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“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

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Charcoal Briquette:

Reducing Indoor Air Pollution

Project Goal

Improve respiratory health and reduce indoor air pollution through the introduction of an alternative fuel source.

Project Update: Click here to see contextual photos from the project.
  • immersion + research
  • transforming + designing
  • implementing + finalizing
  • fortifying + measuring

Overview

Families in India often use wood or kerosene for their cooking needs—both of which emit severe, sometimes fatal, indoor air pollution and cause numerous short- and long-term health problems. The charcoal briquettes are made in a rural area of Tamil Nadu—providing much needed employment to the community. Additionally, the briquettes, made from sustainably harvested and locally produced charcoal, release no smoke while cooking which directly benefits the health of a user that switches from wood. Design Impact worked with ODAM to develop a product that prevents respiratory illness, appeals to users, and raises the standard of living for those who produce it.

Fellow

Ramsey Ford and Kate Hanisian are the founders of Design Impact. They served as fellows on this project from September 2009-September 2011 during the piloting stage of Design Impact. Their full bios can be found here.

Partner

Location: Thiruchuli, Tamil Nadu

ODAM is a non-governmental organization that has worked since 1996 to address poverty, women’s empowerment, child welfare, climate change, human rights, education, and health issues that affect rural communities. Their innovative development programs have touched thousands of lives in the arid rural regions of southern India.

Outcomes

  • Improved distribution of briquette
  • Increased income for urban distributors
  • Increased income for rural producers
  • Improved air quality for urban users
  • Improved respiratory health for urban users