Radhika Bhalla | 1

Design’s Potential Role in Transforming Public Services in Rural India

1. Introduction

“The soul of India lives in its villages,” said Gandhi in the beginning of the 20th Century. My first

encounters with Indian village were from the distance of passing trains, looking out of the windows at

the endless fields and farmers at work. At any given point, there was always some form of life around –

a human, a cow, a dog. The picture represented an idyllic view, one reinforced by the portrayal of the

village in Indian cinema. The village was about big farmhouses and bigger families, ample time on hand

with none of the chaos of the cities, a simple life that represented the India in which Gandhi believed. I

could not have been more wrong.

2. Understanding Rural India

My first visit to a village was in one of the most backward districts in Karnataka, India. The Human

Development Index here is comparable to that of sub-Saharan Africa. It was the first time since I had a

cellphone that I was not connected to the world. There were no cellular operators, no internet and no

fixed lines. A public telephone booth in the campus of the non-profit that we stayed in was the only

form of communication for miles. The villages that we visited were off dirt roads that were difficult to

reach by public transportation. Most villages had a Panchayat (village government) office which was

used for all kinds of public meetings. Some villages had a primary school, and fewer had health

dispensaries. The houses varied in size and construction -- from pucca two storied buildings to kacha

huts. I could usually find a pay phone in each village, next to a small shop selling basic household

necessities. The infrastructure was a bare minimum, with no certainty of whether there would be

electricity or water available. This is rural India -- the village as an entity synonymous with extreme

poverty.

Radhika Bhalla | 2

3. Transforming Public Services

Rural India is poorly served by both the government and the corporate sector, thus many rural people

live in informal settlements, lack access to water and sanitation services, electricity, and basic

healthcare. Most have no bank account and no access to financial services other than an informal

economy dominated by local moneylenders charging exorbitant interest rates. Lack of transportation

limits their access to markets to sell their crops or craft, and they have no choice but to sell to

middlemen who use unfair means and exploit them. People living in rural India pay much higher prices

for basic goods and services which are usually of lower quality, not only in the form of money but also

in the time spent to obtain those goods and services. In order to enable rural India to find its own

route out of poverty, one needs to look at the existing infrastructure and public services, and

understand the unmet needs of the people.

3.1 Energy

Rural India lacks access to clean and affordable energy and instead uses inefficient fuels that are

harmful to people’s health. There is no electricity in rural India: firewood is the primary source for

cooking while kerosene is the predominant fuel source for lighting, and the indoor use of these fuels

case significant health problems. These inefficient sources of energy are also more expensive and

gathering the firewood is a time consuming process. This time could be better spent in more important

places like at school or at work. Rural electrification initiatives using new technologies like LEDs and

improvements of old devices like biomass burning cook stoves suggest that creative solutions can be

found. We are seeing off-grid solutions become more widespread in areas where the public grid does

not reach at all. In areas where the electricity is erratic, hybrid solutions using hydropower or solar

photovoltaic cells are becoming more popular as designers search for sustainable solutions.

(Hammond et al 2007, 77-87)

Radhika Bhalla | 3

3.1.1 SELCO

SELCO provides sustainable energy services to under-served households and businesses in rural India.

These include solar lighting and electricity, clean cooking devices and wireless communication. They

believe in knowing the needs of their customers and provide at-home design consultation, installation

and after-sales service. By owning 25 service centers in key locations, SELCO has managed to provide

electricity to 75,000 homes. Sales and service is decentralized and directly managed by the managers

of the local service centers. As a result of local service centers and strong management personnel,

they have created a strong distribution channel. SELCO’s business model works mostly because of the

combination of product, service and finance. Using high quality products reduces the cost of service

and maintenance, and reduces SELCO’s operations costs. They help their customers finance their

purchase by partnering with rural banks, leasing companies and micro-finance organizations. The

monthly price becomes comparable to using traditional less effective sources. (http://www.selco-

india.com/)

