“New-Improved” is a label started by Namrata Narula, a textile designer based in Bangalore India. (She is also is a close friend and classmate of mine from college). “New-Improved” stems from the age old habit of recycling, preserving and jugaad especially amongst Indians. The idea behind the label being that there is still use and value left in fabrics considered old or useless. Namrata works directly with individuals to design products like bags, bottle holders, stoles etc, that are specifically crafted to suit they needs and preserve the sentimental value attached to the fabrics.

A lil bit about Namrata - Namrata Narula graduated as a Textile Designer from Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology. Prior to that, she completed a Bachelors degree in Textiles and Clothing. As someone who has loved fabric and it various forms since the time she can remember, her foray into design happened naturally.

I managed to sucker Namrata into talking about the initiative, her process  and experiences for Designwala.

RR - ” Ok, for the benefit for those who weren’t in the room when it happened, could you tell us how New Improved was born?”

NN – “Well, it began as my graduation project at Srishti. It started with my fascination with textiles and clothing being transformed into some new…I love old stuff, vintage, messy, torn. so when I saw material which were worn out, faded and old…their appearance changes, they age and they carry with themselves so many stories and experiences, which gives it a new character which no other brand can. Those fabrics represent us… plus the material still has potential to go on. The life cycle doesn’t end there.

RR - ” Prior to studying Textiles at Srishti, you studied Textiles and Clothing. How has that helped and influenced your work?

NN – “Yes, I did at Delhi University, I studied textiles and clothing as my major. It wasn’t design, it was just skill based, knowledge based study…very practical oriented. I learned techniques like tie and dye, block printing and developed a better understanding of fabric. It helps me now, cause after studying design, I can apply all that I have learned, in many creative ways, to bring new life to the old fabrics i work with. I want to incorporate all the techniques i know to enhance the up-cycled products that i am going to make in future.

RR - “Sounds amazing! Going back to your graduation project, tell me more about how it developed?”

NN - “So i started out with collecting old clothes from my friends, family and strangers…basically whoever wanted to share their old clothes with me, for the project..and then after i had a whole lot of clothing to work with, I kind of started with the process of deconstruction…I began with cutting up the clothes and tried to make new compositions. After much trial and error… I decided to make bags.”

RR - “Why bags, and not clothes?”

NN – “During the process I discovered that people in India, (especially since this has been my market), are very vary of using products made from recycled materials. Of course, that notion is now changing. I began to understand that people don’t like the idea of wearing something old- something that’s been worn by somebody else before…but with bags its not the same – they carry so many stories put together, in the form of old clothes and they don’t really come in direct contact with the skin. So i thought it may be something that opens up people’s minds to up-cycled clothing! I have always wanted to make clothes and I think I will at some point. I have already started with a dress and am on my way to making the second one.”

RR - “Nice! How has the response been to New improved?”

NN – “The response has been great, and it is very overwhelming to see how an idea that I had, one day in college, is shaping itself into something tangible!!People like the concept, appreciate it, and are fascinated by how clothes can turn into something new. But they still aren’t open enough to spend money on something that’s not entirely new!! Nonetheless, i have managed to do a few customs projects so far and am hoping for some more.”

RR – “Tell me a lil bit about your process, like after a client gets in touch with you, what’s the next step?”

NN – “Once a client gets in touch with me, I ask them about their material – like how old it is, who it belongs to, if it has a hand-me-down or if they bought it themselves, what do they want to make out of it, their needs and association with the material; if they have any stories, pictures etc. to share.Such questions help me get in touch with the material and its importance. Client projects are very special. After the first introduction, I start work on the design, based on what they want made…”

RR - “What tools are you using to market an publicise New Improved?”

NN - “Facebook and through friends. I have been featured in a couple of articles, in a few magazines and newspapers that gave me a great deal of visibility, plus New Improved went live on a local radio show as well!!

RR – “That’s fabulous. Publicity is always good.. do you think the project has developed since you began? where do you see it going?”

NN - ” I started retailing my products out of a store in Goa…I don’t know how commercial i want to make this project. Since i like to make products which are one off, and each product has its own individuality. I have been focusing on doing quality work even if it lacks quantity, and i want to focus on making my products with better finesse every time. I see myself working with people more…because that really inspires me to use people’s old clothes and give them back to the owner, after being transformed into a new product… I love the look on their faces. Also, i want to create a space where people can come in with their old clothes and get them up-cycled into anything they want…”

RR -  “As always, its been inspiring to chat with you. Its encouraging to see people be conscious about something as large and grey as waste. Thanks a ton for sharing your experiences and learning here. I love New Improved and wish you all the best and success with it!. (psst- where is my long overdue bag?” : )

NN - ” I want to thank you, Ria, for being a guide to me and New Improved, and I hope after reading this article, all you guys hit your closet and find clothes which you love but just haven’t worn in ages! Give them a new”, life now!!! (p.s -you’ll get a bag when u give me your old clothes!!!)

Namrata can her contacted directly at : newimproved.namrata@gmail.com

Her other work and play can be viewed here.

