Mansukh Prajapati’s childhood in Morbi, western India, began before dawn with a six-mile trek to gather clay for his family’s pottery business. “My father was a potter,” he recalls, describing the rhythmic sounds of his father’s work and the daily four a.m. walks he and his mother took to collect clay.
In the 1970s, clay pots were commonplace, but the meager income and social stigma associated with the profession were significant. “Nobody wanted to marry their daughter into a potter’s family,” Mr. Prajapati explains, “fearing endless labor.”
A turning point arrived in 2001, with the devastating Gujarat earthquake. The disaster destroyed his home and left shattered pots, inspiring an idea. “A reporter wrote that ‘the poor people’s fridge is broken’,” Mr. Prajapati says. “Clay pots keep water cool; I decided to make a clay fridge needing no electricity.”
Without formal training, he experimented, accumulating $22,000 (£17,000) in debt and selling his home and workshop. After four years, he created MittiCool, a clay cabinet using evaporative cooling to keep produce fresh for five days. Selling for $95, it’s available in 300 Indian stores and exported internationally.
“Fridges are a dream for many poor families,” Mr. Prajapati states. “Such dreams should be within reach.” His innovation exemplifies India’s burgeoning grassroots entrepreneurship, what Prof. Anil Gupta of the Honeybee Network terms “frugal innovations.” Prof. Gupta describes it as a mindset: affordable, accessible solutions, often developed by those without formal education.
Mr. Prajapati now employs 150, expanding into cookware and clay water filters. Bijayshanti Tongbram, in Manipur, similarly leverages local resources, transforming discarded lotus stems into silk-like fibers woven into scarves and garments by a team of 30 women. She provides them with $80 monthly wages, seeking expansion and overseas markets while facing funding challenges.
Prof. Gupta highlights the access-to-funding issue, noting government schemes often remain inaccessible, and venture capitalists rarely invest in such ventures due to high transaction costs. Despite challenges, innovators persist. Girish Badragond in Karnataka is developing a smart farming stick using soil sensors and weather data to guide blind and visually impaired farmers via audio and vibration.
He hopes to commercialize his prototype, showcasing the continued emergence of solutions driven by necessity and a desire for empowerment. The following are unrelated news items: Deportations following Trump’s immigration policies; China’s growing influence in the Asia-Pacific; Meghalaya’s cave-dwelling fish; families of Punjab men allegedly kidnapped in Iran; and the rise of Marathi cinema on the international stage.