Project Title: Home Sweet Home
Selected for Scholarships 2009-10, Master of Design Management, School of Design, IED Barcelona

Concept of Project:

A population of over one billion people, India is the second most populous nation in the world. According to UN-HABITAT, India is home to 63% of all slum dwellers in South Asia. This amounts to 170 million people, 17% of the world’s slum dwellers. All these people do not have any roof over their head and do not have a place to sleep.

“Home sweet home” is a solution to this problem. It is a versatile object that can be used in multiple ways to suit the lifestyle of a homeless person. This versatile object will be made out of materials locally available, such as sugarcane stalks and banana leaf. These two plants can be easily found in India and in many other Southern Asian countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand and China. The main idea of this design is to create an object that the locals themselves can do without the help of technology and without the need of money. It is an easy design that will function in many different ways to fulfill their needs. It can be used a mattress for a person to sleep on, it can provide the user with a shaded area and can also be used as a movable storage box for the transportation of food and other materials.

Sugarcane stalks and the banana leaf have certain characteristics that will help this design work better. The banana leaves are placed above the sugarcane stalks to create a more comfortable surface to sleep on and the wax like surface of the leaves can act as an umbrella in rainy days.

As for the sugarcane it is easily found and easily cut from its leaves. They are also sturdy and lightweight, which helps this product to multi-function.

The combination of these two materials makes this product a sustainable and green product. The materials used are natural, local and cheap and are available in many countries. They can be recycled and reused. Moreover, the design of this object can allow it to function differently according to the situation and the need of the homeless people in India and other countries. You can have three designs in just one object.

The sugarcane can not only be used to make this product but it can also be eaten. The sugar juice from the sugarcane can be used to help hydrate a body of a person living in a hot weather, like that of India. There are many more health benefits that one can gain from sugar juice.

In conclusion, “Home sweet home” is a simple design that can be easily made to fulfill the needs and wants of homeless people in India and many other countries.

Home Sweet Home.pdf