3.1.2 IDEAAS

IDEAAS uses social business models to provide rural electrification and renewable energy to the poor

rural areas in Brazil that are not on-grid. Development of social processes results in income generation

and productive use of energy. They started by developing low cost rural electrification system in

Palmares do Sul between 1983 and 1988, as a result of which the cost of providing energy was reduced

by 90%. The community worked together setting up poles and wiring that were independent of the

connection to the traditional grid. Forty photovoltaic solar systems were used to cover the entire area

with IDEAAS investing fully in equipment and infrastructure. They used inexpensive materials and

simplified construction methods. Today, this system is common in rural areas all over Brazil, and low-

income households rent solar energy thus reducing the cost of the service. (http://www.ideaas.org.br/)

Radhika Bhalla | 4

3.2 Healthcare

Rural India lacks access to public healthcare and the distribution channels for medicines and services

is limited, leading to a lot of casualties and many diseases going untreated. The decision is based on

the cost to travel to a clinic or hospital: if it results in more money spent in transportation or wages lost

due to the time taken to reach the facility, people will defer treatment until the condition is relatively

serious. The ineffective system results in self-medication techniques, making pharmacies or other

sources of medicines the most important part of the healthcare system. This shows a huge need not

only for distribution of medicines to remote areas, but also a requirement for health education so that

rural households know the best way to treat their symptoms. (Hammond et al 2007, 35-41)

3.2.1 Aravind Eye Care

Aravind Eye Care started as an alternate health care model to support the efforts of the Indian

government and also be a self-supporting entity. They provide free or low-cost treatment to 70% of

their patients and generate enough revenue from the other 30% to cover the cost. They reduced

operating costs by using ophthalmic paramedical staff to do all the preparatory and post-operation

work on each patient, leaving the surgeon more time to perform more surgeries. Each surgeon has two

tables so that he can perform the 10-20 minute operation and turn around to treat the next patient

while simultaneously a new patient is wheeled in. A major challenge to the service is that most people

from remote rural areas cannot find transportation to reach the hospital. To resolve this, they started

community outreach programs like eye-screening camps, school eye health programs, and village

volunteer programs. Mobile vans have also been used to go to the interiors of the villages about eight

to ten times a month and take healthcare to the doorstep of the customer. (http://www.aravind.org/)

Radhika Bhalla | 5

3.2.2 CFW Health Stores

CFW Health Stores are a network of micro pharmacies and clinics in Kenya that provide access to

essential medication in remote areas where healthcare is unavailable. They target the most common

killer diseases like malaria, respiratory infections and dysentery. They also provide health education

and prevention services to rural customers. These health stores work on a franchise model.

Community health workers who own and operate these stores can earn a modest living. There are two

types of stores – basic drug shops that are run by health workers and clinics that are run by nurses.

They have training programs that ensure that every operator knows how to diagnose the condition and

accurately prescribe the correct medicines. Being a franchise, procurement of drugs is centralized

which drives the cost down. (http://www.cfwshops.org/)

3.3 Transportation

Public transportation in rural India is either non-existent or completely rundown at best and the

distribution system for goods and services to these areas is minimal resulting in a higher cost for lower

quality services. The cost of owning a private vehicle is too high, leaving very few options to get from

one place to another – walking, cycling, or animal drawn carts. This lack of transportation is a constant

obstacle to looking for work, getting goods to and from the markets, or obtaining education and

healthcare. Farmers end up selling their produce to middlemen at unfair prices, and households put off

seeking medical care or sending children to school because of the high cost or the long hours in getting

to the hospital or the school. This inefficiency in transportation increases the need for more efficient

distribution channels for services, products, and information. Bringing the products and services to the

people at comparable market cost will empower the rural community and reduce their need to travel

to obtain similar information. (Hammond et al 2007, 61-67)

Radhika Bhalla | 6

3.3.1 Jugaad

“Jugaad” is a Hindi word which literally means “work around” and is commonly used when disruptive

methods are used instead of traditional means. A jugaad is a locally-made motor vehicle used mostly in

small villages as a means of low cost transportation. It is an ordinary water pump set converted into an

engine. The body is made from either wooden planks or from recycled jeeps. With four gears and a

steering, it is all that one needs to travel from remote places where public transportation is

unavailable. The brakes on this vehicle are poor and usually fail, but since it cannot go beyond 40kmph,

a passenger usually jumps down and applies a manual wooden block as brake. They operate on diesel

fuel and are not registered vehicles and hence do not have to pay registration fees or road tax. The

owners usually pay the traffic police a certain amount per month to let them run in their area. The

jugaad shows the spirit of enterprise in rural populations of India.

