Burden of Cloths We Wear Part 2: Design for the 'Unstructured' Dhobi community in Guwahati.
Funding : Procter and Gamble R&D and Supply Network Organization, Brussles
Duration: January 2017 - June 2018 Members at IIT Guwahati: Pankaj Upadhyay, Keyur Sorathia |
As Part of Phase 1 of this project we found Design briefs, needs, Insights and revelations related to the work and lives of the Dhobi community in Guwahati. We continue our work further in this project with design of new products and systems for the Dhobi community. We have focused our efforts into design for the unstructured group since this group is the most neglected in terms of available interventions. They also have limited access to mechanized and industrial washing solutions. Their work is arduous and exposes them to physical harm and health hazards. They also are under educated about the effect of untreated waste water and packaging. Their work activities lead to the pollution of water bodies and banks but they have limited avenues of accessing water for washing. The newer polices of municipal corporations are restricting the use of water bodies for washing but this is at the cost of their livelihoods.
Through our design interventions we intend to solve some of these issues. Our previous research has not only provided us with a deep understanding of the ecosystem in which the Dhobis operate but also directed us to the right problems to solve. We believe that solving the right problems would tend to eliminate multiple issues and have a cascading effect towards making the lives of the people better. Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Adithya Hairam, P&G for his help and contribution in the project. We would also like to thank the students who are working with us on the project: Tarun Thomas, Bedanta Deori, Saurav Sarkar, Abhishek Yavalkar. |
