Design For The Other 90%

“The majority of the world’s designers focus all their efforts on developing products and services exclusively for the richest 10% of the world’s customers. Nothing less than a revolution in design is needed to reach the other 90%.”

—Dr. Paul Polak, International Development Enterprises

This website contains very cool products that should ease the suffering of most people in the world. I think many can be used or adapted in Thailand.

My favorites include:

Pot-In-Pot Cooler, which is a simple refridgerator using only water and pottery,

LifeStraw, which is a straw that will filter unclean water into drinking water,

Ceramic Water Filter, which supplies clean drinking water,

One Laptop Per Child, which (will be) a $100 durable laptop suitable for child exploration and learning, and,

Solar Dish Kitchen, which cooks with sunlight.

On a related note, Ancient Persia discovered a way to use the wind to cool their living space using windcatchers. The modern evolution is the planned Burj al-Taqa building in Dubai that will use wind and sunlight to save energy.