3.3.2 WorldBike Initiative

The WorldBike is an international network of bicycle developers, industry leaders and entrepreneurs

who are interesting in providing transportation solutions and create income-generating opportunities

in developing countries. Bicycles are the primary mode of transportation in these countries, but the

ones usually sold are designed for recreation purposes and are ill-suited to carrying heavy loads. The

WorldBike encourages anyone with a welder, a cut-off saw and access to used mountain bikes to make

a low-cost utility bicycle for a family in the developing world. These bicycles have a long wheelbase and

have more strength, effectively becoming load-carrying bicycles that can be used not only for

transportation but mobile services too. They conduct trial markets in each country to determine the

ideal price, and partner with organizations like Kickstart International to sell and distribute them.

(http://wwww.worldbike.org/)

Radhika Bhalla | 7

3.4 Education

The poor condition of schools in rural India becomes detrimental to the learning process and the

entire education system leading to an overall reduced literacy rate and low quality of life. According to

the Government of India, by the end of 2000, 94% of India's rural population had primary schools

within one km and 84% had upper primary schools within 3 km. While this might seem fair, the facilities

are inadequate with not enough classrooms or teachers. The schools not only lack educational

resources like textbooks, but basic infrastructure like furniture, water and toilets. The use of high-tech

devices such as computers is very rare, due to the unavailability of funds to invest in them and the lack

of electricity to run them. A number of teachers refuse to teach in rural areas because of lower wages

and the low standard of living. Those who do are usually under-qualified and are not interested in

teaching. 50% of children living in these areas leave school before the fifth grade. Some leave because

of lack of interest which is a result of the negligence of the government and the teacher. Most boys

leave so that they can work in the fields and bring in an extra source of income into the household,

while most girls are forced to help with household chores and take care of the large family at home.

3.4.1 The Barefoot College

The Barefoot College in India encourages practical knowledge and skills through the “learning by

doing” process. It encourages people to make mistakes so that they can learn humility, curiosity,

courage to take risks, innovate and improvise and constantly experiment. It believes that development

programs do not need urban-based professionals. Para-professionals already exist in the villages

whose knowledge and skills are neither identified nor applied because they do not have an educational

qualification. The Barefoot Campus is used to train these people using informal, non-structured, on-

the-job practical experience. The campus has been built by Barefoot Architects and reflects the ideals

of the college. The campus has a 700,000 liter rainwater harvesting tank and is completely solar-

Radhika Bhalla | 8

electrified. The Barefoot College is based on the knowledge that families in communities depend on

each other, and even in a country with 40% illiteracy, oral tradition is rich and knowledge skills are

passed down from generation to generation. (http://www.barefootcollege.org/)

3.4.2 One Laptop Per Child

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative aims at providing educational opportunities for the

world’s poorest children by providing them with rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptops with

content and software. This initiative came out of an experiment that showed that children in remote,

rural and poor regions of the world take to computers as easily and naturally as children anywhere.

