Water Cart For Hilly Terrain

A group of women, colorful dupattas aflutter, beautifully silhouetted against a rising/setting sun, gracefully balancing two to three pots atop their heads —an easily identifiable, immediately recognizable image of rural India. Reality, however, isn’t as picturesque. Village women already burdened by domestic and farming activities, are spending longer and longer number of hours to get water from the increasingly parched wells of the region. Uneven terrains and larger loads are putting a strain on their necks(read here and here, how research is debunking the mythical benefits of load bearing), their health and their time especially during the hot summer months.

A product is required that can carry larger loads of water— in one go— across our uneven, rural terrains, with as little physical exertion as possible. This is where we roll in our Water Cart:

The Design Innovation Center alongwith a group of IIT Alumni are designing a water cart that can carry upto 30 kgs of water (the daily drinking water requirement of 10-15 people) along rural pathways. As always, our focus will be on creating a product that is easily manufactured locally, with locally sourced materials. And our process, will involve testing in actual conditions throughout the design process. To this end, we are now eagerly waiting to test our first prototype in the wadis of Shahapur Taluka— to determine our next round of modifications. Watch this space to see how our design process unfolds.