Industrial - Bachelors
Pick & Push is a container with a trolley, designed to improve the cotton harvesting experience for small farmers in rural India. Since these farmers cannot afford large machinery, and labourers rely on these jobs for livelihood, the container offers an ideal solution. It allows workers to harvest comfortably without impacting their physical health or employment, while also meeting the economic needs of small farmers.
The world is advancing quickly, with mechanisation transforming agriculture and making farming practices more efficient. But is this progress truly benefiting everyone?
India is the 2nd largest cotton producer globally, yet over 86% of its agriculture is managed by small or marginal farmers who often cannot afford large machinery. Furthermore, around 150 Million agricultural labourers rely on daily wages from this work to make a living. Now, imagine the consequences if their jobs were suddenly lost to mechanisation.
While labourers endure significant physical strain and health challenges from manual labour, it is important to develop a solution that ease their work without taking away their livelihoods.
The research addressed the need for enhanced agricultural processes within rural India. Agriculture is a dominant industry within India, with majority of the farmers owning small or marginal farms. Due to financial constraints, negative social impact and deep rooting traditional techniques, adapting mechanisation is difficult.
Background and primary research revealed key gaps concerning the cotton harvesting process within the region. Primary research involved 5 initial interviews, 44 surveys and 3 additional in-depth interviews.
Based on results, main concerns identified inefficiency of current harvesting techniques and the impact on workers’ physical health. Main opportunities for design implication highlighted by the research include the enhancing cotton-picking techniques, improving harvesting technique to support the physical health of workers, and the need to increase safety awareness in the farm to help reduce fatigue and improve overall efficiency around the farm.
Feature 1: The Pick & Push container can hold approximately 10kg (0.2m3) of cotton, eliminating the need for workers to make repeated trips back to the storage room.
Feature 2: The container comes with wheels attached so the labourers are not required to lift any weight during the entire cotton harvesting process.
Feature 3: The container’s sturdy structure allows workers to sit on top of it when collecting cotton from the bottom of the plant. Its ergonomic shape and front opening makes it easy for the workers to pull cotton from the plants and store it directly in the container.
Feature 4: It includes an expandable lid at the front for when the workers are standing to collect cotton from the top of the plant, as they grow around 5-6 feet tall.
Feature 5: Once it is filled and taken back to the storage room, the seat can be flipped open for easy retrieval of the cotton inside.
Feature 6: The container is designed to be stackable to save space in the storeroom.
Pick & Push is a container designed for cotton harvesting in rural India. It is an essential tool due to various factors that make mechanisation challenging within this region.
Some factors that make Pick & Push a great tool include:
1. Socio-economic reality
In rural India, high percentage of agricultural labourers survive on daily wages earned from manual labour. Therefore, their livelihoods are deeply intertwined with the existing farming practices. Applying large-scale mechanisation can poses a significant risk to this workforce as it would lead to job losses, overall destabilising communities that rely on this income. Pick & Push on the other hand, aligns the needs of small farmers by providing an affordable, non-mechanised solution that improves physical health and safety, while being work efficient without replacing any jobs. It offers a way for small farmers to make cotton harvesting more manageable and productive.
2. Health and physical pain
Being completely manual, cotton harvesting is physically demanding and involves repetitive bending, lifting and carrying heavy loads for hours. These activities can lead to chronic health problems like back pain, joint issues and exhaustion. Pick & Push mitigates these issues by providing a wheel, ergonomic seated container that minimises the need for labour intensive tasks. Workers can push the container into the field, and even sit on it when harvesting to help reduce physical toll on their bodies.
3. Cultural and Practical
Traditional agricultural practices in rural India are preferred because of their simplicity, low cost, and a sense of community that they foster. Due to this, large machinery may not fit into this traditional environment easily. Pick & Push is designed with a cultural mindset, offering a solution that is low-cost, made with traditional, locally sources materials like Bamboo, and also locally constructed using rattan. This makes the container an accessible and acceptable option for the farmers.
4. Supporting local economy
By using locally sources materials and being manufactured within the region, Pick & Push creates a micro-economy around its production and maintenance. Due to this, it has a potential to increase job opportunities within the community, which aligns with the community-centric and local resource-based economies of rural India.
5. Sustainability and Environmental Benefits
Large machines can be difficult to implement within this region, and they lead to soil compression and other negative environmental impacts. Pick & Push, however, is designed to be sustainable and environmentally friendly. By using naturally strong materials like bamboo and rattan, it supports environmental sustainability.
With a dual background in mechanical engineering and industrial design, Aalisha is driven by a passion for developing solutions that bridge technical innovation with cultural and environmental awareness. With a focus on sustainable design, Aalisha aims to create systems and tools that advance efficiency while respecting and preserving traditional practices. This thoughtful approach to design reflects a commitment to engineering solutions that serve communities and preserve the environments in which they operate.