The OLPC has 5 core principles:

1. Child ownership – the laptop belongs to the children and they are responsible for it.

2. Low age group – the design is for children who are between 6 and 12 years old.

3. Saturation – the objective is to conquer the entire educational market in a community or a country.

4. Connection – the laptops are connected to each other increasing collaboration between children.

5. Free and Open Source – the software and content have a free and open framework.

These laptops use flash memory instead of a hard drive, run Linux with a user interface developed

specifically for the project, and utilize mobile ad-hoc networking. They are designed to be lower in cost

and much longer lasting than traditional laptops. They are sold to governments to be distributed

through the ministries of education in each country. The operating system and the software are

localized to the language. The pilot program in Peru showed that children with the OLPC learned

quickly, started to communicate more amongst themselves, and also taught their parents how to use

the laptop. (http://laptop.org/)

Radhika Bhalla | 9

3.5 Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Rural India lacks two-way communication technologies and is connected to the rest of the nation only

through radio and television. There is no internet or fixed telephone lines and the only form of

communication are via telegraph or postal services. There is a significant demand for such connection

and a willingness to pay which is why we have seen mobile phone companies leapfrogging traditional

technologies and growing rapidly in emerging markets. By developing advanced services specifically

for the rural community, viz. prepaid mobile services in small units and internet access by the quarter

hour in cybercafés, they have created affordability for the rural customer. ICT bridges the gap

between the need for people to communicate and the access to services in rural areas by connecting

households to information sources. Most rural households cannot afford to own a phone, but they are

willing to pay to use one either at public payphones or neighbor’s cellphone. This social phenomenon

of shared-use amongst one’s network of friends has created an opportunity for entrepreneurs who

own mobile phones to charge people for the usage of their device. Similarly, cybercafés and kiosks

have provided shared access to computers and internet. But the next big question is whether mobile

phones will become the new internet platform for rural communities? The penetration rate of both

mobile phones and mobile services is much greater than that of a computer, the device is not as

complicated, it does not require much technical support, it is much easier for an illiterate person to

master a mobile phone, and voice-based services can be utilized where literacy is a barrier. Phones are

also less expensive than computers and service is often offered through prepaid business models that

are more affordable for the rural customer. (Hammond et al 2007, 43-51)

Radhika Bhalla | 10

3.5.1 E-Choupal

E-Choupal is an ICT-based intervention transforming the illiterate Indian farmer into a knowledge-

seeking netizen. It delivers real-time information and customized knowledge, aligning farm output to

market demand. Not only does it provide price information to the farmer, it creates a direct marketing

channel for the company, thus reducing transaction costs. Traditionally, commodities from rural areas

were procured in “mandis” (rural markets) by middlemen who used unfair techniques to make the most

profit. ITC installed internet kiosks in villages that allowed the farmer to order fertilizers, get

information on farming practices, prevailing market prices and weather forecast. All this information is

now available in local languages and creates a new transparent and cost-effective market channel. The

kiosk is run by a “Sanchalak” (trained farmer) who keeps the computer in his house. Although he bears

some operating cost, in return he gets concessions from e-transactions while the farmers do not need

to pay for the information. (http://www.echoupal.com/)

3.5.2 Vodacom Community Service

Many people cannot afford mobile phones but have access to mobile services by sharing with family or

friends, or through community phone shops where you can pay per call. Phone shops enable

affordable telecom in poor rural areas which lack the infrastructure. Vodafone operates more than

100,000 Community Service phones from approximately 4,000 access points. They are run by local

businesses as phone booths under a franchise model. Vodacom provides training and support to these

local entrepreneurs. These phone shops also boost the local economy by creating jobs and attracting

other businesses. The shops are made from recycled shipping containers and are independent from

one another, but the products and services they offer are simple and consistent. A consumer can make

a call for a set rate of US$0.11 per minute, less than a third of the commercial rate of a cellular call.

Some shops also have fax and data services. (http://www.vodafone.com/)

Radhika Bhalla | 11

3.6 Water and Sanitation

Rural India lacks access to clean drinking water and sanitation services which pose immense health

hazards such as diarrhea and malaria. Most households struggle to meet their daily needs for water,

walking for miles to collect water from streams or other surface sources. Very few villages have access

to wells or community pipes, and usually they are extremely water-stressed. Some of these sources are

safe and protected while most are being polluted by industrialization and agricultural run-off. The

contaminants in the water vary from heavy metals to chemical and biological agents and require a

range of solutions. Municipal water supply is not safe enough for drinking and point-of-use water

purification systems have proved to be useful in India. In rural areas that lack access to municipal

water, small scale community-based water purification and waste treatment can be useful solutions.

