Donaldson, K. (2008, January 1). Why to be Wary of “Design for Developing Countries”. Thinking, 35-37.

In the past, design work for developing countries tended to be short-term ventures where the main goal was to develop a product to solve the problem. An example of an unsustainable project is an expat designing a cargo bicycle for Kenya. Unfortunately, the designer did not think of the maintenance of the design which compelled a villager to voice that  “It’s fine for you if I buy this product and it breaks because you will go back home. Me? I’m stuck here with it.”.

Successful products seemed to be affordable and have a high return on investment, specifically products that help people earn or save money rather than concepts that are more efficient, time-saving or improve health.