Discussions on Sustainability
DESIGN CONSULTING
The Future of Rural India
Project Type: Speculative Design
Date: 2025
Role: Sustainability Consultant,
Discussion leader
Skills: Discussion facilitation, Consulting,
Social Work
During my six-week stay in Pune, Maharashtra, India, I spent time leading workshops and discussions with a variety of rural areas within the province. With the aid of a translator, I engaged in a variety of conversations surrounding topics such as the environment, the economic state of India, women's rights, and the lifestyle and rich culture that is village life. In return for their insight and and the knowledge they provided, I guided discussion and helped participants engage in using design processes in order to brainstorm potential solutions to the problems they faced.
01
The Challenge
How can rural India increase profitability and quality of life, while contributing to the global environmental effort?
02
The Process
Each village while very different from one another, shared many common goals. Overall, groups were interested in increasing their yearly profit, and accumulating wealth through the streamlining of their agricultural process. Additionally, they wanted to preserve their natural resources, and improve the quality of their soil and water. Additionally, many were interested in the possibility of initiatives that would enable women to become more involved as contributors to their community.
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Throughout our conversation, I facilitated dialogue through the different stages of the design process, from aiding the community in identifying the problems they felt were present, to brainstorming future-proof solutions.
03
The Result
A variety of remedies within the spheres of agriculture, startup businesses, and women's rights.
03a
Solutions in Agriculture
In the case of villages struggling to generate income, we discussed a number of potential options to improve profit:
1) Digging wells to collect water and sustain crops during the dry season
2) Growing alternate crops to create income during the off-season
3) Growing luxury produce (such as fruit) to generate greater income
4) Forming a cooperative and marketing a 'specialty crop' that could be sold as a higher end product
03b
Business Ventures
In other cases, groups were interested in creating business ventures. In these cases, I engaged in a series of consultations, helping organizations and cooperatives to form a an outline and plan for their future aspirations on a local, national, and international scale.
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Additionally, I created mock websites and branding templates to actualize their vision.
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03c
Female Empowerment
Lastly, in many cases, I was able to meet with many women who were trying to overcome societal oppression that they faced day-to-day. In these cases we discussed:
1) Lived experience and challenges
2) How to overcome it
3) Ways to find purpose
a) Goal-setting
b) Saving money/financing a dream
c) The importance of education ​​
04
The Outcomes
I am so grateful to have met so many wonderful people during these many different discussions. During our conversation, I was able to practice group facilitation and group-sourcing of solutions. It was imperative to me that each collection of individuals felt that the remedies we arrived at by the end of our time together felt applicable and relevant to them -- in other words, the answers generated were ones that they were enthusiastic to implement in reality.
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Additionally, in return for the skillsets I brought to our meetings, I gained an immense amount of knowledge by witnessing lifestyles and perspectives so different from my own. I know the wisdom imparted on me will serve invaluable throughout the remainder of my career.