My project is called, “The Who, What, Why’s and Where’s of a Jugaad Future”. Jugaad is a Hindi term for frugal and improvised inventions. This form of innovation is commonly born of necessity. Post-independent India was faced with an era of hardship and scarcity in which necessity was the mother of invention and jugaad thinking was an essential survival tool. Jugaad solutions became a source of enduring pride. At varying scales, jugaad reflects its surrounding environment. This could be a material culture, social norms or everydayness. I believe a jugaad mindset creates the opportunity to question our beliefs, values and future ideals
I am proposing this printing press as an opportunity to reflect on our own realities. This contraption is set to be used in a future studio setting where the ideas around studio culture are ever changing. In this speculation, the need for human intervention and tradition has been economised as technology becomes a framework of which we find ourselves trying to navigate. Awareness around processes and self-sufficiency becomes cloudy. This printing press encourages collaboration and restores a common philosophy within a studio space. Most efficient with five people, it requires a collegiate force for it to function. The recycling of materials encourage us to be environmentally conscious. The frugal, unpolished nature of the contraption fosters humour. Jugaad highlights dilemmas and actively seeks for alternatives. Not a ‘better’ way, just another way.
