Daniella Smith - Senior Thesis

8/13/2019 Daniella Smith - Senior Thesis

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Design Strategies i

DEPAUW UNIVERSITY

Designs for the Developing

WorldAn Investigation of the Design Strategies forUnderprivileged Communities

Daniella Smith

5/15/2013

This document focuses on the three design strategies used by developed countries to help improve thelives of people in developing countries. The document analyzes products of each strategy in order toassess the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy.


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Design Strategies 1

Many developed countries have technological advancements and forms of social support

which help satisfy the needs of its inhabitants. However , the majority of the worlds population s

do not have these technologies or support systems. How can this gap be closed? Numerous

organizations such as Engineers without Borders, Project H, Design Accord, and Architecture

for Humanity have started to design products for these underprivileged communities in hopes

of eradicating a social issue or improving their standard of living. My thesis will focus on some

organizations and their products that have been designed with this in mind. Many of the products

aim to help reach the goals established by The United Nations (Smith, 2007) in hopes of

convincing wealthy countries to help improve the lives of poorer nations. There are eight goalstotal, and they are known as the Millennium Development Goals.

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hungerGoal 2: Achieve universal primary educationGoal 3: Promote gender equality and empower womenGoal 4: Reduce child mortalityGoal 5: Improve maternal healthGoal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainabilityGoal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

In order to help combat these world problems and reach these eight goals many companies have

developed assistive products in order to help these underprivileged communities in their needs.

Skeptical about the sudden altruistic actions of some of these capitalistic companies, I

chose to do an investigation on some of these assistive products and determine whether they

really helped fix the problem. Anthony Crabbe (Crabbe, 2012) explains that there three different

strategies taken when developing solutions for developing countries and they are charitable,

networked, and social business. The charitable strategy is one in which a developed country

designs a product to be easily distributed to the communities of developing countries. An


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Design Strategies 2

example of a product fi tting under this strategy is the French product Plumpynut (Pilloton,

2009). Plumpynut is a food supplement high in nutritional value that helps children in

underprivileged countries fight malnutrition. Plumpynut is easily produced and distributed to the

children of developing countries. The network strategy allows underprivileged communities to

work with a network of international companies in developing their own product(s) for either

personal or communal income (Crabbe, 2012). One such situation falling under this strategy was

the manufacture of fuel briquettes in developing countries. The Legacy Foundation wanted to

lessen the physical burden of collecting firework on women of underprivileged communities, so

they started promoting the use of resources found in local urban and agricultural wastes. Womenwere then able to use their local resources and build a surplus of fuel briquettes which they could

then sell locally. Finally, the social business strategy launches a local business in a developing

country that uses the sale of local commodities on the global market as a form of self-

sustainment. Many products under the Fair Trade system fall under this strategy, but one

specific example is Recycled Tire Furniture. Made from recycled tire rubber, The Recycled Tire

is a product handmade from a cheap resource by the people of underprivileged communities to

then be sold on the global market. My thesis analyzes products from each strategy, in order to

assess the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy.

Section 1

The products included in section one fall under the charitable strategy. These are products

which were designed and manufactured by developed countries for developing countries. All the

products are intended to fix a personal or social issue.

Adaptive Eye Care


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Design Strategies 3

The World Health Organization estimates that currently there are over one billion people

suffering from uncorrected vision yet remain untreated (Pilloton, 2009). Although people survive

without proper vision there is a large difference in the accommodations for the visually impaired

in developed countries versus that in developing countries. To begin with, all citizens of

developed nations have resources that aid them in their daily lives. These resources range from

education to assistive technologies for disabilities, but the same cannot be said about developing

countries. For example, the majority of Nepals population suffers from uncorrected vision, but

most remain untreated. This has a significant effect on children, where uncorrected vision affects

them in more ways than one; one such effect is on their education. Over ninety percent ofchildren that drop out of the education system blame vision as the main contributing factor, and

this leads to live a life as a field laborer, and lose the opportunity to advance academically and

professionally (He et al., 2011). Is there a cheap and efficient solution to correcting vision for the

people of underprivileged communities?

