DesignsPotentialRolein TransformingPublicServicesin RuralIndia

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 HumanDevelopment Index here is comparable to that of sub-Saharan Africa. It was the first time since I had a cellophane 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 kachahuts. I could usually find a pay phone in each village, next to a small shop selling basic householdnecessities. The infrastructure was a bare minimum, with no certainty of whether there would beelectricity or water available. This is rural India -- the village as an entity synonymous with extremepoverty

3. Transforming Public Services

Rural India is poorly served by both the government and the corporate sector, thus many rural peoplelive in informal settlements, lack access to water and sanitation services, electricity, and

basichealthcare. Most have no bank account and no access to financial services other than an informaleconomy dominated by local moneylenders charging exorbitant interest rates. Lack of transportationlimits their access to markets to sell their crops or craft, and they have no choice but to sell tomiddlemen who use unfair means and exploit them. People living in rural India pay much higher pricesfor basic goods and services which are usually of lower quality, not only in the form of money but alsoin the time spent to obtain those goods and services. In order to enable rural India to find its ownroute out of poverty, one needs to look at the existing infrastructure and public services, andunderstand the unmet needs of the people. 3.1 Energy Rural India lacks access to clean and affordable energy and instead uses inefficient fuels that areharmful to peoples health. There is no electricity in rural India: firewood is the primary source forcooking while kerosene is the predominant fuel source for lighting, and the indoor use of these fuelscase significant health problems. These inefficient sources of energy are also more expensive andgathering the firewood is a time consuming process. This time could be better spent in more importantplaces like at school or at work. Rural electrification initiatives using new technologies like LEDs andimprovements of old devices like biomass burning cook stoves suggest that creative solutions can befound. We are seeing off-grid solutions become more widespread in areas where the public grid doesnot reach at all. In areas where the electricity is erratic, hybrid solutions using hydropower or solarphotovoltaic cells are becoming more popular as designers search for sustainable solutions.(Hammond et al 2007, 77-87) .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. Theybelieve in knowing the needs of their customers and provide at-home design

consultation, installationand after-sales service. By owning 25 service centers in key locations, SELCO has managed to provideelectricity to 75,000 homes. Sales and service is decentralized and directly managed by the managersof the local service centers. As a result of local service centers and strong management personnel,they have created a strong distribution channel. SELCOs business model works mostly because of thecombination of product, service and finance. Using high quality products reduces the cost of serviceand maintenance, and reduces SELCOs operations costs. They help their customers finance theirpurchase by partnering with rural banks, leasing companies and micro-finance organizations. Themonthly 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 inPalmares do Sul between 1983 and 1988, as a result of which the cost of providing energy was reducedby 90%. The community worked together setting up poles and wiring that were independent of theconnection to the traditional grid. Forty photovoltaic solar systems were used to cover the entire areawith IDEAAS investing fully in equipment and infrastructure. They used inexpensive materials andsimplified 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/) 3.2 Healthcare Rural India lacks access to public healthcare and the distribution channels for medicines and servicesis limited, leading to a lot of casualties and many diseases going untreated. The decision is based onthe cost to travel to a clinic or hospital: if it results in more money spent in

