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Design Blog Design Blog » Design for the Other 90% » Low Cost and Value

Low Cost and Value

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Several weeks ago while in the exhibition speaking to two museum directors I found myself pulled away by two engaged visitors. Ruth Yoffe, a product/retail/branding designer, and Elisabeth M de Morentin who is a recent graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology overheard my conversation with the two directors and wanted to discuss their insights with me. “Why don’t you list the costs? It is so important for the designers not familiar with this type of design to know how little these cost.” Point well taken, so here are some of the costs: Bamboo Treadle Pump $40 installed, the One Laptop Per Child and AMD Personal Internet Communicator costs less than $200, Ceramic Water Filters $7-12, the Drip Irrigation System starts at $3, IDE Water Storage System $40, Global Village Shelter costs $550, Jaipur Foot $30, Kenya Ceramic Jiko $1, Kinkajou Projector and Library $50, LifeStraw costs approx $3, Mad Housers Hut $500, Q-Drum $38, StarSight $30-50 per unit, MoneyMaker Pumps $35-95, Sugarcane Charcoal price for all materials and ingredients is $36, Solar Aid $19, and the Pot-in-Pot Cooler is $2.

But I don’t think that goes far enough to describe these designs in terms of their low costs or affordability. I was recently in an online discussion with several leaders in this field which will be published in Corporate Knights. Julia Novy-Hildesley, executive director of the Lemelson Foundation, made the point “cost is less important than value, the ability to pay and return on investment. Many very poor people will spend significant money on a productivity-enhancing technology if they believe they can generate a significant return on their investment.”

About the Author: Cynthia E. Smith is Curator of Socially Responsible Design at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.

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Comments

  1. Wonderful discussion. Speaking of costs, what about the costs of travel, meetings, & communication to facilitate the vital connection & interactions between designers and users? I suggest that using new technologies can help lower these costs. Why not create multiple presences in, say, Second Life (SL), as the MacArthur Foundation is doing? Save time, cross distances virtually, communicate with “co-presence”, not to mention test & negotiate design ideas together. If you are interested, please contact me to continue the discussion here or in SL (there I am “Bluewave Ogee”).

    Dr. Leslie Jarmon | Oct 25, 06:34 PM

  2. As a director of Hope International Credit Corporation I wonder what the experience has been of linking these designs with the microcredit community in the interest of accelerating their distribution and creating opportunities for entrepeneurs at the bottom of the pyramid.

    Mike Kipp | Oct 25, 06:35 PM

  3. I need two solar energy techniucians from your company for my soolar [PV] project in Nigeria to take off in August,2007

    Engr.Joe Okeke | Oct 25, 06:35 PM

  4. Thanks Cynthia, for including the cost, good reference for the non familiar community.
    Yes, I am totally agree with Julia Novy-Hildesley about value, versus cost and ROI, but building on that, I am suggesting that is something more important to keep in mind; Educating local communities, “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”. This is a clear example to look at: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/153

    Elisabeth M De Morentin | Oct 25, 06:36 PM

  5. Cynthia I am very pleased to see there is a discussion on all the different dynamics involved with this vital area of design. the following is a little anicdote my father has posted, a snippet of his 40 yrs of working in design developement with the UNDP (united nations development prg) I think my be of interest.
    “Ruth .. Interesting …your comment very astute, …my problem.and for
    Others is.such swell ideas must be enthusiastically accepted and then
    Utilized…example
    …….in Sudan a cheap serviceable terracotta charcoal stove burner was
    being produced as a development project with a bright local Sudanese in
    charge. he was selling and giving them away…to local house wives…they
    resemble cookers traditionally produced in Kenya ..they are fuel-efficient
    compared to the 10 liter square tin container made into a cooker with a
    hatchway to feed in wood ,charcoal. or other stuff..compared to the pottery
    stove it is very inefficient…but although women readily accepted the
    new stove the y persisted in using the current one ….hence I observed the
    women in the kitchen ….the answer was obvious…the tin had a square
    cooking area …stew pot and tea water could be utilized at the same
    time ..even a small third container could sometimes be accommodated….the
    pottery stove was round with space for only one pot. the matter is serious
    as fuel is easily one third of family income…I proceeded to develop a more
    useful economical stove …my Sudanese colleague became disinterested as
    he already had project approval from an aid fund for the single burner
    stove…to go back to ask for another fund to further develop an improved
    version he felt was unacceptable…I proceeded to design an improved
    cooker with another colleague ..I departed Sudan soon after, and the
    delighted worker took the improved ve rsion to his family ‘s kitchen…
    the moral of the story is …..clear”

    Ruth Yoffe | Oct 25, 06:36 PM

  6. i want some details about this project. thanks

    amarasri bandara | Mar 26, 12:42 PM

  7. Hallo Cynthia,
    How can I get a detailed design of the plant that is used to make sugarcane charcoal and how much would it cost to have a prototype sent to me in Kenya.Thank you

    nyotumba G.Z.O | Jun 11, 05:30 AM

  8. You can find a Sugarcane Charcoal Technical Manual on the D-Lab Project Portfolio website: http://web.mit.edu/d-lab/portfolio/sugarcanecharcoal.htm. For any further questions Amy Smith’s contact email address is listed below the manual link.

    Cynthia E. Smith | Jun 16, 12:32 PM

  9. Dear Smith, With best regards I’d like to inform you that I am highly pleased to visit your web ofSupper Money Maker Pump. Now I need the address of some suppliers. Please return email with relevant information. Thanks

    shapon | Oct 19, 06:11 AM

  10. You can contact KickStart International, the makers of the Super MoneyMaker Pump, through their website http://www.kickstart.org/.

    Other organizations associated with the exhibition websites can be found on the site’s Resource page http://other90.cooperhewitt.org/resources/.

    Good luck in your efforts.

    Cynthia E. Smith | Oct 20, 11:28 AM

  11. How can I purchase a Solar Aid hearing aid?

    Beverly Weiss | May 24, 07:57 PM

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