Engineer Joshua Silver saw a need for help and developed a cheap alternative to glass

lenses which he called Adaptive Eye Care (Shulman, 2003). Silver found that when silicone oil

is dispersed between a pair of flexible membranes, the result is something that works similar to

glass lenses, but at a fraction of the cost. He also realized that the magnification could be

adjusted by varying how much silicone was pumped between the flexible membranes. In order to

use this technology Silver proceeded to develop an inexpensive frame for the membranes with a

wheel that adjusted the amount of silicone dispersed between the membranes. This design

allowed the users to self-adapt the refraction of the glasses to meet their needs. Since the

refraction could be self-adjusted this eliminated the need for an optometrist and made the product


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Design Strategies 4

even easier to manufacture and introduce. Silvers design not only provided an immediate health

solution, but also made correcting eye vision a quick, uncomplicated, and easy process.

But is Adaptive Eye Care really as effective as it appears to be? A study conducted by

Douali and Silver (2004) tested the effectiveness of this adaptive eye care among communities in

Ghana, South Africa, Nepal, and Malawi. Douali and Silver tested the Adaptive Eye Care on 213

adult subjects suffering from uncorrected vision. First, Douali and Silver administered an eye

reading chart to the subjects and recorded the refraction that each subjects chose for themselves.

They then compared that refraction to the refraction recommended by a professional optometrist.

Douali and Silver did this because they wanted to assure themselves that the design of the

eyewear was intuitively adjustable and that users could administer the proper amount of silicone

and reach a similar refraction to that which was recommended to them by the optometrist. If the

results showed no detectable difference between the two refractions, Douali and Silver believed

this would prove that the users could in fact adjust the glasses themselves without the help of

professionals. Douali and Silver asked subjects to turn the wheel and adjust the silicone levels to

the point at which their vision became clear and again for when their vision started to become

blurred. They then asked the subjects to choose the most appropriate refraction settings for

themselves. Following this, Douali and Silver then compared the refraction recommended by the

professional to that which was self-determined by the users. What Douali and Silver found was

that the participants were able to successfully obtain better vision through the Adaptive eye care

process and that the differences between both personal and professional refractions were

insignificant among all participants.

Although these studies showed that self-adjusted refractions for adults were easily as

effective as optometrist administered refractions, would this be the same for children? It is


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Design Strategies 5

important that children can properly use the device since uncorrected vision can pose many

problems for them. A study by He et al. (2011) addressed this very question by testing 554

school children in China, and using the methods used by Douali and Silver. The only difference

between the two studies was that afterwards, He et al. administered a visual acuity test in order to

measure the success of the childrens self -adjusted refraction. The results showed some of the

children had inaccuracies between their recommended refraction and their self-prescribed

refraction. However, He et al. considered that any improved eye vision was better than none and

therefore the differences were deemed insignificant. He et al. also believed the Adaptive Eye

Care could not be held entirely responsible for the inaccuracies. He et al. hypothesized that thechildren had a higher tolerance for unsatisfactory visual perception, due to their age and their

tendency to adjust the silicone levels with less patience and precision.

LifeStraw

Water is a basic survival need, yet millions of people are without a reliable sanitary water

source. If there is not a sanitary water source available what should the people of these

communities do? Should these people wait until they find clean water and run the risk of

dehydration? Or should they drink the bacteria-filled water they have available to them? Either

option carries a detrimental health consequence, but what if there existed a portable filter which

provided a healthy alternative to these options? Recently Danish company Vestergaard Frandsen

designed a product, called the LifeStraw, which could do just that (Pilloton, 2009).

Nearly two decades ago Vestergaard Frandsen (Pilloton, 2009) designed a home water

filtration system for families in developing countries that where lacking a clean water source.

