Better by Design in China
Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 9:29AM
In recent decades, China has been known more for its inexpensive manufactured goods than as a producer of high quality products. But this is changing as the country seeks to move up the economic chain.
China’s long-established design traditions were largely overlooked as the country made its breakneck push to become the world’s manufacturing powerhouse. But now Chinese manufacturers want to be known for high-quality designs and products rather than just for cheap-and-cheerful merchandise.
China is a critical lesson for the rest of the global South, and offers much inspiration to any country trying to develop, modernize and eradicate poverty.
The country is the main reason for the dramatic reductions in global extreme poverty rates, and it can be proud of using its average yearly economic growth rate of 10 per cent to lift 440 million Chinese out of poverty – the biggest reduction of poverty in history (The Economist). The strategy of exporting manufactured goods into Western markets at competitive prices has dominated the past 20 years.
But China faces a dilemma as other nations in the global South are moving into this niche. It needs to quickly become a high-value nation, with unique products and designs generated in the country.
Luckily, a renaissance in Chinese design in the last five years has been gradually grabbing the attention of the world’s creative community.
Innovative Chinese designers are creating home furnishings and interiors that are being snapped up by European companies.
The Italian kitchen utensil design company Alessi turned to eight Chinese architects – including Ma Yansong and Yung Ho Chang – to design a range of trays called (Un) Forbidden City. The architects’ designs were manufactured in Italy – a reversal of the pattern that has dominated for the past 20 years.
The architects drew on Chinese traditions and 21st century technologies to design the trays. One was made using a 3D scanner which captured images used to make a mould.
The drive to change and transform China’s global economic role was promoted in 2011’s Beijing International Design Week (http://www.bjdw.org/en/), with its theme of transforming “Made in China to Designed in China.”
“When you have so much of a manufacturing base in one place, it’s natural that people start thinking about how to climb the value chain,” Philip Tinari, director of Beijing’s Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art (UCCA) (http://ucca.org.cn/) – a champion of new artists and designers – told howtospendit.com.
“Chinese design has become something to rally around and, unlike art, enjoys great official support because it’s a way of improving China’s long-term economic position, as opposed to expressing thoughts about what’s been going on.”
Other Chinese designers grabbing attention include Chen Xuan, who makes tables; chair-maker Gui Yang; Li Bowen, a maker of wicker chairs; and Ge Wei, a maker of jewellery boxes.
Designer Huo Yijin makes contemporary tea trays, using heat-reactive lacquer coating to create dazzling effects.
“Users can see the wonderful effect of water and temperature reacting on the tea trays when they drink Kungfu tea in the traditional way,” Huo explained.
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province – a city that has been making ceramics since the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) – is now attracting craftspeople from around the world looking to tap into its expertise and skill. One attraction is Mr Yu’s Big Ware Factory. Its unparalleled ability to create giant-size pottery is a design niche with much potential.
Many foreign creatives are being drawn to China for its can-do attitude and the ability to break with conventions stifling creativity in the West. The next five years could see the world’s design centre of gravity shift eastwards again.
By David South, Development Challenges, South-South Solutions
Published: November 2012
Development Challenges, South-South Solutions was launched as an e-newsletter in 2006 by UNDP's South-South Cooperation Unit (now the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation) based in New York, USA. It led on profiling the rise of the global South as an economic powerhouse and was one of the first regular publications to champion the global South's innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneers. It tracked the key trends that are now so profoundly reshaping how development is seen and done. This includes the rapid take-up of mobile phones and information technology in the global South (as profiled in the first issue of magazine Southern Innovator), the move to becoming a majority urban world, a growing global innovator culture, and the plethora of solutions being developed in the global South to tackle its problems and improve living conditions and boost human development. The success of the e-newsletter led to the launch of the magazine Southern Innovator.
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Chinese Building Solution for Rapidly Urbanizing Global South
Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 9:25AM
The global South is currently experiencing the biggest surge in urban population ever seen in human history. This transformation from urban to rural is happening in many different ways across the global South. Some countries have highly detailed plans and are building new cities from scratch, while other countries feel overwhelmed by their booming urban populations.
By 2025, it is estimated the developing world could become home to 37 megacities with more than 10 million residents (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megacity) (The Guardian). Sixty years ago there were just two megacities: New York and Tokyo. Today, there are between 21 and 23, and the UN is forecasting that by 2025 Asia will have nine new megacities. By 2025, the majority of the world’s megacities will be in the global South.