I watched a movie called ‘Dharavi – a slum for sale‘ during the Jugaad Urbanism event in New York. The movie was directed by a Swiss director who had been making trips to India for a few years and decided to make a film on Dharavi. It was well directed, the characters were well developed and I empathized deeply with the residents of Dharavi. The movie talks about an ambitious project that the US trained architect Mukesh Mehta planned to launch. It dealt with public private partnerships and radical makeover of Dharavi. A number of stakeholders were involved but the project was being carried forward with little insight into the hearts and minds of the inhabitants of Dharavi. A lot of families were at a risk of being evicted as billions of dollars would be made as the flats in this prime property would have been sold off to the highest bidders. The project proposed for Dharavi did not take off because of oncoming elections and public pressure. The movie ends with a looming question about the future of Dharavi and its inhabitants.

This article, however, is not about the project that was supposed to change this slum into a skyscraper city by razing everything to the ground. Its about the $300 house, a dramatically different but an equally bizarre option. Vijay Govindrajan of Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business with Christian Sarkar, marketing expert issued a challenge in the Harvard Business Review blog to come up with a house for the poor. As per an article in the Economist – They laid down a few simple guidelines. The houses should be built of mass-produced materials tough enough to protect their inhabitants from a hostile world. They should be equipped with the basics of civilized life, including water filters and solar panels. They should be “improvable”, so that families can adapt them to their needs. And they should cost no more than $300. A $300 house since Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank had once calculated, that the average value of the houses of people who have just escaped poverty is $370.

The idea seems like a good one given the fact that there are numerous examples of reverse and frugal innovation making rounds in the social entrepreneurship circles. Tata’s one lakh car being one and GE’s $400 electrocardiogram being another example. One could say houses are different though, since they are fixed in one place and warrant strong community, neighbors, light, ventilation, sanitation and adequate space to make them comfortable. Older houses carry a sense of history, memories, and air of the past. Houses also carry the signature of the owner and the place if there is the use of local materials and craftsmanship in their building process.

Why should the $300 house work then? According to this article which is a response to the NYtimes article by Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava, the $300 house is not just a clever shack, but answers a number of complex questions. These issues include financing, energy and infrastructure and investment etc. There are some interesting ideas like alternative energy and use of available technology that are being kept in mind. However, the idea does fall flat on its face as far as preservation of the community is concerned. Advising a community on how they can build their own houses versus using them as a test subjects for a prefabricated house are two different things. Introducing township amenities such as shopping, retail areas and commercial office spaces cannot replace the microcosm of businesses that thrive within slums. Slums like Dharavi have rich industries in textiles, pottery and printing where a huge number of products are exported to western countries. Some of the houses are passed down through generations and the urban landscape in not a grid of similar looking houses but a organic mesh of community, people, businesses and social life. One wonders how ‘one house fits all’ approach would respond to an environment like that.

The problem is not just a issue in developing nations. Public housing and transformation plans have failed again and again in the US. Cabrini Green Projects in Chicago is a good example of an ambitious idea gone very wrong. The trend towards mixed income, low rise housing has shown more success rate so the $300 house might be the solution the slums of the world were looking for. However its tough to forget an interesting story that I read in the Knowledge Wharton blog – the Tamil Nadu government built low income housing for milkmen who were squatters and without housing. Once the houses were ready and the milkmen moved in, they came to a realization that the buffaloes gave a lot more milk when they were housed in the quarters and were cosy and comfortable which meant that the milkmen went back to being homeless and the buffaloes lived in the low income housing. Not the scenario the government had envisioned while cutting the ribbon on this not so cheap housing project.

That said, there are millions of people in India living under the poverty line with very little access to safe and secure housing solutions. Some slums have better living conditions, communities and business versus others. The time is right to rethink low income housing in India but I wish it wasn’t as cut and dry as Mukesh Mehta’s high rises and Vijay Govindrajan’s one house fits all solution. Sanitation, running water, security are human rights that should not be denied to any one irrespective of their financial status. The poor should be able to vote on what works for them, where they want to live and how they want to run their businesses. Ideas generated in ivy league schools for the poor, should be a way to open a dialogue with them. Prefabricated housing has a eerie postwar, disaster relief, apocalyptic ring to it, I am sure the brilliant minds in Dartmouth and other architecture and business schools can do better by using community input, local resources and a deep insight into the history and habits of people they are addressing.

More Links on the topic

Hands off our houses in the NY times

Vijay Govindrajan’s video about the $300 house

The winners for the $300 house contest

The $300 house website

Additional post describing the $300 house

Flickr picture by lakshman_M.

“Jugaad is a vehicle assembled by carpenters and low skilled people much like what the Flintstones did for their cars.  The basic form of the vehicle is a cart fitted out with a diesel pump used as an engine.  A big rod with a wheel at the end serves as the steering column. There are no gears and a basic break mechanism stops the wheel when needed.  The brakes fail more than they work requiring its passengers to jump off the moving vehicle to place stones or blocks in front of the wheels.  Since these vehicles operate in the rural parts of India there is no registration fee or insurance or emissions inspections.  There are hundreds of Jugaad’s on rural roads of India and despite the issues of road worthiness, these vehicles reflect the true spirit of innovation in rural India”. – From HOK’s India Blog.

Read More about Jugaad here and here