Proximity Designs
Proximity Designs is a
Approach
Proximity Designs uses a design approach to improve the incomes and well-being of rural families in Myanmar.[2] They employ professional designers, engineers and ethnographers to discover unmet needs and opportunities for new products and services. The organisation operates a local design lab in Myanmar, where its product designers create and test multiple prototypes with the goal of developing products that a) provide value to rural customers by increasing household productivity and incomes; and, b) are affordable for families earning $2 per day or less. Products reach villages nationwide through a distribution network of private agro-dealers and independent village agents. After-sales support and repair services are also offered to user households. Proximity conducts annual surveys to measure customer satisfaction and to document improvements in farm family incomes.
History
Proximity Designs was co-founded Jim Taylor and Debbie Aung Din, initially as a country program under
Products and services
Proximity Design's portfolio of products and services are marketed under the Yetagon brand in Myanmar and include:
- Foot-operated irrigation pumps that draw water from wells, streams or ponds. Approximate capacity is 1,200 gallons per hour.
- Gravity-fed drip irrigation systems consisting of low-cost extruded plastic tape and small micro-tubes connected to an elevated water storage tank. A single drip system is designed to irrigate a 1⁄8-acre plot but can be linked to other systems to cover an acre.
- Portable water storage tanks made from plastic tarpaulin material, commonly used as elevated tanks as part of Proximity's gravity-fed drip irrigation systems. These tanks come in three different sizes – 100, 150 and 250 gallons.
- Farm advisory services featuring training in selected low-cost, simple agricultural practices that increase yields and protect farmers against losses caused by pests, diseases and overuse of pesticides.
Proximity Designs also designs and implements humanitarian village
Proximity Designs engages in field analysis of rural economic conditions and produces reports of findings.[7]
Statistics
Proximity has sold more than 110,000 products, with an estimated 400,000 people across rural Myanmar achieving higher incomes. The three-year increase in income for a typical irrigation pump user is 300 percent, or $600.[8]
References
- ^ "Harvard Kennedy School - Designs on Development". Hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ "Harvard Kennedy School - Designs on Development". Hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ "Harvard Kennedy School - Designs on Development". Hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ "Proximity Designs - The Mulago Foundation". Mulagofoundation.org. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ [1] Archived 5 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [2] Archived 26 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia et al". Harvard.edu. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ "Proximity Designs - The Mulago Foundation". Mulagofoundation.org. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.