But how will these cities be built? How will they use resources well and ensure the rapidly rising new buildings are safe and healthy?
A Chinese innovator and Internet sensation has developed a way to rapidly build high-density, high-rise structures that are also safe and meet strict earthquake-proofing standards. Building upwards is an efficient way to get more use out of space and to free up land for things like parks.
Just as the first megacities such as New York began building skyscrapers a century ago, going upwards will be the solution many of the new megacities will choose as they feel the pressing twin demands of rising populations and financial restraints.
Based in Changsha, China (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changsha), the BROAD Group
(http://www.broad.com/) (http://www.broad.com:8089/english/) has become an Internet sensation for posting videos of it rapidly building skyscrapers. It does this to show off its innovative technologies, which have significantly reduced the time it takes to build high-rise buildings.
The BROAD Group calls itself “an enterprise based on the vision of unique technologies and the philosophy of preserving life.”
The company is a pioneer in making non-electric air conditioning equipment, energy systems, and sustainable building technology.
The company has come a long way since it was started in 1988 with just US $3,000. By 1995, it had shed its debts and loans. It sees its mission as confronting the two major crises facing the world today: atmospheric pollution and global warming. The company hopes to evolve into a social enterprise.
BROAD calls itself a world leader in making central air conditioning powered by natural gas and waste heat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_Group). The company is currently exporting its systems to more than 60 countries and was an official supplier to the 2010 Shanghai Expo.
BROAD has recently been expanding its product range and moving into constructing sustainable buildings. In particular it is developing an expertise in rapid construction techniques. This is important in the modern world as cities across the global South experience population growth and the pressing need to house people and create workplaces efficiently. BROAD is proud of the 15-storey hotel in Dongting Lake in Hunan Province it built in just six days, which became a hit on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjGhHl-W8Wg). After this achievement, BROAD constructed a 30-storey hotel in 15 days.
Part of the BROAD Group, Broad Sustainable Building (BSB) claims to make the “World’s first factory-made building.” BROAD says its buildings are sustainable because they efficiently use recycled construction materials, rely on materials free of formaldehyde, lead, radiation and asbestos and avoid “construction sewage” dust or waste.
BROAD was provoked into making sustainable buildings after the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008 (http://quake.mit.edu/~changli/wenchuan.html). A year after the earthquake, 300 researchers from BROAD developed an earthquake-resistant building technology.
The factory-made building works like this: a “main board” is prepared with a floor and ceiling, ventilation, water supply and drainage, electricity and lighting. This is then placed on a truck and taken to the building site. All the workers need to do on site is assemble the building by screwing in the bolts and finishing it with the painting and other decorating. This makes the time spent assembling the building on site, according to BROAD, just 7 per cent of the total construction hours. This means 93 per cent of the building is prefabricated in a factory compared to an industry norm of 40 per cent.
BROAD’s latest project and biggest challenge is to build Sky City One (http://skycityone.wordpress.com/) – the world’s tallest tower at 220 floors and 838 metres – in Changsha in just 90 days. A mix of residential, commercial and retail space, it will allow between 70,000 and 120,000 people to work and live. The start date could be November 2012 and the building completed by early 2013.
The finished building will be 10 metres taller than the current tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa (http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/) in Dubai.
By David South, Development Challenges, South-South Solutions
Published: October 2012
Development Challenges, South-South Solutions was launched as an e-newsletter in 2006 by UNDP's South-South Cooperation Unit (now the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation) based in New York, USA. It led on profiling the rise of the global South as an economic powerhouse and was one of the first regular publications to champion the global South's innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneers. It tracked the key trends that are now so profoundly reshaping how development is seen and done. This includes the rapid take-up of mobile phones and information technology in the global South (as profiled in the first issue of magazine Southern Innovator), the move to becoming a majority urban world, a growing global innovator culture, and the plethora of solutions being developed in the global South to tackle its problems and improve living conditions and boost human development. The success of the e-newsletter led to the launch of the magazine Southern Innovator.
Follow @SouthSouth1
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Diaspora Bonds to Help Build up Infrastructure
Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 9:24AM
Many people are aware of the significant role played in global development by remittance payments from migrant workers working in the wealthy North to the global South. But they may not be aware of the significant sums migrant workers have saved in bank accounts in these wealthy countries. Across the global South, efforts are underway to lure these sums back to home countries to boost development efforts.
