OLD Cardboard Boxes Can Solve One Of Rural India’s Biggest Problem

DDB Mudra, the Indian division of DDB, has worked with a charitable organization to consider how design can create multiple functions for educational tools for students who may have limited financial means.

They teamed with Aarambh, an NGO in Mumbai, to create a low cost solution for underprivileged students who attend classes that are without chairs or desks. Forced to sit on the floor, these students write while hunched over, which can lead to poor posture and eyesight. It can make education more of a chore than it should be for young students.

They tried to come up with a solution that was effective and economical. They decided to use a discarded cardboard boxes. For this, they approached corporate houses and retail outlets. Using these, the company created Help Desk, a folding desk that could also be used as a bag and was distributed to several rural schools. This helped children study with ease. It also helped them carry books on their long walks to school. Most importantly, Help Desk played an important role in improving the quality of education in rural India.

So far, the Help Desk has been distributed to a number of schoolchildren in rural Maharashtra to use, and there are plans to expand the project further. It’s a low-cost solution that can have widespread repercussions: the total cost of making one desk is about Rs 12, and the result is that the kids can sit and study much more comfortably, staying in school longer.