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In the bustling streets of India, a unique spirit of resourcefulness and ingenuity thrives, a philosophy known as “Jugaad”. Its name comes from a Hindi word that roughly translates to “to manage with whatever is available”.
This concept, often associated with India but available under many other names in many other cultures, has lately gained global recognition as a powerful tool for innovation and problem-solving. And well-deservedly so!
Jugaad, and its multicultural counterparts, embodies a mindset that embraces unconventional solutions and leverages existing resources creatively. It’s a philosophy of creating something out of nothing, and a method to find new and innovative ways to overcome challenges without breaking the bank. It’s a powerful way to achieve something more than the sum of its parts by bending the rules and preconceptions of what is possible, just a little bit.
Jugaad is more than just a word, it’s a way of life. It’s about thinking outside the box, challenging the status quo and finding creative solutions to everyday problems. It’s about recognizing that limitations can often be turned into opportunities, and that necessity can be the mother of all inventions.
One of the key characteristics of this philosophy is its emphasis on adaptability. In a country with diverse geographical, economic and social conditions, Jugaad has become a necessity for survival. Western innovation is often free to live outside the constraints of what we have today. Often, we don’t limit us to what we can do currently and find a more complex, and sometimes better solution, that is achievable after some initial investment of time, money and resources.
With more limited resources people have had to learn how to adapt to changing circumstances and to find innovative ways to make do with the things you have at hand. This adaptability has led to the development of countless new non-conventional solutions that range from makeshift transportation solutions to ingenious household hacks and everything in-between. The internet overflows with examples and there are just too many to list.
It is not, as mentioned before, something that is necessarily unique to the subcontinent. We in the west also can tap into this incredible source of innovation, when we have to.
A classic example when we in the west must adopt this type of thinking, when we are tasked with solving something that needs to be solved without overthinking and where there are no resources to be had except those at hand, is the fabled story of Apollo 13. Three astronauts’ lives were at stake after an explosion rendered the mission a disaster. Getting these men safely back to earth was the only priority and failure was not an option.
NASA engineers managed the impossible and created a crude device nicknamed ‘the mailbox’ what could convert carbon dioxide removing cartridges from the lunar lander to be used on the lunar module. Thus, finding a way to bring them home from space with just the materials that were on hand. You should never underestimate the power of duct tape. Another hallmark of Jugaad is its focus on frugality. These solutions often involve finding ways to do more with less and create something out of nothing. This frugality can be seen in everything from repurposing old materials to developing low-cost alternatives to much more expensive products. This encourages a mindset of resourcefulness, where waste is minimized and every opportunity for innovation is seized.
And is something that just resonates a bit extra with me in my role as sustainability lead and being a frugal person myself. I often try to find new use cases for old devices and have done many hacks with duct tape to prolong the use of a product or making something new and useful out of something old.
Writing this blogpost, I wear modified slippers that once fit well but now fits perfectly, standing in front of a desk where an improvised lighting rig and camera mounts makes up my home studio for better video conferencing calls, crafted from old table decorations and repurposed smartphones. I just love repurposing things and making new things out of the husks of the old and discarded. So did my father and my grandfather before that. It is a family tradition, and it has yielded everything from improvised standing desks and DIY web cameras to makeshift prosthesis.
Jugaad might be an Indian term, but it transcends cultures, and we find it in other forms and names in most countries from the resilience of Russian engineering to the frugal creativity of the IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad’s native province of Småland. There are so many things we can achieve by embracing the limitations as a catalyst for our innovation journey.
With that said, it’s important to note that Jugaad, like everything else, is not a panacea. It’s just a tool that should be used in conjunction with other approaches, methods and tools in finding a solution.
While it certainly can be a powerful way to overcome challenges, it’s also important to invest in long-term solutions and address the root causes of problems. After all, not everything can be solved with a quick fix and while duct tape is wonderful, it has its limits.
As the world grapples with complex challenges; Jugaad offers a valuable perspective on how to overcome the coming years’ obstacles and find creative solutions to them with what we have and can do today. So let us all embrace the spirit of Jugaad and unleash our inner innovator.