As the hard-earned money migrant workers save sits in bank accounts in wealthy Western countries earning very low interest rates – a consequence of the current global economic crisis – so-called “Diaspora Bonds” seek to offer a way to earn good interest returns and help build up home countries at the same time.
The money can help developing countries build facilities they need but cannot afford: roads, bridges, railways, water supplies, power, sewerage, street lighting. It is a way to bypass dependence on foreign aid and borrowing from aid agencies or the general marketplace.
US $501 billion in remittance payments was sent in 2011, of which US $372 billion went to developing countries, involving some 192 million migrants or 3 per cent of the world’s population (World Bank). On top of this, migrants from developing countries have saved an estimated US $400 billion – and these funds are being targeted by those selling diaspora bonds (The Economist).
The idea is being promoted by the World Bank and draws on the successful experiences with bonds for Israel and India. Both countries have long histories of turning to diaspora communities to raise funds through bonds.
The bonds work by playing on patriotism and the genuine desire of migrants to want to see conditions improve back home. As the thinking goes, patriotic investors are more likely to be patient. This is critical because many countries cannot offer rapid profits and a quick pay off – something sought by short-term investors obsessed with the ups and downs of the stock market. They are also sterner investors, less likely to run away when the going gets tough. Their local knowledge means they will not panic and pull their investments when bad news hits the headlines. And probably best of all, they don’t mind if the local currency declines in value – that just means they can pick up a local house on the cheap or buy a business for even less money.
One business working in this area is Homestrings (homestrings.com): Motto “Come make a difference.” An Internet platform offering diaspora bonds, it is run by founder and chief executive officer Eric-Vincent Guichard. An American born to a Guinean father and American mother, he spent 20 years growing up in rural Guinea and knows the country well. He also heads up GRAVITAS Capital Advisors, Inc. (gravitascapital.com), founded in 1996, which advises governments on how to manage their assets. A graduate of HarvardBusinessSchool and a former World Bank scholar, he is based in Washington, D.C.
According to its website, Homestrings works like this: “It all starts with your ability to scan through a catalog of projects, funds and public-private partnership opportunities that focus on regions you come from or that you care deeply about. Each of these projects and/or funds is detailed in a Fact Sheet that is set up to help you do the due diligence needed to make an investment decision. Then, Homestrings directs your investment into the selected project or fund, with the help of our administrator.”
Investments are monitored on a monthly or quarterly basis and are selected for their socio-economic impact and investment profitability.
The website has a personal “Dashboard” that allows investors to use the site to vote for or against investments and make comments. And Homestrings will promote the investments that receive the most support and positive comments.
To make an investment, a potential investor selects a fund or project that matches their interest. They read the Fact Sheet and choose. The funds are then passed on to the investment bond and an interest percentage or dividend is paid at regular intervals. Investors can keep track of the investment through the personal Dashboard on the website.
Fact Sheets are organized by geographical region, industry focus, and development theme. Investments “cover infrastructure, health care, education, transportation, and small and medium sized enterprise finance – all critical areas of economic growth.”
The Homestrings Catalog of investments includes the governments of Kenya, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria and also AFREN PLC, which is looking to finance oil and gas exploration off the coast of Nigeria.
Dramatic improvements in global communications in the past five years have also made it much easier for everyone involved to stay in touch and for bond promoters to identify and target potential customers.
The World Bank is currently advising countries on how to run diaspora bond schemes. Kenya, Nigeria and the Philippines have schemes in the works, according to The Economist.
Ethiopia has announced the “Renaissance Dam Bond” (http://grandmillenniumdam.net/). Proceeds will be used to fund the construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam, the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa, able to generate 5,250 megawatts. Ethiopia tried a similar scheme before with the Millennium Corporate Bond to raise funds for the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO). This did not entirely meet expectations and sales were slow. Reasons given for this included a perception that EEPCO could not meet payment expectations when the hydroelectric power plant was operating. There was also a lack of trust in the government and its financial stability and the overall political risks.
The second attempt at a bond is believed to better thought through. It comes with an aggressive marketing and awareness-raising campaign aimed at the diaspora, and it starts at US $50, making it more affordable for more people. It can be used as collateral in Ethiopia – an advantage for those wanting to do business back in the home country.
For potential investors, it is worth remembering that bonds are debts that are rewarded with regular interest payments and paid back at the end of the bond term. They are not risk-free and the risk can lie either in the sovereign solvency of the country or in the investment.