The filtration system was made to reduce worm disease and decrease other waterborne diseases

caused by the intake of unsanitary water. The home filtration system, which they dubbed the


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Design Strategies 6

LifeStraw Family, provides a simple and efficient way to obtain clean drinking water. The

LifeStraw Family uses the same technology found in the municipal water treatment facilities of

several develop countries; it also requires no electricity or batteries using gravity as the

filtrations main driving force. In addition the design also has a guaranteed lifespan of 3 years.

The design of the LifeStraw Family consists first of a bucket used to hold unsanitary water; it is

then suspended high enough in order for the gravitational pull to force the unsanitary water

down through a rubber tube running from the bottom of the bucket. From here the water enters a

filtration pipe which releases potable water when pumped. So far the Danish company has

donated over 900,000 LifeStraw Family filters which continue providing safe drinking water toover 4 million people in Africa (Frauchiger, 2011).

However, the Lifestraw Family did not immediately provide clean drinking water. It

required the transportation of water from a central source to a residence with a LifeStraw Family

filtration system, and even then time was required for the water to filter through the system to

become potable. Vestergaard Frandsen realized that it is necessary for these people to have

access to safe drinking water 24/7; so they designed a sister product to the LifeStraw Family. In

2005 the LifeStraw Personal was released (Frauchiger, 2011). The LifeStraw Personal uses the

same technology as the LifeStraw Family, but the design was compacted and made to be portable

and provide clean drinking water within seconds. The LifeStraw Personal is not only affordable,

but also looks similar to a large straw, and has a mouthpiece that allows users to submerge the

end of the LifeStraw into unsanitary water, and use suction to filter the water up through the

filtration system (Pilloton, 2009). This product gives people the opportunity to carry an efficient

filter with them wherever they go and drink freely from any water source without having to

worry about the harmful health consequences.


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Design Strategies 7

While the product is a suitable and innovative solution, is the filtration system really as

effective as it claims to be? Almost two million people die each year from waterborne diseases,

so it is important that the LifeStraw provides water free from all disease-causing bacteria (Smith,

2007). Vestergaard Frandsen claims the LifeStraw filtration technology filters out 99.9999% of

all bacteria found in water (Pilloton, 2009). In order to test this claim Boisson, Schmidt,

Berhanu, Gezahegn, and Clasen (2009) did a randomized trial in Ethiopia in order to determine

the effectiveness of the LifeStraw Personal. Boisson et al. included 313 families in their study,

which they randomly assigned the families to either the control group or the intervention group.

The participants in the control group did not use a Lifestraw device, while the participants of theintervention group used the LifeStraw Personal for the duration of five months. Then Boisson et

al. documented and compared the health issues experienced by participants in each group.

Elsanousi et al. (2009) also conducted a similar study on the health impact the LifeStraw

Personal. In their case study Elsanousi et al. recruited 647 participants from a town in Sudan to

use the LifeStraw over the course of two weeks. At the end trial, Elsanousi et al. questioned the

participants about any health changes or issues they experienced with the LifeStraw Personal.

Both case studies showed a significant decrease in the number of participants that

suffered from diarrhea, but there were participants from each case study that still reported

diarrhea while using the LifeStraw Personal. However, many of these participants admitted to

not using the LifeStraw all the time, either because they forgot to or found it to be a nuisance. A

significant amount of participants from both studies said the reasons why they did not always use

the LifeStraw Personal was because it required a significant amount of suction force and did not

deliver sufficient water fast enough. Nonetheless, the majority of the participants agreed that the

LifeStraw was easy to carry, made water safe to drink, and improved the taste (Boisson et al.,


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Design Strategies 9

water and energy sources available, the distressed land, the arid harvest, and the local farmers

struggling to sustain the land even with such strenuous labor, Barnes decided to use his

engineering experience and come up with a low-cost solution. Barnes quickly and innovatively

invented the Treadle Pump. The Treadle Pump is a water pump, better known as an irrigation

pump, which draws groundwater to the surface of the land using a suction method (Fandika et

al., 2012). Originally the Treadle Pump consisted of only bamboo stalks and a metal cylinder.