These community-managed services can link to the closest municipal system and can use their network

from there on. (Hammond et al 2007, 53-59)

3.6.1 Sujala Scheme

The “Sujala” (Good Water) Scheme is one of the initiatives of the Byrraju Foundation in India. The aim

of the Foundation is to build self-reliant rural communities by promoting active participation and

involvement from local people. A water purification plant is set up in a village to fulfill the needs of that

village and the neighboring three or four villages. The plant is operated by the trained youth of the

villages, thus creating livelihood for them. The sustainability of the system is through charging the user

for the service: US$0.04 for 12 liters. Local science colleges are involved in carrying out the quality

control of the plant. The initial cost of the water purification plant is shared between the villages and

the Foundation. A committee called the Grama Vikasa Samithi (GVS) is created where the Village

Council nominates interested and involved members of all the communities within the village. The

GVS has nine members, each of them responsible for a module of intervention. The Foundation also

Radhika Bhalla | 12

conducts workshops and awareness camps on saving drinking water canals from pollution. Posters on

safe drinking water are displayed at schools, colleges, hospitals, Panchayat (village government) offices,

and their own health centers in the participating villages. (http://www.byrrajufoundation.org/)

3.6.2 LifeStraw

LifeStraw is a prototype point-of-use water purification filter designed so that anyone in the

developing world can obtain safe drinking water at home and outside. LifeStraw Personal is a portable

water purifier that can be carried around for easy access to safe and clean drinking water, preventing

common diarrheal diseases. It can provide 700 liters of water – enough for one person to drink for a

whole year. The LifeStraw Family is a complimentary system for the house, providing more than 18,000

liters of safe drinking water. The LifeStraw Personal is a plastic tube, 31 cm long and 30 mm in

diameter, and costs around US$3. The water sucked through the straw first passes through a mesh of

100 micrometer spaces, followed by another mesh of 15 micrometer spaces, filtering out all the large

particles. It then flows through a chamber with iodine coated beads that destroy the smallest particles.

The water moves into an empty chamber and then is passed through active carbon which removes the

iodine taste and any other remaining bacteria. There is still a certain amount of iodine in the water, but

the designers argue that there is an existing iodine deficiency in most developing countries. The only

organism that the LifeStraw fails to filter is the giardia lamblia, which is only the size of 5 micron

spores and is resistant to iodine. (http://www.vestergaard-frandsen.com/)

3.7 Financial Services

Rural India has no access to financial services due to lack of infrastructure and distribution channels

which results in informal services offered by moneylenders who charge an extremely high interest rate

on loans. The emergence of microcredit, a service that was traditionally provided to the people by

Radhika Bhalla | 13

nonprofits working in the village, as a viable money lending option has benefitted rural India with the

development of various microfinance institutions. Commercial banks are also seeing potential in rural

markets and becoming more active by providing a broader range of products and services that now

include savings and insurance. Establishing a banking relationship gives people a formal identity that

they lacked before. New technologies like mobile phone banking promise to increase access to these

services and lower their transaction costs. Mobile phone systems are also generating new jobs for

millions of small entrepreneurs in the form of new opportunities in financial services. Improving

financial services in rural India gives people access to education, healthcare and other services.

Microfinance has resulted in the economic empowerment of women by making them an integral part

of the system and encouraging them to participate in activities that were previously taboo. (Hammond

et al 2007, 97-103)

3.7.1 SKS Microfinance

SKS Microfinance delivers microfinance in rural India through a “grameen” (village) banking program

that was developed by the Grameen Foundation in Bangladesh. They have adapted the methodology

to suit local conditions. The SKS process consists of three 3 steps:

1. Village Election: A comprehensive survey of the village is carried out to evaluate the local

conditions and the potential for operations. These include the total population, the poverty level

of the village, road accessibility, political stability and safety. After the village is selected, a

Projection Meeting is held with the entire village to introduce SKS Microfinance. Mini Projection

Meetings are carried out for further explanation of the process.

