opportunities. This design has shown a positive trend in the quality of life and is only the first step in pedalling to prosperity.

Figure 3. The Kanchan Arsenic filter being used in a village in Nepal. (https://d2cvpgv72xu3gf.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Kanchan_main_resized-1.jpg)

In conclusion, all the three designs are relatively simple to use and provides a huge step for the population affected with poverty. These designs do not require high maintenance and also gives a chance for the community to involved in what they need for their betterment. Providing a design that is affordable and cheap allows the people the opportunity to be customers instead of recipients of charity. This helps them to learn the necessary economic skills required, allowing them to use the products sustainably, giving them a chance to save money in the future. These designs are also necessary for communities, as this allows the people to have a say in what they require and get involved with the process of providing the tools and services, which is a great example of co-evolutionary design. Murcott (2007, p.123), agrees stating, “This learning, iterative process among partners includes cooperation, local expertise, local resources and reliance on the global environment as a ‘lab’ for knowledge-sharing and open-source innovation.” There is also a huge opportunity for making money as design for development is an unexploited market with the number of poor customers reaching billions. Venturing into this sector of the market, not only provides a huge opportunity to exploit a potential business framework with big profits, but also helps to make the world a better place one step at a time, solving minute problems which account into a global issue. I believe that designers should have the focus of using their skillsets to improve the quality of life of people at the front of their mind. This raises the question as to why people entering into the design field still look towards the five percent of the rich population when a huge amount of money lies in the other ninety five percent.

REFERENCES

Journal and Online articles

Africa Research Bulletin. (2017). WATER: Kenya (pp. 21515-21517). Africa Research Bulletin.

Alila, P., & Atieno, R. (2006). Agricultural Policy in Kenya: Issues and Processes. Future Agricultures, 5.

Hancock,T. (2001) People, partnerships and human progress: building community capital,  Health Promotion International, 16, 275-280.

Hong, I., & Roh, K. (2018). Evaluation of a Community Development Program in Nepal. Research On Social Work Practice, 28(6), 721-730. doi: 10.1177/1049731518755010

Murcott, S. (2007). Co-evolutionary design for development: influences shaping engineering design and implementation in Nepal and the global village, Journal of International Development. 19, 123-144

Ngai, T., Shrestha, R., Dangol, B., Maharjan, M., & Murcott, S. (2007). Design for sustainable development—Household drinking water filter for arsenic and pathogen treatment in Nepal. Journal Of Environmental Science And Health, Part A, 42(12), 1879-1888. doi: 10.1080/10934520701567148

Oosterlaken, I. (2009).  Design or Development: A Capability Approach. Design Issues: 25, 4, 91-102

O’Reilly, K., & Louis, E. (2014). The toilet tripod: Understanding successful sanitation in rural India. Health & Place, 29, 43-51. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2014.05.007

Polak, P. (2007) Design for the Other 90%, in C. Smith, (Ed.) (2007). Design for the other 90%. New York, USA:  Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian, National Design Museum.

Webpages

Keller, J. (2012). Kenya; Gardening with Low-Cost Drip Irrigation in Kenya For Health and Profit. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/V9X/k3x360

Pareek, S. (2014). This eToilet Is Changing The Way Public Sanitation Works In India – The Better India. Retrieved from https://www.thebetterindia.com/13940/etoilet-changing-way-public-sanitation-works-india-eram-marico/

Challenges Facing Agriculture and Farming in Kenya. (2018). Retrieved from https://informationcradle.com/kenya/challenges-problems-facing-agriculture-and-farming-in-kenya/

Kanchan Arsenic Filter (KAF) | Engineering For Change. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.engineeringforchange.org/solutions/product/kanchan-arsenic-filter-kaf/