Income-Generating Products for People with Disabilities in the Majority World: Understanding the Complexities of Participatory Design in Rural Uganda

This thesis looks at income-generating devices for people with disabilities in Uganda. The project involved having solar-charging kiosks manufactured in Kasese, Uganda. These devices were given to people by a local organization so that they could start a business charging mobile phones to generate income. The author looked at multiple research areas, such as if they could generate an adequate income, whether it created independence or dependency, if the design was appropriate for the context, and understanding the complexities of “design with the majority” projects. The research was conducted using questionnaires, observations and in-person interviews during field-work in Uganda. The findings show that these types of projects are complex, and that more case-studies would help to shed light on this emerging field. The researcher discovered many insights, including: people would use it to light their homes; people had differing abilities to generate income; and recipients needed multiple revenue sources.