Nils Norman + Vandana Desai What are the basic needs of poor people in developing countries? Clean water, efficient waste disposal, self-sustaining livelihoods... just to name a few. Here we are looking at self-sustainable design techniques that are real, practical, scientific and futuristic proposals/solutions for a developing country to consider. What are the pressing problems for development agencies like NGOs? Can we try to solve them/address them with design solutions? We are thinking as a design company might, to try to develop the project, incorporating different designs for different needs, taking into consideration materials and technologies specific to the climate, plant-life and waste products in developing countries. Our main concentration is on the theme of sustainability, affordability and low cost maintenance for poor people of these countries. So we are using materials such as solar energy panels, bore wells for clean supply of water, new composting technologies that are recycleable and environmentally friendly, trees that are easily available and productive such as Neem. Vandana Desai