transportation or wages lostdue to the time taken to reach the facility, people will defer treatment until the condition is relativelyserious. The ineffective system results in self-medication techniques, making pharmacies or othersources of medicines the most important part of the healthcare system. This shows a huge need notonly for distribution of medicines to remote areas, but also a requirement for health education so thatrural 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% oftheir patients and generate enough revenue from the other 30% to cover the cost. They reducedoperating costs by using ophthalmic paramedical staff to do all the preparatory and postoperationwork on each patient, leaving the surgeon more time to perform more surgeries. Each surgeon has twotables so that he can perform the 10-20 minute operation and turn around to treat the next patientwhile simultaneously a new patient is wheeled in. A major challenge to the service is that most peoplefrom remote rural areas cannot find transportation to reach the hospital. To resolve this, they startedcommunity outreach programs like eye-screening camps, school eye health programs, and villagevolunteer programs. Mobile vans have also been used to go to the interiors of the villages about eightto ten times a month and take healthcare to the doorstep of the customer. (http://www.aravind.org/) 3.2.2 CFW Health Stores CFW Health Stores are a network of micro pharmacies and clinics in Kenya that provide access toessential medication in remote areas where healthcare is unavailable. They target the most commonkiller diseases like malaria, respiratory infections and dysentery. They also provide health educationand 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 twotypes 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 andaccurately prescribe the correct medicines. Being a franchise, procurement of drugs is centralizedwhich 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 thedistribution system for goods and services to these areas is minimal resulting in a higher cost for lowerquality services. The cost of owning a private vehicle is too high, leaving very few options to get fromone place to another walking, cycling, or animal drawn carts. This lack of transportation is a constantobstacle to looking for work, getting goods to and from the markets, or obtaining education andhealthcare. Farmers end up selling their produce to middlemen at unfair prices, and households put offseeking medical care or sending children to school because of the high cost or the long hours in gettingto the hospital or the school. This inefficiency in transportation increases the need for more efficientdistribution channels for services, products, and information. Bringing the products and services to thepeople at comparable market cost will empower the rural community and reduce their need to travelto obtain similar information. (Hammond et al 2007, 6167) 3.3.1 Jugaad Jugaad is a Hindi word which literally means work around and is commonly used when disruptivemethods are used instead of traditional means. A jugaad is a locally-made motor vehicle used mostly insmall villages as a means of low cost transportation. It is an ordinary water pump set converted into anengine. The body is made from either wooden planks or from recycled jeeps. With four gears and asteering, it is all that one needs to travel from remote places where public

transportation isunavailable. 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 dieselfuel and are not registered vehicles and hence do not have to pay registration fees or road tax. Theowners usually pay the traffic police a certain amount per month to let them run in their area. Thejugaad 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 entrepreneurswho are interesting in providing transportation solutions and create incomegenerating opportunitiesin developing countries. Bicycles are the primary mode of transportation in these countries, but theones usually sold are designed for recreation purposes and are ill-suited to carrying heavy loads. TheWorldBike encourages anyone with a welder, a cut-off saw and access to used mountain bikes to makea low-cost utility bicycle for a family in the developing world. These bicycles have a long wheelbase andhave more strength, effectively becoming load-carrying bicycles that can be used not only fortransportation but mobile services too. They conduct trial markets in each country to determine theideal price, and partner with organizations like Kickstart International to sell and distribute them.(http://wwww.worldbike.org/) .2 One Laptop Per Child The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative aims at providing educational opportunities for theworlds poorest children by providing them with rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptops withcontent 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 developedspecifically for the project, and utilize mobile ad-hoc networking. They are designed to be lower in costand much longer lasting than traditional laptops. They are sold to governments to be distributedthrough the ministries of education in each country. The operating system and the software arelocalized to the language. The pilot program in Peru showed that children with the OLPC learnedquickly, started to communicate more amongst themselves, and also taught their parents how to usethe laptop. (http://laptop.org/ 3.4 Education The poor condition of schools in rural India becomes detrimental to the learning process and theentire education system leading to an overall reduced literacy rate and low quality of life. According tothe Government of India, by the end of 2000, 94% of India's rural population had primary schoolswithin one km and 84% had upper primary schools within 3 km. While this might seem fair, the facilitiesare inadequate with not enough classrooms or teachers. The schools not only lack educationalresources like textbooks, but basic infrastructure like furniture, water and toilets. The use of high-techdevices such as computers is very rare, due to the unavailability of funds to invest in them and the lackof electricity to run them. A number of teachers refuse to teach in rural areas because of lower wagesand the low standard of living. Those who do are usually under-qualified and are not interested inteaching. 50% of children living in these areas leave

school before the fifth grade. Some leave becauseof lack of interest which is a result of the negligence of the government and the teacher. Most boysleave 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 bydoing 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 developmentprograms do not need urban-based professionals. Para-professionals already exist in the villageswhose knowledge and skills are neither identified nor applied because they do not have an educationalqualification. 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 idealsof the college. The campus has a 700,000 liter rainwater harvesting tank and is completely solarRadhika Bhalla | 8 electrified. The Barefoot College is based on the knowledge that families in communities depend oneach other, and even in a country with 40% illiteracy, oral tradition is rich and knowledge skills arepassed down from generation to generation. (http://www.barefootcollege.org/) Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Rural India lacks two-way communication technologies and is connected to the rest of the nation onlythrough radio and television. There is no internet or fixed telephone lines and the only form ofcommunication are via telegraph or postal services. There is a significant demand for such connectionand a willingness to pay which is why we have seen mobile phone companies leapfrogging traditionaltechnologies and growing rapidly in emerging markets. By developing advanced services specificallyfor the rural community, viz. prepaid mobile services in small units

