So you thought Social Innovation is a new thing. Think again. A century old story.
Social innovation is about easing the burden of society. And a good innovation is one that blends into the normal life of the society. As if it was always there. And a really good innovation also does not cost much. And this example from a century back is a perfect illustration of all of these things.
The story is a hundred years old. Its about King Bhagwatsinji of Gondal. One of our more evolved rulers. He ruled Gondal from 1869 to 1944. Gondal is near Rajkot in Gujarat
During one of his rounds of his kingdom during the peak of summer, he was on horseback and a village woman called out to him. She was sitting down at the side of the road with a load of firewood beside her. She asked him to help her lift the load on to her head. He got down from his horse and helped her. And she said I hope I meet someone as helpful as you on my walk to the village. Someone who will take the load of my head and let me rest for a while.
Bhawatsinji was appalled. And saddened. Village women carried loads on their head for long distances and were unable to rest unless there was someone to help them take the load and put it down and then help them put it back on their heads.
He came up with a solution. It was a simple and elegant structure. It was called a thaklo. Roughly translated it means “a breather”. He erected these thaklos at regular intervals at the edge of the road across his state. It looks like this.
And the women were grateful as it enabled them to become independent of others and rest whenever they wanted to. As you can see its in use even today.
This example from long ago reinforces, for me, the elements that make for good social innovation.
1. It must improve the life of the poor and those at the bottom of the pyramid for the long term. It cannot be a short lived thing. A one-time thing.
2. The innovator must have a strong sense of empathy.
3. The innovator must be curious. Both these qualities are the precursor to good innovative ideas.
4. The solution must blend easily into the life and culture of the society. It must literally become invisible.
And yes for me this story which is around one hundred years old tells me that our culture was innovative even then. And that’s a good feeling to have.
Now are there examples of social innovation in India going beyond one hundred years? Well that’s another story.
Anil Kulkarni
First published in December 2023