I’ve been throwing in the odd post to the recently launched REculture blog which explores the informal post-consumption economies of repair, repurpose, recycling and reuse at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP).
“Recycling has an entirely different meaning in the informal economy at the base of the social and economic pyramid across the developing world. Repair, reuse, repurpose and resale of products and packaging forms the basis of numerous small time businesses and services, creating a REculture that sees the potential for innovation and creativity where we might see waste.” – Niti Bhan
The REculture blog was launched by the globally prolific Niti Bhan of Emerging Futures Lab – a multidisciplinary research and consulting team focused on understanding the people at the base of the pyramid in order to improve the success rate of new ventures, products and services across the developing world.
A snippet on REculture from my end:
Advertising Ahmedabadi-style
A Ravivar Bazaar (Sunday Market) is held weekly on the edge of the Sabarmati River which runs through Ahmedabad. Noteworthy is the large tool trader stall which offers re-circulated goods for second-generation consumption. A micro-enterprise that fuels others to repair, reuse, repurpose and recycle.
The stall’s innovation is that by displaying it’s vast array of goods below the busy Ellis Bridge, it acts as a giant self-promoting ground-level billboard for itself. While corporates pay top dollar for hoarding space above street level – BoP entrepreneurs leverage opportune visibility below.
Keep an eye on REculture to shine a light on scarcity being as much of a driver of innovation as the numerous examples we see of abundance being the accelerator elsewhere.
I was reflecting today on my involvement as a mentor on the 2007 Creative Waves Project. It was a 3 month online education initiative which sought to facilitate global participants to propose initiatives to raise health awareness in Kenya. The project championed collaborative practice and encouraged intense and pro-active engagement of participating students, pharmacists, graphic designers, health workers, professional bodies and education institutions.
Over 50 pharmacy students and 50 graphic design students from diverse locations worldwide were united by the comprehensive online platform and had contact with international mentors and participants on the ground in Kenya throughout. Health related concerns including malaria, tuberculosis and immunisation were to be addressed through a well devised learning methodology which spanned 12 weeks. This included ever-inclusive tasks within the stages of Socialising, Gathering, Identifying, Distilling and Resolving – some of which were addressed from within assigned groups and all of which were lively points of intersection.
As a mentor it was interesting to note the principles of self-organisation play out as some students rose to the fore and took up leadership roles, groups figured out their respective skills and capacities, particpants cross-pollinated ideas and assisted each other to overcome technical challenges. The discussion sections with collaborators onsite in Kenya were particularly active and provided essential insight to the project at large. Guest professionals came in at various stages and memorable was the input by Anne Miltenburg, of Studio Dumbar, who spoke of issues surrounding visual communication and illiteracy.
Proposals that came out of the project included a headscarf that could be laid out and used as a board game to highlight health issues, soccer uniforms which vibrantly carried relevant messages and stickers to be adhered to fruit and vegetables, bearing health information. As a mentor I found the process as rewarding as the results. Social media initiatives are gaining popularity in bringing people together to solve diverse challenges. The Creative Waves project was pioneering back in 2007 and gave all participants a taste for the power of participation. One hopes that many were inspired to go forth and… collaborate.
Photo credit: Women’s Que for HIV Testing in Kenya, by Georgina Goodwin for Vestergaard Frandsen.
The UNESCO supported International Year of Astronomy 2009 is a global tribute which celebrates the 400th anniversary of the first use of an astronomical telescope by Galileo Galilei. The central theme of the year long program is The Universe, Yours to Discover. A former student of mine from the National Institute of Design in India, Kathan Kothari, was involved in a brilliant local initiative last month for the 100 Hours of Astronomy project which was observed simultaneously by countries across the globe.
He co-developed a mobile camel cart exhibition on Astronomy which visited villages, slums and local neighbourhoods in and around Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He was happy to report the enthusiastic reception by locals, especially children, for many of whom it was their first exposure to topics such the solar system, eclipses and celebrated Indian astronomers. Hands-on activity was encouraged with 5000 solar viewers being distributed so that people could view the sun safely while being told about its various characteristics by a team of volunteer guides.
The cart and crew stayed overnight in villages during the 100 hours and held telescopic star-gazing sessions with enthralled locals. The initiative was accompanied by a radio broadcast which included activities that guided listeners to make basic astronomical instruments like a pinhole camera and a simple telescope. The project was later extended to further Gujarati locations and included quiz sessions and drawing competitions.
Kathan works alongside his inspirational father, Abhay Kothari and a dedicated team at the Manthan Educational Programme Society which focuses on popularising science in India through folk and local mediums like toys, puppet shows and plays. For their 100 Hours of Astronomy project they settled on the camel cart exhibition concept due to cost, mobility and the added bonus that no food had to be provided for the camels as they snack on the foliage of local trees. (and I’m guessing their carbon footprint isn’t too bad either!)
Having extensive experience in the field of street science education, Manthan are continually exploring new avenues for educating and engaging young minds. Kathan reports that they are keen to look into promoting further scientific topics that make use of camel carts to access common people in their local communities. I was thrilled that one of the most popular destinations for the exhibition was the slum at Gulbai Tekra where I have photographed extensively and enjoyed many festivals from Uttarayan to Diwali.
Kathan was invaluable when I was living in Ahmedabad, patiently translating for me on projects such as my Indo-centric Typo-centric and Glocal Cola research plus my collaborative exhibition endeavours with Indian street painters. Every time I learn more about the uplifting and significant projects carried out by Manthan I hope that one day that it will be me that has the honour of assisting him and his father in some small way in their incredibly meaningful and highly relevant work.
