Design for the Other 90%

About a year ago, I stumbled upon a website called Design For the Other 90%. Intrigued by the uniqueness of its name, I followed the links and discovered a wealth of innovation and ingenuity that were harnessed for serving the poor. The premise was that the majority of designs in today's day and age are created for only 10% of today's population - ignoring the other 90% of the world who are often in greatest need for creativity and craftsmanship for everyday problems. The website showcased products spread across several categories pertinent to everyday issues that the world's poor face: water, energy, shelter, among others.

One of the cool products I read up on was called the Lifestraw. Because clean water is not easily accessed in many parts of the world, the effects of waterborne conditions encountered because of low quality water are vast and wide-ranging. If I remember from my International Health class this past year correctly, diarhea is the number one killer of children around the world. The Lifestraw is designed to turn any body of water into a sufficiently clean water for drinking. It's shaped like a straw and designed to be sturdy and recognizable. Another product I remember reading about was the Big Boda Bicycle - which is designed to allow local merchants to carry a significantly greater load between destinations. Since bicycles are one of the primary mode of transportation in the developing world, one can understand the convenience factor and efficiency advantages to having such a bicycle. The beautiful thing about all the products on Design for the Other 90% is that every item has been specifically designed and engineered for the needs of the poor and the people that are using them. There was a thought process that occurred and took into account the context by which the products would be best utilized.

At SVYM, the Design for the Other 90% idea became real for me. On Friday, I got to visit a school in the rural areas of H.D. Kote. SVYM has been involved in the education of kids in schools all around the rural areas of their headquarters in Saragur. As part of that initiative, they helped donate funds to construct a see-saw that pumps water out of the ground into a large storage tank on the roof of the school while kids are rocking back and forth. Instead of having to hand operate a pump of some sort to store enough water for the school's use, a simple recess session can instead provide enough water for the school to use for its bathrooms, canteen, and other water-related applications. Although these see-saws aren't being built in every school around, I couldn't help but be reminded of the innovation and uniqueness of the idea that represents one step further towards educating people about the importance of the availability and quality of one's water supply.

We were there on Friday for the inauguration of the see-saw, among other things around the school grounds. The kids were loving the new toy, and as we walked around, we saw different areas that SVYM had contributed to for the education of the children in the areas of water and sanitation. During the ceremony, some adults decided to jump on and contribute the pumping of water into the storage tank as well!


The see saw. You can't really see the pump because the plants are blocking it. Kids were jumping all around it having a good time - and pumping water at the same time as well.



As I went around to take pictures of the see-saw from different angles, kids started to follow me. Eventually, they began to stand in front of what I wanted to photograph (the see-saw).


The water tank that water from the see-saw gets pumped into. It holds enough water for everything the school needs for day-to-day functions.


A photo of the bathroom at the school. One of the obstacles that SVYM had to overcome initially in its promotion of toilets over no toilets was convincing the people that it was safe and acceptable to have a bathroom in the vicinity of buildings. The thought of having a bathroom inside of a building was looked upon as undesirable and disgusting. This bathroom was right next to the school - and had a covering as well as a collecting pool (on the left) for water used for flushing.