The secret to a successful bond issue is to keep up good relations with the diaspora; countries that are too oppressive could find themselves short of people willing to take up the offer.
By David South, Development Challenges, South-South Solutions
Published: October 2012
Development Challenges, South-South Solutions was launched as an e-newsletter in 2006 by UNDP's South-South Cooperation Unit (now the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation) based in New York, USA. It led on profiling the rise of the global South as an economic powerhouse and was one of the first regular publications to champion the global South's innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneers. It tracked the key trends that are now so profoundly reshaping how development is seen and done. This includes the rapid take-up of mobile phones and information technology in the global South (as profiled in the first issue of magazine Southern Innovator), the move to becoming a majority urban world, a growing global innovator culture, and the plethora of solutions being developed in the global South to tackle its problems and improve living conditions and boost human development. The success of the e-newsletter led to the launch of the magazine Southern Innovator.
Follow @SouthSouth1
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Geothermal Energy to Boost Global South’s Development
Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 9:18AM
The geothermal heat produced by the earth’s molten core is a resource receiving more and more attention across the global South. Properly harnessed, geothermal energy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_energy) offers a low-cost, non-polluting source of power and hot water that does not harm the environment or contribute to climate change (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change).
The country that has made the most of this resource is the Scandinavian island nation of Iceland (http://www.visiticeland.com/), one of the world’s most volcanically active places.
The country was once one of the poorest in Europe, dependent on fishing as its main income source. But by 2007-2008, Iceland was ranked as having the highest level of human development in the world.
One of the contributors to this impressive improvement in human development is the tapping of the country’s geothermal energy reserves (http://www.geothermal.is/).
According to the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA), “Iceland is widely considered the success story of the geothermal community. The country of just over 300,000 people is now fully powered by renewable forms of energy, with 17 per cent of electricity and 87 per cent of heating needs provided by geothermal energy.”
Worldwide, geothermal energy supplies power to 24 countries, producing enough electricity to meet the needs of 60 million people (GEA).
The Philippines generates 23 per cent of its electricity from geothermal energy, and is the world’s second biggest producer behind the U.S. Geothermal energy is also helping provide power in Indonesia, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Mexico.
Energy is critical to advances in human development. Electricity enables the introduction of lighting in homes, the use of washing machines and other modern appliances and of communications tools such as computers and televisions.
Geothermally heated water can be used to heat homes, provide hot water for bathing, heat swimming pools and bathing places and power electricity turbines. Industry can benefit from the low-cost energy, giving a boost to economic development.
And, crucially, it does not harm the natural environment like conventional energy sources such as coal, gas or nuclear power with its legacy of radioactive waste.
While not all countries are as well positioned as volcanically active Iceland or the Philippines, many can find a way to tap this natural resource.
Interest in this power source is increasing in Central and South America, whose energy consumption is forecast to increase by 72 per cent by 2035 (International Energy Outlook 2011).
South America currently relies heavily on hydro-electric power, but this is proving insufficient to meet the growing demand (http://www.esmap.org/esmap/node/1136). A World Bank study says “Latin American and Caribbean countries could boost region-wide electricity supply by 30 percent by 2030 by diversifying the energy mix to include hydropower, natural gas, and renewable energy” (ESMAP).
The report estimates the region has the potential to generate 300 terawatts of geothermal energy per year, roughly equivalent to the output of fifty 1,000-megawatt power plants or the emission of 210 million metric tons of carbon greenhouse gases (ARPA).
The areas best placed to tap this resource are located along the Pacific Rim from Mexico to Chile, and in parts of the Caribbean.
The 2012 Geothermal International Market Overview Report by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) (http://www.geo-energy.org/reports.aspx) found Argentina, Chile and Peru are moving ahead with plans.
In Argentina, Earth Heat Resources (http://www.earthheat.com.au/) is developing geothermal energy in the volcanic Copahue region in partnership with Xtrata Pachon SA (http://www.xstratacopper.com/EN/Operations/Pages/ElPachon.aspx).
Because of government support and legislation, there are now 83 geothermal exploration concessions under review in Chile, according to Renewable Energy World.com.
The Renewable Energy Center (http://www.ecpamericas.org/initiatives/?id=23) has been established in Chile and is the fruit of a partnership between the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Chilean National Energy Commission. It is being used to gather data on global best practices and techniques to be adapted for use in Chile, and hopes to become a knowledge source for the region. A law is also in place to oblige power utilities with a capacity above 200 megawatts (MW) to have 10 per cent of their energy come from renewable sources.
