80% of humanity lives on less than $10/day. If you are part of the world's lowest socioeconomic level you may be living on a house that can barely be called that. It's a collection of sticks, cardboard, plastic sheet. A dirt floor, no water, electricity or sewage. Enter frugal innovation or frugal engineering: The process of reducing the complexity and cost of a good and its production. Usually this refers to removing nonessential features from a durable good in order to sell it in developing countries. In this chapter of the "Beyond Stage Gate" series, we explore simple, low cost, effective and proven global design solutions that do not require exotic technology but that when combined can dramatically improve the quality of life of people around the world. Recent examples of successful design that have raised living standards in developing countries will be shown.
4.
Background
In this chapter of
the Beyond Stage
Gate series we
explore
Simple, low cost,
effective and proven
global design
solutions: #Jugaad
Do not require exotic
technology
When combined can
dramatically improve
the quality of life of
people around the
www.Brioneja.com
Twitter: @Brioneja
14. Frugal Innovation or Frugal
Engineering:
The process of reducing
the complexity and cost
of a good and its
production.
Usually this refers to
removing nonessential
features from a
durable good in order
to sell it in developing
countries
Also referred to as
Jugaad
www.Brioneja.com
Twitter: @Brioneja
25. Next Steps
Online
portal
Hub for global
information
exchange
Sponsorships
Create
a pilot site
to showcase the
concept
www.Brioneja.com
Twitter: @Brioneja
26. Next Steps
Engage
local team
and off-site
teams
Design package
Funding
logistics
Manufacturing
Installation
www.Brioneja.com
Twitter: @Brioneja
28. Contact Information
Jose A. Briones, Ph.D.
Brioneja@SpyroTek.com
www.Brioneja.com
Twitter: @Brioneja
www.Brioneja.com
Twitter: @Brioneja
www.Brioneja.com
Notas do Editor
In this presentation I will talk about simple, low cost, effective and proven global design solutions that do not require exotic technology but that when combined can dramatically improve the quality of life of people around the world. Thanks for the opportunity to present for the first time a collection of design ideas that I think are a very cost effective way to address the problem of housing and living conditions of the poor.
Now just imagine... 80% of humanity lives on less than $10/day20% of humanity lives on <$1.25/dayIf you are part of the world's lowest socioeconomic level you may be living on a house that can barely be called thatIt's a collection of sticks, cardboard, plastic sheetA dirt floor, no water, electricity or sewage.
These are actual photos I took in Tulancingo, Mexico. It is hard to describe this level of poverty if you have never seen it.There are millions of houses like this around the world.Thus the question, how can we help these people in a cost effective manner?
In 2010 I learned of a challenge to the world's design community to design a house that would cost less than $300 to buildfor low income populations. Enter frugal innovation. Usually this refers to removing nonessential features from a durable good in order to sell it in developing countries. Also known as “Jugaad” Innovationwww.300house.com
In 5th place the $300 earthbag dome provides affordable shelter. Earthbag construction requires very basic construction materials: sturdy sacks, filled with inorganic material.In this case, the Stone Dome is made with geopolymer cast stone. The ancients used limestone, kaolin clay, sodium carbonate, lime and water to make cast stone in situ. The end product is actual stone, not just something ‘hard as rock’. Not much else can compare to this. Even modern concrete falls short, because it’s brittle, expensive, shrinks and cracks as it dries
In 4th place a Pilot project to build 10 low cost houses Promoting a range of improved building techniques techniques that will strengthen or improve parts of the house with materials such as bamboo and corrugated IronThis study was undertaken as part of Urban Partnerships for Poverty Reduction Project, a project aimed at reducing poverty in urban communities across Bangladesh. This is a pilot project to build 10 low cost houses in Jorgen Babur Mart, a slum in Din
Using the SuperAdobe to quickly build strong and economic houses, with cost below $300. Superadobe is a form of earthbag construction that uses layered long fabric tubes or bags filled with adobe to form a compression structure.[2]Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material (sticks, straw, and/or manure). The SuperAdobeproject is a low-cost project, that can be self-built by collective effort of the community.