2. Sangam (Center) Formation: Interested women form self-selected five member groups as

guarantors. A Compulsory Group Formation Training is carried out which is a five-day program of

Radhika Bhalla | 14

hour-long sessions to educate the clients on the process. A Group Recognition Test is carried out

on Day Five. Many such groups form a “Sangam” (Center) creating dual liability for the village.

3. Financial Transaction: A leader and a deputy leader are appointed for the entire village. They help

facilitate meetings and work closely with SKS Field Assistants. All financial transactions are

addressed during these meetings, along with discussions on new loan applications, loan utilization

and community issues. (http://www.sksindia.com/)

3.7.2 Wizzit

Wizzit is a cellphone-based banking facility whose target market is the 16 million unbanked or

underbanked South Africans that account for 60% of the population. It does not require users to have

a bank account and is compatible with any generation cell phone, even the pre-paid models prevalent

in developing countries. Along with mobile banking, customers get debit cards which can be used at

ATMs or retail outlets. The service includes person-to-person payments, transfer and prepaid

purchase. Wizzit does not charge a monthly fee or require a minimum balance. Instead, it charges its

customers a per-transaction fee. There are no transaction limits and the service is pay-as-you-go. They

employ “Wizz Kids” – unemployed university graduates from low income communities – to promote the

product and help unbanked customers open accounts. (http://www.wizzit.co.za/)

4. Design’s Potential Role

Design’s potential role in transforming public services in rural India is by focusing on unique products,

unique services, or unique technologies. These solutions have to be appropriate to the people’s needs

and they require the designer to completely rethink not only the design process but the business

strategy too. These strategies should involve building local ecosystems of vendors or suppliers through

franchising. By localizing value creation, designers can achieve a more sustainable business model.

Radhika Bhalla | 15

Designers can help empower rural households by enabling access to goods or services, both financially

and physically. Rural India has benefitted tremendously from access to mobile phones, which provides

easy access to education, to healthcare, to jobs, to market prices, and to financial services. All this has

been due to the affordability of mobile services, through innovative business models such as prepaid

services and shared access on a pay-per-use basis.

4.1 Design Research and Co-creation

The value of design research has not yet been utilized in rural India and the people have not been

involved in the design process. In my opinion, the designer’s role in the future shall be that of a cultural

anthropologist. They will understand how these villages are similar and different from each other, and

more importantly, different from urban India. Design research will provide a context for acculturation

of the designer, while co-creation will give the local community a medium to express their needs. We

have to adapt existing research methodologies to understand the lifestyle and the challenges of the

rural community.

4.2 Entrepreneurial Nature of Rural India

There is an abundance of entrepreneurship in rural India and urban slums that designers tend to

ignore. People have already been able to “hack” products and services to make them meet their needs.

Locally retrofitted products form an integral part of the rural life and we, as designers, need to learn

from them. Any product or service that is created for the rural community must be customizable.

There is a greater emphasis on the individual today -- our objects define who we are. We have to

design a system that allows the individual to customize their own products.

Radhika Bhalla | 16

4.3 Role of Women in the Rural Society

The role of women in rural society is changing as they become more proactive, participating in

microfinance opportunities or helping the local NGOs in their village. By involving them in the design

process, not only do we get their views on what design should be, we also get to transfer knowledge to

the rest of the community through them. Although rural women have not been given the opportunity

to work in the past, they still possess entrepreneurial ability. We have to create a product that teaches

them a skill and helps them to start and maintain a business of their own.

4.4 Appropriate Technology for Local Development

In this transformation process, how do we, as designers, make sure that we do not lose traditional

values and arts? How can technology act as a facilitator for local manufacturing? How can it help

production methods evolve? Conquering the digital divide is of utmost importance. We should be able

to conserve the cultural system of the village, along with the ecosystem, by acknowledging the power

of indigenous design. We have to preserve the local culture and handicrafts and integrate them with

technology.