The bamboo stalks were used to build a pumping mechanism similar to a stair-stepping machine.

A cylinder was attached to the end of the bamboo stalk, and openings to water were dug up to

place the Treadle Pump over. So when the pedal or step of the Treadle pump was stepped on itforced the cylinder up and down a narrow opening, which created suction underground. The

suction then forced the water out from underground and onto the surface, where it could be

collected (Smith, 2007). Then during the 1980s the Treadle Pump was bought by the American

corporation International Development Enterprises, also known as iDE (Smith, 2007). iDE then

started marketing the pump to other communities in Bangladesh, and as word spread about an

affordable product that could provide a reliable water source, and improve cultivation, the

product became widely known.

A study by Fandika, Kadyampakeni, and Zingore (2012) evaluated the performance of

the Treadle Pump for crop production in Malawi. Between 2005 and 2007 Fandika et al. assessed

a tomato crop along with an intercropped maize/bean crop. They also had three replicates of each

crop in order to compare and contrast accurately any differences and/or similarities observed

between the crops. There was a significant difference in harvest growth among the tomato

varieties; the one under the Treadle Pump condition benefitted considerably. However, the

Treadle Pump did not seem to have a growth effect on the maize/bean crop, as there was no


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Design Strategies 11

Products in this section are part of the network strategy. With the help of a network of

international companies, this strategy helps underprivileged communities develop their own

products. Products are developed and sold in order to generate either personal or communal

income.

Hippo Water Roller

Millions of people in developing countries struggle with obtaining reasonable access to

potable water. So is there an innovative, practical, and reliable resolution that could possibly

provide these people with potable water? Thankfully engineers Pettie Petzer and Johan Jonker

(Pilloton, 2009) created a product that has become very popular because it not only offers

immediate relief, but decreases the physical demand of the task while increasing the return.

In 1991, South African engineers Petzer and Jonker (Pilloton, 2009) saw firsthand how

the African communities lacked access to potable water. Initially these underprivileged

communities were using a very traditional mode of transporting water from the source to their

homes by carrying five-gallon metal buckets, on their heads. Even though this method allows

them to carry the buckets for long periods of time, ultimately it starts to cause spinal damage.

The spinal damage limits their ability to successfully transport potable water to their homes, and

also keeps them from doing daily tasks.

Therefore, Petzer and Jonker (Pilloton, 2009) developed the Hippo Water Roller, which is

essentially a barrel that holds up to 24 gallons of water; nearly quintupling the volume of water

one person can transport when compared to the bucket method. One full barrel supplies an

family of five with enough water to last them a week. Additionally, the Hippo Water Roller has a

metal handle bar which allows the user to roll or push the barrel instead of carrying it requiring


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less effort per water volume than the bucket. This makes transportation easier and more efficient,

allowing users to transport 40 pounds of water at half the physical demand of transporting five

gallon buckets. The Hippo Water Roller is easily introduced into the African communities and is

guaranteed to withstand the African terrain for seven years; after which point a new product is

required because there are no replacement parts. Petzer and Jonker have made life easier for

nearly 30,000 families in the past 20 years by creating a simple and efficient product.

However, while the Hippo Water Roller has provided aid to many families, are the people

of these African communities able to afford it? Most of the Hippo Water Rollers have been

provided to families through charitable donations, so in order to answer this question Anthony

Crabbe (2012) conducted a case study that evaluated the Hippo Water Roller as a solution to

water accessibility. What he found was that, while the product lives up to its description and

functionality, people of underprivileged communities cannot afford the product. Therefore, users

must rely solely on charitable support from organizations like the Africa Foundation and

UNICEF; thus rendering the funding for this gift aid product completely dependent on donations

and charity. This makes the Hippo Water Roller an unsustainable solution, an unacceptable

dilemma considering the significance of the present problem and the health impact it could

potentially have on these communities in need.

