Technology for Addressing Income Insufficiency in Rural India

Technology deployed in an eco-friendly and a user-centric approach affords an expedient means of augmenting the livelihood of people. Remote outlying areas in India face high discrepancies of income, evidenced by the prudent application of applied technology. The present study, uses the tenets of Human Centered Design, to investigate the application of technology towards addressing the challenges of income disparities in a remote tribal village of Kerala, South India. Primary data was collected to assess the natural resources, the current income generating activities, and the experience of the villagers in order to find ways to improve their livelihood. A cost-effective sustainable Cardamom dryer is proposed as an incremental technical solution to improve the process of cardamom farming, which was found central in the villagers' livelihood..