Design for the Other 90%

"The world's cleverest designers cater to the globe's richest 10 per cent, creating items like wine labels, couture, and Maseratis. We need a revolution to reverse this silly ratio." So says Dr. Paul Polak who runs International Development Enterprises, an organization helping poor farmers become entrepreneurs.

Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is currently hosting an exhibit called "Design for the Other 90%" (running through September 23).

On display are inventions that are designed to help poor people with their very basic needs. A number of these inventions deal with water: procuring water, getting clean drinking water, and getting water in the dry season for drip irrigation.

Shown at left (photo: P.J. Hendrikse) is the Q-Drum which is a circular jerry can that holds 20 gallons of water. It rolls so smoothly that a child can easily tow it on a rope. The Q-Drum is designed to change the way water is fetched; currently this backbreaking job is usually done by women and girls who balance water cans on their heads. This looks like quite an improvement.

Another invention is the Lifestraw (photo: Vestergaard Frandsen). This drinking filter kills bacteria as water is sucked through it. Since a significant portion of the world's population does not have access to safe and clean drinking water, the Lifestraw is a boon for preventing waterborne diseases. I recommend viewing this video from India to see a lively demonstration of the Lifestraw in action.

More inventions are cited and displayed at the above Cooper-Hewitt link. Also, check out Donald McNeil's article "Design that solves problems for the world's poor" in the May 29, 2007 New York Times.

Comments

[Valeria Maltoni]

I love how the ingenuity of the designers allows you to see how something so easy can have such life saving impact. It gives a completely new meaning to design for the masses.

[shelbey]

i like the idea of 'design the 90' a lot. i have known many bright, creative people who've wanted to use their talents to better the world...but go on to work in corporations at seemingly superficial jobs. perhaps, though, those are a "safe place" to hone their other skills at office politics, and all the steps and processes for bringing ideas to reality, etc-- so that later in life they can do the same for a cause. that is a pattern among many people on a grander scale too-- microsoft money pouring into literacy and library funding, etc.

[jonny]

good thoughts...

[ankhor]

I think it is a very good idea. I would want one myself, just look at what happened in England, flooding, what is the first big problem (next to not drowning ofcourse)?
Yep, clean drinking water. Too bad that is doesn`t take out chemicals, for in the West
with floodings contamination with chemicals
will be very likely. So maybe a western version that also filters dangerous chemicals? We can afford a more expensive version. And we could donate a straw whn we buy one. I mean 3 dollars is cheap for a device that may save your live, we could easily pay 6 dollar and help somebody who will need it everyday.
Now the more important question would be, how long does it stay good when not used in the package?

I think that everybody should have one at home, or with them even, you never know in what situations you might end up in. Maybe a smaller version for emergency use? Which is easy to carry with you always.

As soon as I know where to buy them, I will certainly go and buy one. Although I would really like one that also takes care of dangerous chemicals.