In order to make the distribution of the Hippo Water Roller less dependent on charitable

donation an alternative solution was purposed. Imvubu Projects the manufacturing and

distribution company of the Hippo Water Roller came up with an idea to make the Hippo Water

Roller cheaper and affordable for people of developing countries (Press Briefs, 2010). Imvubu

Projects designed a compact production plant for the Hippo water rollers one small enough to

fit in a used shipping container and efficient enough to produce 650 units a month, that could be


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set up within the African communities in need of Hippo Water Rollers. The problem with this

solution is that the workshops cost about $150,000 to build and implement. It also takes weeks to

properly train and teach employees how to manufacture the product. Thus leaving charitable

organizations with a difficult decision to make; do they delay assistance in the transportation of

potable water and invest $150,000 in a portable plant, or invest the same amount in distributing

already made Hippo Water rollers and provide immediate relief to over 1,500 families in need?

While the decision could be difficult, charitable agencies need to think about the long-term

effects; wouldnt this solu tion ultimately maximize the aid given to these communities by

lowering the cost of future, locally-manufactured Hippo Water Rollers? And let us not forget thatthis solution also provides employment to locals, thus offering long-term assistance to these

communities. For this reason, the Hippo Water Roller is considered a networked strategy. It

works with international companies to help them locally develop their own Hippo Water Rollers.

In order to continue coming up with innovative solutions and improvements to the Hippo

Water Roller project, Imvubu Projects has started a partnership program with Engineers without

Borders, which is an organization based in San Francisco that is committed to providing

solutions and assistance to people in developing countries and other troubled communities

around the world (Pilloton & Press Briefs, 2009, 2010). With their program the Project H

Design they are working toward enhancing the development of t he Hippo Water Rollers and

lowering its cost. They also hope to advance the functionality of the Hippo Water Roller by

incorporating a water filter. This would relieve the users from the restriction of only being able

to collect water from central and inconvenient clean-water sources, and instead allow them to

transport water from any nearby source.

Section 3


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Products in this section are part of the social business strategy, which establishes local

businesses within developing countries. This strategy promotes exportation of commodities

and/or the development of products made from local materials to be sold locally or globally.

Basic Utility Vehicle

While numerous developed countries are graced with various modes of transportation

from public transportation to personally owned automobiles transportation in developing

countries is far from being as convenient or luxurious. The reality is that many of these

developing countries are without the means or infrastructure to implement a public transportation

system, and the majority of the people cannot afford a vehicle of their own. Despite the fact that

many communities have survived thus far without a formal method of transportation, they are

still in need of a more effect form of transportation. Those in most need are farmers in rural areas

who lack dependable and reasonable modes of transporting produce, equipment, and supplies to

the fields. The basic design of a vehicle is made up of a motor, a couple pairs of wheels, and a

few materials to build a basic frame. So is there a cheap and reliable vehicle available for the

people of underprivileged communities?

The Basic Utility Vehicle, abbreviated BUV, is a vehicle that has been designed to be

utilized in developing countries. Designed and assembled by the Institute for Affordable

Transportation (IAT), an Indianapolis-based charity, they wish to provide inexpensive and

suitable forms of transportation to communities in developing countries in hopes of improving

their standards of living (Reese, 2004). First started over a decade ago, the IAT holds a yearly

contest known as the BUV Design Competition in which engineer college students and

professors collaborate in creating a simple, low-cost utility vehicle that can help low-income

people (Pilloton, 2009). The competition has many guidelines and requirements set, in order to


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make the vehicle as practical for developing countries as possible ( Basic vehicles, 2010 ). A

few of the main requirements that the BUVs must meet are as follows: a carrying capacity of at

least 1000 pounds, a total cost of $900, a max weight of 500 pounds, and a top speed of 20 mph.

