The focus of my topic is to demonstrate the applicability of user-centered design to engineer traditional handicrafts for rural communities. This attempt is so important because rural communities have unique design requirements, and less is known about how these requirements are transformed into developing appropriate technology for rural communities in India. Thus, this presentation illustrates a case study from Hajo, Assam, the oldest handicraft sector, and introduces a new tool in the polishing task by using a user-centered design approach. Design stages include contextual inquiry through qualitative interviews, iteration process, and final design development. Finally, the results of this project are presented, followed by a general discussion with a focus on points to be considered for the implementation/adoption of new technologies by rural communities in India to improve their livelihoods.
Dr. Krishna Chaitanya Mallampalli is an Academic Researcher. He gained research expertise in the field of Product Development and innovation for rural MSMEs in India during his stay at the Department of Design, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati (January 2018 - June 2022) and was awarded the Ph.D. degree for his work on ‘Designing and Evaluating an Ergonomic intervention to minimize risk of musculoskeletal disorders in Indian small and medium scale cashew nut processing mills'. He completed his M-Tech. in Machine Design and B-Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from Acharya Nagarjuna University. His research interests include Product Design and Development, Design for unorganized sector, Risk Analysis and Management, and Design for Rural livelihoods. Dr. Mallampalli published research papers in renowned International Journals and presented papers in various refereed Scopus-indexed international conferences. He has five design registrations (Granted) in India. He also contributes as a reviewer for various international journals of repute.