and internet access by the quarterhour in cybercafs, they have created affordability for the rural customer. ICT bridges the gapbetween the need for people to communicate and the access to services in rural areas by connectinghouseholds to information sources. Most rural households cannot afford to own a phone, but they arewilling to pay to use one either at public payphones or neighbors cellphone. This social phenomenonof shared-use amongst ones network of friends has created an opportunity for entrepreneurs whoown mobile phones to charge people for the usage of their device. Similarly, cybercafs and kioskshave provided shared access to computers and internet. But the next big question is whether mobilephones will become the new internet platform for rural communities? The penetration rate of bothmobile phones and mobile services is much greater than that of a computer, the device is not ascomplicated, it does not require much technical support, it is much easier for an illiterate person tomaster a mobile phone, and voice-based services can be utilized where literacy is a barrier. Phones arealso less expensive than computers and service is often offered through prepaid business models thatare more affordable for the rural customer. (Hammond et al 2007, 43-51) .1 E-Choupal E-Choupal is an ICT-based intervention transforming the illiterate Indian farmer into a knowledgeseeking netizen. It delivers real-time information and customized knowledge, aligning farm output tomarket demand. Not only does it provide price information to the farmer, it creates a direct marketingchannel for the company, thus reducing transaction costs. Traditionally, commodities from rural areaswere procured in mandis (rural markets) by middlemen who used unfair techniques to make the mostprofit. ITC installed internet kiosks in villages that allowed the farmer to order fertilizers, getinformation on farming practices, prevailing market prices and weather forecast. All this information isnow available in local languages and creates a new transparent and cost-effective market channel. Thekiosk is run by a Sanchalak (trained farmer) who keeps the

computer in his house. Although he bearssome operating cost, in return he gets concessions from e-transactions while the farmers do not needto 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 orfriends, or through community phone shops where you can pay per call. Phone shops enableaffordable telecom in poor rural areas which lack the infrastructure. Vodafone operates more than100,000 Community Service phones from approximately 4,000 access points. They are run by localbusinesses as phone booths under a franchise model. Vodacom provides training and support to theselocal entrepreneurs. These phone shops also boost the local economy by creating jobs and attractingother businesses. The shops are made from recycled shipping containers and are independent fromone another, but the products and services they offer are simple and consistent. A consumer can makea 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 healthhazards 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 accessto wells or community pipes, and usually they are extremely water-stressed. Some of these sources aresafe and protected while most are being polluted by industrialization and agricultural run-off. Thecontaminants in the water vary from heavy metals to chemical and biological agents and require arange of solutions. Municipal water supply is not safe enough for drinking and point-of-use waterpurification systems have proved to be useful in India. In rural areas that lack access to municipalwater, 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 networkfrom 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 aimof the Foundation is to build self-reliant rural communities by promoting active participation andinvolvement from local people. A water purification plant is set up in a village to fulfill the needs of thatvillage and the neighboring three or four villages. The plant is operated by the trained youth of thevillages, thus creating livelihood for them. The sustainability of the system is through charging the userfor the service: US$0.04 for 12 liters. Local science colleges are involved in carrying out the qualitycontrol of the plant. The initial cost of the water purification plant is shared between the villages andthe Foundation. A committee called the Grama Vikasa Samithi (GVS) is created where the VillageCouncil nominates interested and involved members of all the communities within the village. TheGVS 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 onsafe 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/) .6.2 LifeStraw LifeStraw is a prototype point-of-use water purification filter designed so that anyone in thedeveloping world can obtain safe drinking water at home and outside. LifeStraw Personal is a portablewater purifier that can be carried around for easy access to safe and clean drinking water, preventingcommon diarrheal diseases. It can provide 700 liters of water enough for one person to drink for awhole year. The LifeStraw Family is a complimentary system for the house, providing