The competition has two parts, the first part being design and assembly which composes the

majority of the competition. The second half of the competition consists of many driving tests.

Because many developing countries lack infrastructure the vehicles must withstand a variety of

terrain. Therefore, during the second part of the competition the vehicles must pass a range of

obstacle courses in order to be suitable for underprivileged communities. If vehicles survive and

pass the competition they have the opportunity of being shipping overseas to help those in need.But, is this competition effective? Do students really know what farmers in developing countries

want?

In 2007 the first BUV was shipped overseas to Cameroon, Africa. It was purchased by

the African Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies, also known as

ACREST (African SUV, 2013). The vehicle was made from new materials and recycled auto

parts found in the United States. However, from the beginning there were problems with the

BUV. First of all IAT forgot to consider repair and using foreign automobile parts made repair

expensive and unrealistic. Secondly, IAT did not stay within a reasonable price range during the

development of their BUV. IAT first suggested a price of $5,000 which is obviously too

expensive, especially when you consider the additional shipping, import, and repair fees that

were not included. ACREST asked for adjustments that would make the BUV affordable and

suitable for the farmers of Cameroon. IAT, feeling overwhelmed and under qualified, asked for

help from Purdue University, which was a university known for its advanced engineering

programs. The students at Purdue thought the best thing to do was ask the farmers in Cameroon


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to develop their own truck; once they did the Purdue students were able to successfully produce a

suitable vehicle. The students completely redesigned the BUV, and while they continue to

redesign it during their annual competition, the most recent design is by far the most sustainable.

The current BUV only costs $1,200 in local materials to build. Using local materials not only

lowers the cost of development and repair, but also gives communities the option of locally

making their own BUVs. In addition, it gets 50 miles per gallon, goes 25 miles per hour, and can

transport 2,000 pounds. As a result, the BUV is frequently used as ambulances, construction

vehicles, and even school buses (Pilloton, 2009). For the rural communities in developing

countries, the BUV has become a versatile and suitable method of transportation.

Jaipur Foot

Prosthetic devices have been a solution for amputees for many years. However they can

be very expensive, and as a result many amputees of developing countries are unable to afford

them. Without a prosthetic, amputees of underprivileged communities struggle in carrying out

daily tasks and meeting the physical requirements needed for survival. Living in such conditions

have forced amputees to use makeshift prosthetics. However, the majority of the time makeshift

prosthetics do not provide amputees with the proper flexibility needed to accurately and

effectively perform their duties. So, is there another solution or product that can provide

amputees with the mobility needed to complete fundamental everyday tasks, while still

maintaining a reasonable price tag?

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. P.K. Sethi and craftsman Ram Chandra Sharma developed a

product they called the Jaipur Foot (Pilloton, 2009). Named after the Indian city for which it was

developed, the Jaipur Foot was originally designed in 1968 for the local amputees, specifically


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the landmine victims. Sethi and Sharma saw difficulties being experienced with the American

prostheses that had been donated to some of the landmine victims. The American prostheses

were not only expensive, but their sturdy metal designs offered little mobility (McGirk, 1997).

The lack of mobility made everyday work more difficult for the amputees. In addition, the

prostheses could not be worn without proper footwear and this posed an additional problem for

daily worship. Shoes are prohibited during any religious ceremonies, and as such made worship

even more difficult for amputees. So Sethi and Sharma started making different prototypes in

hopes of creating a alternative which could provide mobility and be more suitable for the harsh

terrain and labor-intensive lifestyle.

First Sethi and Sharma developed a prosthetic foot made completely of rubber, and while

it presented more than enough flexibility it was not durable. The rubber was not able to

withstand the rough landscape and within days the prostheses shredded to pieces (McGirk,

1997). They made some adjustments to the design by reconstructing the rubber foot using a

lighter and more durable rubber, much like the rubber used for bicycle tires. They then attached

the foot to a wooden ankle hinge, which provided just enough flexibility and sturdiness. The

result was an inexpensive prosthetic that not only lasted five years, but also only took 45 minutes

to construct out of local materials. Sethi and Sharma claimed that the Jaipur Foots weightless

and flexible design made it possible for amputees to climb, run, ride bicycles, and do almost

everything else they used to do pre-injury. In addition, the current Jaipur Foot can mimic almost

every foot movement (Pilloton, 2009).

