The word ‘jugaad’ comes from Hindi, meaning a cheap, imaginative, improvised but effective solution to a problem. Jugaad innovations, therefore, are ‘innovative fixes’ – low-cost and flexible answers to everyday issues. Also called ‘frugal innovations’, these are becoming the new trend in the technological sphere nowadays. And quite a number of Indians are leading the way in this regard.
Pedal Washing Machine: Remya Jose’s story shows that innovation has no age limit. At the young age of 14, dealing with a family crisis, she overcame her difficulties, rather than succumbing to them. She invented the machine which could wash clothes by pedalling it and thereby save time and effort which she would have had to spend, had she chosen to go down to the river to wash her clothes. Now, this machine has proved to be a boon for several families who do not have access to electricity.
Pedal Washing Machine: Remya Jose’s story shows that innovation has no age limit. At the young age of 14, dealing with a family crisis, she overcame her difficulties, rather than succumbing to them. She invented the machine which could wash clothes by pedalling it and thereby save time and effort which she would have had to spend, had she chosen to go down to the river to wash her clothes. Now, this machine has proved to be a boon for several families who do not have access to electricity.
There is a fundamental difference between a jugaad and a frugal innovation. Jugaad is a local fix, solving a problem for the day. This can not be scaled up or replicated/ productized. Filling up a punctured tyre with grass till you reach the service station is a jugaad. You don't want to do that again. The Pedal washing nachine is a frugal innovation, which can be replicated and sold as a product. This can be positioned as an exercise bike as well as low cost laundry solution. A frugal innovation goes through a systematic product development and testing process.
A flexible approach to problem-solving that uses limited resources in an innovative way. ‘countries around the world are beginning to adopt jugaad in order to maximize resources’ - Oxford English and Spanish Dictionary defination. Origin - Hindi.
Jugaad is a term that is applied to a creative or innovative
concept that provides an easy, alternative way to solve or fix a problem.
Jugaad simply means an informal arrangement or work-around that,
due to lack of resources, has to be used.
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