Proximity Designs, a social enterprise based in Yangon, Myanmar, aims to complement the entrepreneurial spirit of farmers by creating low-costirrigation products and tailor-made services. It involves local farmers in its design process, and the result has been a line of affordable irrigation products — foot-powered water pumps, a drip irrigation system and portable water storage tanks — that allow farmers to do their work quicker or to work on larger fields. Taiei Harimoto, joint leader of the product design team, explains how the design process allows the social enterprise to meet the particular needs of the Burmese people.