Central America has already enthusiastically embraced geothermal resources, according to the report by the GEA.
Currently, El Salvador and Costa Rica derive 24 per cent (204 MW) and 12 per cent (163 MW) of their electricity production from geothermal energy. Nicaragua and Guatemala are also generating a portion of their electricity from geothermal energy.
And Central America has still more geothermal potential it can tap. Estimates place this between 3,000 megawatts and 13,000 megawatts at 50 identified geothermal sites.
By David South, Development Challenges, South-South Solutions
Published: October 2012
Development Challenges, South-South Solutions was launched as an e-newsletter in 2006 by UNDP's South-South Cooperation Unit (now the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation) based in New York, USA. It led on profiling the rise of the global South as an economic powerhouse and was one of the first regular publications to champion the global South's innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneers. It tracked the key trends that are now so profoundly reshaping how development is seen and done. This includes the rapid take-up of mobile phones and information technology in the global South (as profiled in the first issue of magazine Southern Innovator), the move to becoming a majority urban world, a growing global innovator culture, and the plethora of solutions being developed in the global South to tackle its problems and improve living conditions and boost human development. The success of the e-newsletter led to the launch of the magazine Southern Innovator.
Follow @SouthSouth1
Google Books: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zvLBoEfECgUC&dq=development+challenges+october+2012&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/DavidSouth1/development-challengessouthsouthsolutionsoctober2012issue
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Southern Innovator Issue 3: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AQNt4YmhZagC&dq=southern+innovator&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Southern Innovator Issue 4: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9T_n2tA7l4EC&dq=southern+innovator&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Southern Innovator Issue 5: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6ILdAgAAQBAJ&dq=southern+innovator&source=gbs_navlinks_s
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Design Collaborations Revitalize Traditional Craft Techniques
Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 9:16AM
Keeping alive traditional craft techniques and methods in the age of globalization is a tricky balance to get right. As countries seek to increase living standards and income, traditional craft-making methods are often jettisoned in favour of attracting manufacturing and other high-value activities – meaning rich and potentially lucrative skills can be lost.
One promising new initiative is bringing craftspeople in the global South together with established and well-known designers in The Netherlands to create the market incentives to continue using traditional techniques. It is establishing a brand and a business model to sell unique and original craft products into the European marketplace. By doing this, it hopes to open up new markets in Europe – and in time, the rest of the world – for craft makers from the global South so they can continue to earn an income using their traditional skills and techniques.
The brand is called Imperfect Design (http://www.imperfectdesign.nl/) and was founded in 2011 by Monique Thoonen, formerly the managing director of Dutch Design in Development (ddid.nl) – a matchmaker between Dutch designers, producers in developing countries and European importers. Imperfect Design takes the idea a step further: It is a brand dedicated to creating high-value, well-designed craft products for the European marketplace.
The idea began to percolate in Thoonen’s mind in 2010. She received a good response from some of the Dutch designers she approached – who were keen to work with craft workers in developing countries – and this gave her the confidence to launch Imperfect Design.
“We saw that many designers were very interested to work with craftsmen/small workshops in developing countries,” she explained, reflecting on her previous experience working with Dutch Design in Development. “The designers and the crafters learned a lot about the inspiring cooperation and it resulted often in good quality products/collections. However, it was hard to find good sales channels for the products. In 2010 the idea came about to set up an own brand.”
Thoonen was seeking a business model that could be sustainable and rewarding for all the participants along the value chain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_chain).
“The cooperation is inspiring for Dutch designers,” Thoonen said. “The craftsmen will learn a lot about product development during the project and will earn money from the orders. The idea is to build up long-term relations with producers in three countries in three continents – each continent one country.”
For Thoonen, the business model approach is at the core of Imperfect Design.
“The idea of my business model is not doing good. It must be a profitable business model, otherwise it can’t be sustainable. Making it profitable is a big challenge and also forces us to keep the commercial aspect every day in mind.”
The criteria for selecting the designers includes a resourcefulness and creativity that can shape a high-quality craft product with the resources and tools at hand for the collaborating craft workers in the developing country. It is also crucial they understand how to shape the craft product into a high-value item that can command a high price back in Europe.
According to Thoonen, “the products must be differentiated from the market, otherwise it can be copied easily by large producers in China. It is really important to create new things, as the prices are in general higher than from mass production, so the consumer must understand why the price is higher.”
