India: User profiles based on field observation & interviews
From the 30th of December 2008 to the 6th of January 2009 I was in rural India, in Sawai Madhopur district in the northwestern state of Rajasthan. There I met with and spoke to a number of people, all deriving their income from a variety of sources. Here are their user profiles [7MB PPT file]
Malawi: User profiles based on interviews conducted by John Lumbe
Here are the user profiles [6MB PPT file] documented after receiving the reports on the interviews conducted by John Lumbe in Malawi. Unlike the other two locations where I went into the field to observe, listen and learn, here we just focused on four key questions: How do you manage your daily expenses?How do you […]
Quick summary of workshop findings
Our workshop officially ended today although there's still a lot of 'mopping up' to be done not to mention the final documentation. We had the opportunity to analyze groups of users observed and interviewed by me in rural Rajasthan (India) and a barangay in Iloilo (Philippines) as well as some basic personal financial management information […]
The BoP are people too – a shift in storytelling
Reading the recent post on "Portfolios of the Poor: How the Poor Live on Less Than $2 a Day" by Rob Katz on nextbillion.net, it struck me that this might be an early signal of a shift away from simply segmenting the billions at the BoP by income, not that that isn't useful. But coverage […]
Where are we now?
Design Factory, TKK, Helsinki Finland April 6th 2009 We've been busy the last couple of weeks primarily preparing for the critical phase of this project – the user research analysis and concept design workshop – and also my relocation to Helsinki for the rest of the year. In a few days, team members will gather […]
Sudhir Venkatesh and the rise of the “other” BoP
Photo credit: Jim Wilson/The New York Times Even as we observe and study those who live on irregular and unpredictable incomes in the lower income strata of the developing world, articles in the media this week catch our attention to inform us that these challenges are not simply for the 'poor' but in fact, being […]
Managing with seasonal income flow differences
Rice farmer, Iloilo Province, The Philippines, February 22nd 2009 Roger is the eldest of a family of seven. When he was 13 years old, he would watch his parents work hard in the fields as casual labour during the rice planting season to earn enough money to feed, clothe and educate him and his siblings. […]
Creativity goes hand in hand with entreprenuership
Furniture designer & artisan, Iloilo Province, February 24th 2009 Jesse is just 30 years old. A year ago, he sold his motorcycle to obtain the working capital to start his own handmade furniture design workshop, here on the main road. He pays 300 pesos a month to rent this highly visible location and lives onsite. […]
There can be no shortcuts at the BoP
This is not meant to be a complaint about any one organization so much as an observation made by happenstance while in the field. As written about earlier, my hostess in provincial Philippines is a micro entreprenuer running a small village shop which she started with the support of a loan meant to empower women […]
Stories from Malawi: how to barter your phone for 4 goats
Photo credit: John Lumbe, Malawi, March 2009 John Lumbe reports on how the barter system works in his home region in Malawi: It has never been simple to determine the trade. It mostly goes with agreement of the parties entering the contract. Like the one I talked about in my blog post, happened in the […]
