Recently in Interviews Category
January 29, 2014
Whatever Happened to the $300 House?
June 10, 2011
Our Rebuttal to the $300 House Op-Ed in the NY Times
That's the question I asked myself when I saw the op-ed they ran on the $300 House.
VG and I wrote a rebuttal - here - on the Harvard Business Review blog.
Please let us know what you think by posting your comments at HBR, underneath the rebuttal.
May 27, 2011
299 Design Ideas for the $300 House
Special thanks to the Jovoto team - Nathalie, Nadine, Peter (x2), Bastian, and Shaun at Mutopo for making this happen - without your generosity we'd never have gotten off the ground. Thanks also to Scott Tew from Ingersoll Rand for your willingness to try this experiment.
Now, let the judging begin!
April 9, 2011
Shraya's Interview: The $300 House
The following questions were sent to VG and Christian by Shraya, a 4th grader in Miss Mancosh's class. Her mentor for this project is Miss Emily Pasquale. Thanks for your questions, Shraya!
We
are not a formal organization - simply a collection of concerned
individuals and companies trying to find a solution to the problem of
low-cost housing for the poorest people on our planet. So our "job" is to
help people come together - across organizations, businesses and
governments - to solve the problem.
How do you plan to get the money to construct these houses?
Does your organization operate all around the world?
Yes
and no. We have members from all the different continents who have
signed on because they are interested in solving the problem. But we
are not a formal organization, so we don't spend any money operating
anywhere.
What are challenges in building houses outside the USA?
Great
question. The biggest challenge for poor people anywhere is money -
they don't have enough money to buy land or to buy a house. Sometimes
they lack the money to even rent a place to live and have to resort to
living in anything they can find that gives them some protection from
the elements.
Our hope is that we can create affordable houses which are comfortable
and durable enough to provide the poor with a safe place to live. Every
country has different issues, and we're going to have to understand what
they are to be successful.
Are you constructing any houses in India currently?
No,
not yet. But India is one of the countries we want to build a few test
houses, to see how they work. Other countries we are thinking about to
start this project are Haiti and Indonesia.
Are you working with other charities? If so what are they?
We
plan on working with charities and businesses. You see, we think
businesses can make money and help poor people at the same time. It's
simply a matter of designing the house at a price that poor people can
afford. We are also working with non-profits like the Solar Electric
Light Fund, and shortly, we hope, with Partners In Health. In India we
are talking to a number of non-profits as well. Of course, we welcome
everyone!
What type of problems have you encountered so far?
What
problems? If it was easy, the problem would have been solved a long
time ago. So we don't really view our difficulties as problems, but
rather as a way to learn. You can't run without falling, and we're
learning to fall quite well!
How has the response been so far about this initiative?
Tremendous.
We have people like you writing us - and we have almost 800 people from
all over the world who want to do something about this issue. It's
great!
What is it like being in this organization?
It's fun to
try to do something that most people think can't be done. And what will
be really cool is if we succeed! Wish us luck - and send in your design
for the $300 House.
VG and I love that kids are getting into this project along w/ the adults. Here's an example of a submission from another concerned citizen of the planet >>
March 10, 2011
February 13, 2011
Design for the Other 90%
“The problem is that 90 percent of the world’s designers spend all their time working on solutions to the problems of the richest 10 percent of the world’s customers. A revolution in design is needed to reverse this silly ratio and reach the other 90 percent.”
Paul Polak in Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail
Here are Paul’s 12 steps to practical problem solving for the poor:
- Go to where the action is.
- Talk to the people who have the problem and listen to what they have to say.
- Learn everything you can about the problem’s specific context.
- Think big and act big.
- Think like a child.
- See and do the obvious.
- If somebody has already invented it, you don’t need to do so again.
- Make sure your approach has positive, measurable impacts that can be brought to scale.
- Design to specific cost and price targets.
- Follow practical three-year plans.
- Continue to learn from your customers.
- Stay positive: don’t be distracted by what other people think.
For all the designers out there, these principles should be applied to the design and implementation of the $300 House. Paul Polak’s approach at D-REV and IDE is the direction is which Design must go if is to make a difference in the world.
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