Making Waves in Rural Kenya
Poverty continues to be a major issue in Rural Kenya; and a number of social factors influence the level of poverty experienced in surrounding communities. The supply of unclean water, the vulnerability of the villagers to water-borne diseases, the absence of communication channels, and the failure of the community heads to treat infected persons due to lack of sufficient funds to upkeep professional medical services – all give rise to further complications, such as high mortality rates and consequently higher unemployment, under these harsh living conditions.
Problem Statement:
In an effort to promote a water-filter system that would produce clean water necessary for many hygienic purposes e.g. drinking, cooking, cleaning, and so on, Sebastian Herrmann was seeking ways of implementing such a system at the lowest possible cost to the villagers. But at the same time, it was difficult for him to convince the people of rural Kenya – where the cost of living was already unbearable – that purchasing a “Water Harvester” would be the best decision they could make for a brighter future.
Problem Identification:
1. The target market for the Water Harvester was the “hardcore poor”.
This led Hermann to wonder which would be the best approach to position his product since it required a large amount of money for the initial set-up.
a. The Water Harvester was expensive and the people barely had money to spend on food for their families. (pg.1, line 16 – 17)
b. The product design had to be simple and unsophisticated, manufactured with only things found in the natural environment. (pg. 5, line 29 – 31)
c. Marketing the product could not consist of any outright type of gifting or subsidizing. Hermann determined that this was not the correct approach to go about marketing the product. (pg. 2, line 23 – 25) (pg. 6, line 29 – 30)
2. Going to the river for water was seen as a root in the people’s culture.
a. It was a means of
Problem Statement:
In an effort to promote a water-filter system that would produce clean water necessary for many hygienic purposes e.g. drinking, cooking, cleaning, and so on, Sebastian Herrmann was seeking ways of implementing such a system at the lowest possible cost to the villagers. But at the same time, it was difficult for him to convince the people of rural Kenya – where the cost of living was already unbearable – that purchasing a “Water Harvester” would be the best decision they could make for a brighter future.
Problem Identification:
1. The target market for the Water Harvester was the “hardcore poor”.
This led Hermann to wonder which would be the best approach to position his product since it required a large amount of money for the initial set-up.
a. The Water Harvester was expensive and the people barely had money to spend on food for their families. (pg.1, line 16 – 17)
b. The product design had to be simple and unsophisticated, manufactured with only things found in the natural environment. (pg. 5, line 29 – 31)
c. Marketing the product could not consist of any outright type of gifting or subsidizing. Hermann determined that this was not the correct approach to go about marketing the product. (pg. 2, line 23 – 25) (pg. 6, line 29 – 30)
2. Going to the river for water was seen as a root in the people’s culture.
a. It was a means of