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:: Specific Design Brief
Practical Action
3:
Sustainable
Power - further information
PRODUCT DESIGN KENYA, SRI LANKA
- KEY QUESTIONS
Key
questions for sustainable design and manufacture to ask yourself before you
begin
-
Is the
product something that people want and need?
-
Will it
always be wanted and needed? Is it subject to the whims of fashion? Is it
economically feasible to make the product given the whims of fashion and
the marketplace?
-
Who would
benefit the most from this product given their available income and their
local environment?
-
Will
production (and any subsequent repair, recycling) provide work to help
people earn money?
-
Which raw
materials will be used? Are they renewable?
-
What pollution
is caused by the extraction and processing of the raw materials?
-
How will the
product be manufactured?
-
What other
materials are needed in order to use the product? (eg fixings, surface paints
or varnishes)
-
Can the product
be made locally using local skills and local materials?
-
How much energy
is used at different stages of the product's lifecycle?
-
How will the
product be packaged?
-
How will the
product be sold / transported to the shops?
-
How will the
product be promoted / marketed?
-
How will it be
used? Will it only be used for its intended purpose? How many times will it be
used before being thrown away?
-
How will it be
disposed of after use?
-
Could it be
repaired? Re-used? Re-cycled?
-
Can the product
be easily repaired using local materials? How many parts can go wrong? How
likely are they to go wrong?
FURTHER INFORMATION
USEFUL REFERENCES
BACKGROUND
POSSIBILITIES
LIVELIHOODS & MARKET
PLACE
MACHINERY |