So far, Imperfect Design has begun working with craftspeople in Vietnam and Guatemala, and it is currently selecting a country in Africa. Craft workers can contact Imperfect Design about collaborating but the number of people it can work with is limited at this stage. Imperfect Design places emphasis in taking the time to build sustainable relationships.
A common criticism of craft products sold in many markets is their sameness and sometimes poor and inconsistent production quality. Trying to enter an overseas market and understand what consumers want or desire is a very difficult thing for a craft worker to get right. This is where the experience and knowledge of a designer can make a big difference. Designers can help to hone the craft product, improve the production methods and position the product in the overseas marketplace.
“The workshops have fantastic qualities and materials to work with,” says Thoonen. “When you combine that with the strength of our Dutch designers, you can create products which are commercial, of high quality, and beautiful.”
One of the first collaborations to bear fruit is between Dutch designer Arian Brekveld (arianbrekveld.com) and craft workers in Vietnam. The collaborations have resulted in lacquer tables, trays and candlesticks, ceramic vases, iPad bags and throw cushions – all made using techniques and materials unique to Vietnam.
Imperfect Design allows the designers to select which country they would like to work with. Brekveld’s previous experience travelling widely in Asia tipped his interest towards a country in that continent. He appreciated the friendly and welcoming contacts he had made in Vietnam, who showed a strong interest in collaborating.
Brekveld wanted to bring a “designer’s eye” to the possibilities in Vietnam. He asked: “How could they make the crafts more beautiful and customized for the market in Europe?”
He found Vietnam was not just an interesting place to work, but also a country undergoing significant change. As a result, he found it critical to go and see what was happening in the country and to see first-hand the working conditions in the workshops.
This was a contrast to many of the design briefs he normally undertakes in Europe, where there often isn’t the intimacy of working directly with the craft workers in their workshops.
The time spent in Vietnam was intense and involved visiting multiple workshops to see which would be the best partner.
“We visited four or five lacquer companies to see what their skills were, looking for possibilities,” he said. “It is very special to see by yourself, to really to take a look by yourself, to see what companies do.”
Brekveld was surprised to see that concepts that had been discussed and explored earlier in the day would be presented to him as completed works by the end of the day. The quick work pace and precision really impressed the designer, and the project took months to complete in comparison to the years required by some projects he works on in Europe.
A group of women from the ethnic Catu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co_Tu_people) community in central Vietnam weaved the fabrics for the iPad bags and cushions. It was very valuable to work with them in person because he could see what they were – and weren’t – capable of. The fabrics are made into iPad bags and cushions in the capital Hanoi by disabled craftsmen.
Brekveld said visiting the remote workshop saved a lot of time and frustration.
“It was a big difference compared to sitting behind a desk and sending designs. You really see all the possibilities that are there.”
Brekveld is seeking to design products that do not fit in with a clichéd idea of what comes from a developing country.
“If you look you can see the imperfections but they are not obvious. These designs would not necessarily sell in their own country. We try to design products showing the skills they have, using their techniques – not using patterns they would use for themselves. We look at their process and say ‘you can make that and that’. On the other hand, we don’t want to tell them to do something completely different. We look at the technique – a combination of European design language with their abilities.”
But what about quality control? Brekveld says that is an issue he looks at right from the beginning of the design process. “I am a maker, try to make myself – try to think about it before hand.”
He is ambitious for the collaboration to flourish.
“We hope these relations are long-term relations,” he said. “We hope to expand the collection.”
He will present the collections during Dutch Design Week at the end of October 2012 in Eindhoven (ddw.nl).
For Thoonen, success will bring many benefits. “If we manage to sell the collection well in the market, then we can give more orders,” Thoonen said. “In short: it will create work, but also development in quality and design.”
By David South, Development Challenges, South-South Solutions
Published: September 2012
Development Challenges, South-South Solutions was launched as an e-newsletter in 2006 by UNDP's South-South Cooperation Unit (now the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation) based in New York, USA. It led on profiling the rise of the global South as an economic powerhouse and was one of the first regular publications to champion the global South's innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneers. It tracked the key trends that are now so profoundly reshaping how development is seen and done. This includes the rapid take-up of mobile phones and information technology in the global South (as profiled in the first issue of magazine Southern Innovator), the move to becoming a majority urban world, a growing global innovator culture, and the plethora of solutions being developed in the global South to tackle its problems and improve living conditions and boost human development. The success of the e-newsletter led to the launch of the magazine Southern Innovator.
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