more than 18,000liters of safe drinking water. The LifeStraw Personal is a plastic tube, 31 cm long and 30 mm indiameter, and costs around US$3. The water sucked through the straw first passes through a mesh of100 micrometer spaces, followed by another mesh of 15 micrometer spaces, filtering out all the largeparticles. 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 theiodine taste and any other remaining bacteria. There is still a certain amount of iodine in the water, butthe designers argue that there is an existing iodine deficiency in most developing countries. The onlyorganism that the LifeStraw fails to filter is the giardia lamblia, which is only the size of 5 micronspores 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 channelswhich results in informal services offered by moneylenders who charge an extremely high interest rateon 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 thedevelopment of various microfinance institutions. Commercial banks are also seeing potential in ruralmarkets and becoming more active by providing a broader range of products and services that nowinclude savings and insurance. Establishing a banking relationship gives people a formal identity thatthey lacked before. New technologies like mobile phone banking promise to increase access to theseservices and lower their transaction costs. Mobile phone systems are also generating new jobs formillions of small entrepreneurs in the form of new opportunities in financial services. Improvingfinancial 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 partof the system and encouraging them to participate in activities that were previously taboo. (Hammondet al 2007, 97-103) 3.7.1 SKS Microfinance SKS Microfinance delivers microfinance in rural India through a grameen (village) banking programthat was developed by the Grameen Foundation in Bangladesh. They have adapted the methodologyto 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 localconditions and the potential for operations. These include the total population, the poverty levelof the village, road accessibility, political stability and safety. After the village is selected, aProjection Meeting is held with the entire village to introduce SKS Microfinance. Mini ProjectionMeetings 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 helpfacilitate meetings and work closely with SKS Field Assistants. All financial transactions areaddressed during these meetings, along with discussions on new loan applications, loan utilizationand community issues. (http://www.sksindia.com/) 1 Design Research and Co-creation The value of design research has not yet been utilized in rural India and the people have not beeninvolved in the design process. In my opinion, the designers role in the future shall be that of a culturalanthropologist. They will understand how these villages are similar and different from each other, andmore importantly, different from urban India. Design research will provide a context

for acculturationof the designer, while co-creation will give the local community a medium to express their needs. Wehave to adapt existing research methodologies to understand the lifestyle and the challenges of therural community. 4.2 Entrepreneurial Nature of Rural India There is an abundance of entrepreneurship in rural India and urban slums that designers tend toignore. 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 learnfrom 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 todesign a system that allows the individual to customize their own products. 3 Role of Women in the Rural Society The role of women in rural society is changing as they become more proactive, participating inmicrofinance opportunities or helping the local NGOs in their village. By involving them in the designprocess, not only do we get their views on what design should be, we also get to transfer knowledge tothe rest of the community through them. Although rural women have not been given the opportunityto work in the past, they still possess entrepreneurial ability. We have to create a product that teachesthem 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 traditionalvalues and arts? How can technology act as a facilitator for local manufacturing? How can it helpproduction methods evolve? Conquering the digital divide is of utmost importance. We should be ableto conserve the cultural system of the village, along with the ecosystem, by acknowledging the powerof indigenous design. We have to preserve the local culture and handicrafts and integrate them withtechnology. 4.5 Sustainability and Community Development

When designing for a billion people, the solution has to be integrated with sustainability, or it will notbe scalable. By partnering with the government, the nonprofits already working in the area, and thelocal community, we need to create an ecosystem in which knowledge is passed exponentially. Weshould use local materials and local designers, thus utilizing resources that are already present in thecommunity. We have to focus on their existing living and business structures, look at their socialinteractions, and create opportunities for empowerment instead of dependence. After studying the existing rural environment, the infrastructure and public services that are accessiblein 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 orservice. 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 thepeople are currently tackling that problem and get inspired by their solution since they know best howto overcome their needs. The designer should involve the women in the business process and utilizetheir social connectedness and their newfound belief in their potential. The designer should not losesight of the existing culture and tradition by imposing a solution that does not fit the customs of thepeople. All these solutions have to be sustainable so that they can scale to meet the needs of a billionpeople. The designer should work collaboratively with the local government and the non profitsoperating in that village as they already have a trusting relationship with the people. Most importantly,the designer must believe in Gandhis vision for the Indian village as an integral part of the future, thecapability of indigenous design and self-reliance, and the potential that design has to turn this visioninto reality. We need to be the change we wish to see in the world. M.K. Gandhi