A study by Kabra and Narayanan (1991) wanted to test this claim so they came up with a

study to assess the functional limits of the Jaipur Foot. To test the flexibility, the dorsiflexion and

heel compression flexes of the Jaipur Foot were measured, recorded and compared to the average


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flexion measurements of a natural human foot. What Kabra and Narayanan found was that the

prosthesis matched the flexions of the natural foot almost every time. In order to test the

durability, Kabra and Narayanan exposed 26 Jaipur Foot prostheses to an extensive cyclic

exercise and recorded the deterioration of the prostheses after every 500,000 cycles until they

reached three million cycles. They determined that after three million cycles, the deterioration

level of the Jaipur Foot was minimal as only a small abrasion appeared. Overall, the Jaipur Foot

is a reliable and effective prosthesis which is built simplistically and inexpensively. Handled by

the charity Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, the organization provides amputees in

developing countries with artificial legs ($28). As of today, the Jaipur Foot has helped nearly onemillion amputees from Nigeria, Vietnam, Afghanistan, to Honorduras (Pilloton, 2009).

Both the Basic Utility Vehicle and the Jaipur Foot fit in the Social Business strategy.

Purdue students supplied the locals of Cameroon with the skills necessary to build their own

BUVs, and the Jaipur Foot is also made by the locals of Jaipur, India. Since both products are

also made of local materials, this has enabled these communities to develop them these products

locally. As a result, they can then sell the products in both local and export markets; thus,

creating a social business.

Conclusion

While all three design strategies offer three very different solutions, is there a superior

strategy among the three? Lets try to assess the advantages and disadvantage of each strategy, beginning with the charitable strategy. As we saw from the Adaptive Eye Care, the LifeStraw,

and the Treadle Pump, the charitable strategy is the simplest and quickest solution. This strategy

does not have to worry about introducing a manufacturing infrastructure to these underprivileged


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communities, because the products are made by developed countries (Crabbe, 2012). However,

this strategy is very dependent on developed countries and their endorsement of charitable

causes. If a developed country suddenly does not support such a charitable cause, the people of

underprivileged communities are left to find an alternative way to support themselves. If

charities stop donating the Adaptive Eye Care, the LifeStraw, or the Treadle Pump people will

have to find a different way to deal with uncorrected vision, unsanitary drinking water, and the

lack of reliable water sources. Granted some of these products can inexpensive enough that

people of underprivileged communities can potentially afford them, but this dependency and

unreliability makes the second and third strategies seem like a better choice.

The networked and social business strategies are seen more as actions to help people of

developing countries to independently maintain their basic needs. These strategies also give

underprivileged communities the opportunity to gain income or benefit profitably from such

endeavors. The Hippo Water Roller, The BUV, and the Jaipur Foot each offer the community a

way to use their skills and local materials to reproduce a product for local and global markets.

However, both the networked and social business strategies also need to consider the

implementation of infrastructure and initial investments required to set up such strategies. While

the Hippo Water Roller and the BUV required months and even years to completely introduce

and apply in developing countries, the products of the charitable strategy required no time at all.

From the three strategies, each has their advantages and disadvantages. The charitable

strategy offers developing countries an immediate solution to a global problem, while the second

and third strategies offer a long-term solution that could potentially help stabilize the problem

and even increase communal income. Perhaps, the best strategy depends on the problem at hand

and whether an immediate solution is needed or a long-term strategy could be applied. We must


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realize that while none of the strategies seem to be able to meet all the needs of underprivileged

communities, all the strategies provided support for the communities of developing countries.


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Daniella Smith - Senior Thesis

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