This TED talk was an informative one and aimed to spread awareness about critical issues in the world that people ignore because they aren’t the most highlighted ones. Her approach to such problems was by building ‘cheap, low-tech devices that use local resources, so communities can reproduce her efforts and ultimately help themselves’. The purpose of watching this talk was to understand the fact that resources are scarce and so to keep them sustainable alternative methods must be used.
This idea of upcycling, recycling and sustainability is very crucial to constructed environments where we develop spaces and objects for certain purposes. I could put this into my perspective as a future interior designer because I would seek to construct or renovate interiors using advanced design, renewable elements and energy-efficient technology along with reducing the dependence on energy sources that are exhausting. While stating technology, the first thought that strikes us are our phones, artificial intelligence and the traditional electronics but technology can be something as simple as a zipper; making actions efficient. Especially while trying to integrate designs in low-income or less developed areas where such advanced services aren’t available, we must look at simplicity and abundancy of local materials. The purpose of watching this video is to inspire each creator in us to look at construction in an organic way that is cost friendly and long-term environmental friendly.
It was really shocking to hear that the most fatal disease amongst kids is inhaling smoke from indoor cooking fires and also the fact that the root of this problem was wood; deforestation and then just a downward spiraled cycle. What I learned from this video was that there is always a better substitute and one just needs to put in effort to find it. Not only did her group and she create a tool that converts farm waste into cleaner-burning charcoal for fire, but they also proved that only through trial and error can one gain results.
Usually in today’s world the developing countries are taught the technology of the more developed ones but what if the developed countries started using simpler technology to become role models? Wouldn’t that promote much eco-friendlier and economically efficient ways of generating energy? One aspect that really emphasized her arguments was stating the figures in a very personal way that the audience connects to it like saying ‘300 of you all would yet be farmers’. Issues like getting people out of poverty cycle, adding value to farmer’s crops, reducing time waste to fetch water might not seem like problems of a bigger nation but they contribute to it and must be acted towards. Being a part of this class makes me wonder if any material that I use for my project could create more harm than a substitute and how I can manipulate my design and make it ‘simpler to save a life’?
The TED talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_smith_shares_simple_lifesaving_design