House community made of bags filled with local materials
Hyper-wattle is a hybrid between light clay and straw bale.This is a natural stress-skin panel building system of light fiber and clay upper walls on a heavy earthbag or masonry baseHyper-wattle upper walls are based on proven straw-clay or light wood chip clay used for timber frame infill in Europe and the US. It is time for earthen buildings to join the forefront of geo-textile technology. Simple structures can be beautiful and strong without great cost
In 2009 I had the fortune to travel to Tulancingo, Mexico to visit one of the work sites of the organization Un Techo Para MiPais (A roof for my country). This is an organization that provides housing for families in Latin America. In one weekend they can build a sturdy plywood one-room house using what I call American-style construction methods. 8 Volunteers – 2 Days ConstructionCost: US$1,200-1,500Operations in 19 Countries in Latin America and Caribbean http://www.techo.org/
These houses are spartan: 4 walls, a floor and a roof. But they completely change the lives of the families that live in them. I still remember the faces of the families that had just received their new houses and the pride they had when they showed them to us. TECHO Has brought low cost, simple, efficient design to reality
Now, I am an engineer, and I tend to focus on the details. I believe that there were shortcomings in the designs in that they only took into account the structural aspects of the house and not the entire quality of life. So I asked myself some questions: Where will they cook? Where will they go to the bathroom? Where can they store milk, meat? For many of these questions the answer was a hole in the ground outside. Thus, while these families have solved a basic need of shelter, but they still have other basic needs to have a minimum quality of life. Thus I started a search for solutions everywhere. An one by one they started to appear.
An organization called Helps international has designed a cinder block stove called the ONIL stove that is used extensively in Guatemala. It is an incredibly efficient stove that requires 70% less wood to cook, it is relatively easy to build and low cost. The materials used are simple construction materials. What is unique is the design, specifically the simplicity of the design. The families that have this stove can have it inside their house and the need to collect or buy wood or coal is significantly reduced. Its cost ~US$100
Also known as IAP Stove or stoves for reducing indoor air pollutionFire tends to be totally enclosed
Now to the problem of food storage. Turns out that in India an inventor designed a refrigerator that works with no electricity. It is made of ceramic and cools via water evaporation. It will extend the shelf life of perishable foods 1 to 3 days. Now you may say that does not sound very much. But when you have to walk one hour each way to go to the store and this may allow you to cut back trips to the store from every day to every other day your life is changed. And again, the solution was simple design. No fancy technology, solar panels that can break and cannot be replaced. Cost US$40
When moisture comes into contact with dry air, it evaporates, causing an immediate drop in temperatureWhen the water in the sand between the two pots evaporates, the inner pot is kept cool, preserving the goods inside
During the recent screening of TEDxChange, Jeff Chapin ,a designer from IDEO told the story of the creation of the "easy latrine", a simple solution to the challenge of how to manage human waste. It is a low-cost pour-flush latrine, especially developed for a project in Cambodia. It consists of a pan, a bucket of water with a ladle, and pipes to connect a hut to a latrine buried in the ground. The latrine itself has three receptacles made of rings of concrete bound by the ash of rice husk
This is a product now used in Cambodia and it is a great story on how to do product design that truly involves the communities that will use it. It is again simple, easy to build and low cost. Cost: US$30-40 Was one of three winners named Best in Show by the jury of the 2010 IDEA awards“Chapin understood how to bring the idea to the community, how the product would be made, and how it would be sustained”
Then to the last piece of the puzzle: Water Purification. These filters are made of local clay, sawdust, and water. Those materials are mixed and pressed into a mold. The result is a flowerpot-shaped filter. The filter is then painted with a thin solution of silver or copper nanoparticles that serve as a highly effective disinfectant for waterborne pathogens. The design allows a user to pour water from an untreated source, such as a river or well, into the pot and allow it to filter through into a five-gallon bucket underneath.MadiDropis an alternative to the flowerpot filter, but ideally would be used in conjunction with it. “MadiDrop is cheaper, easier to use, and is easier to transport than the PureMadi filter, but because it is placed into the water, rather than having the water filter through it, the MadiDrop is not effective for removing sediment in water that causes discoloration or flavor impairment,” Smith says.
Global solution package: House design – Latin AmericaStove - Guatemala Refrigerator - India Latrine – CambodiaWater Purification – South Africa Now think of this as a package: House design from Mexico, stove from Guatemala, refrigerator from India, latrine from Cambodia. Simple, low cost, effective and proven global design solutions that do not require exotic technology but that combined can dramatically improve the quality of life of people around the world.
