Not many people would be innovative like Prafulla (in farming community) to
> design and experiment .
> But they would definitely need the simple design tools and design
> techniques.
> Ur question is very relevant for todays rural india, where they are not
> feeling empowered.
> If we have our own language "Design will be empowering us" as a society.
> Mural

Hi Murali,
Welcome to the group and thanks for the story about the grasroot innovator-Dr.
Chandru
and for pointing out how important it is to have local language books and
dialogue in
design with non english speaking innovators. There are probably many such
conversations going on but not with mainstream designers.

Our privileging western design discourses and a colonial language has certainly
given us
an edge in today's technology and design driven creative economy. However,it
has left a
lot of equally valuable Indian writings unexplored and also prevented
conversations
across the Indian languages as well as with innovators who didn't go to the more
privileged designs schools.

You may be inetrested in Prof. Anil Gupta's National Innnovation Foundation's
work
(ahemedabad) and their other organization-Sristi which have been conducting soda
yatras
in rural areas all over india and documenting grasrrot innovators (who are not
doctors/
doctorate holders like Dr. Chandru) for several years.

Some of these often uneducated grasroot innovators never went to design or
technology
school and probably don't need to. However, NIF/Srishti also help these
grassroot
innovators work with IIM students and faculty and designers to bring their
innovations to
the contemporary markets if they choose too and also helps them patent their
innovations
in India and in US/Europe.

Uma Chandru
Srishti School of art, Design & technology

> designing the S/w for Ultrasound Products LOGIQ3, LOGIQ BOOK.
> <http://www.gehealthcare.com/usen/ultrasound/genimg/products/logiq3/
logiq3_index.html>I

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