4.5 Sustainability and Community Development

When designing for a billion people, the solution has to be integrated with sustainability, or it will not

be scalable. By partnering with the government, the nonprofits already working in the area, and the

local community, we need to create an ecosystem in which knowledge is passed exponentially. We

should use local materials and local designers, thus utilizing resources that are already present in the

community. We have to focus on their existing living and business structures, look at their social

interactions, and create opportunities for empowerment instead of dependence.

Radhika Bhalla | 17

After studying the existing rural environment, the infrastructure and public services that are accessible

in these areas, and different initiatives that are addressing the major issues that rural people face,

there are a few principles that I believe a designer must follow to create a successful product or

service. The designer should involve the rural community in the design process at the very beginning,

and define the problem only after researching what the people have to say. He should look at how the

people are currently tackling that problem and get inspired by their solution since they know best how

to overcome their needs. The designer should involve the women in the business process and utilize

their social connectedness and their newfound belief in their potential. The designer should not lose

sight of the existing culture and tradition by imposing a solution that does not fit the customs of the

people. All these solutions have to be sustainable so that they can scale to meet the needs of a billion

people. The designer should work collaboratively with the local government and the non profits

operating in that village as they already have a trusting relationship with the people. Most importantly,

the designer must believe in Gandhi’s vision for the Indian village as an integral part of the future, the

capability of indigenous design and self-reliance, and the potential that design has to turn this vision

into reality.

“We need to be the change we wish to see in the world.” – M.K. Gandhi

Radhika Bhalla | 18

Bibliography

Books

Architecture for Humanity. Ed. 2006. Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises. New York: Metropolis Books.

Papenek, Victor J. 1984. Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change. Chicago: Academy Chicago Publishers.

Polak, Paul. 2008. Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Prahalad, C.K. 2005. The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing.

Sood, Aditya Dev. 2006. The Mobile Development Report. Bangalore: Center for Knowledge Societies.

Smith, Cynthia E. 2007. Design for the Other 90%. New York: Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.

Steffen, Alex, ed. 2006. Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century. New York: Harry N.Abrams.

Articles

Burns, Colin and others. 2006. Transformation Design. London: Design Council.

Cottam, Hilary and Leadbeater, Charles. 2004. Health: Co-creating Services. London: Design Council.

Dutz, Mark A., ed. 2007. Unleashing India’s Innovation: Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. Washington: The World Bank.

Hammond, Allen L. and others. 2007. The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid. Washington: World Resources Institute.

Hart, Stuart L. and Prahalad, C.K. Strategies for the Bottom of the Pyramid: Creating Sustainable Development. Draft.

HP/IDSA DesignAbout: The Other Six Billion People. Design for the Individual.

HP/IDSA DesignAbout: The Other Six Billion People. Design for the Masses.

HP/IDSA DesignAbout: The Other Six Billion People. Design with the Cultural Perspective.

HP/IDSA DesignAbout: The Other Six Billion People. Design for the Flat World.

Radhika Bhalla | 19

Kelkar, Anjali and Whitney, Patrick. “Designing for the Base of the Pyramid.” Design Management Review (Fall 2004): 40-47

NCAER. India Rural Infrastructure Report. New Delhi.

Prahalad, C.K. and Ramaswamy, Venkat. “Co-creation Experiences: The Next Practice in Value Creation.” Journal of Interactive Marketing Vol.18 No.3 (Summer 2004): 5-14

Speer, Leslie. “The Next Decade in Design: Paradigm Shift.” Innovation (Spring 2006): 31-35

Websites

SELCO: http://www.selco-india.com/

IDEAAS: http://www.ideaas.org.br/

Aravind Eye Care: http://www.aravind.org/

CFW Health Stores: http://www.cfwshops.org/

World Bike Initiative: http://www.worldbike.org/

Barefoot College: http://www.barefootcollege.org/

One Laptop Per Child: http://laptop.org/

E-Choupal: http://www.echoupal.com/

Vodacom Community Service: http://www.vodafone.com/

Sujala Scheme: http://www.byrrajufoundation.org/

LifeStraw: http://www.vestergaard-frandsen.com/

SKS Microfinance: http://www.sksindia.com/

Wizzit: http://www.wizzit.co.za/