Wheelchair design looks to the South

We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines:

You have to credit our authors.
You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo with a link back to the original article.
You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article.
If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them.
The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below.

For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines.

The full article is available here as HTML.

Press Ctrl-C to copy

<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>Wheelchair design looks to the South</h1>
<h4></h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />

<div id="article-body">
<p><P>In the West, a wheelchair user needs to get from car to building. In the developing world it’s a different story – rough terrain, unpaved roads and diverse cultural and practical needs, all demanding considerable ingenuity in chair design.  </P><br />
<P>In this interview, Ralf Hotchkiss – a wheelchair designer and user – relates how insights from counterparts in South America, Africa and other developing regions revolutionised his understanding of what disabled people there face, and need. </P><br />
<P>Hotchkiss has designed cheap, custom-made wheelchairs for people ranging from disabled Zambian footballers to women in rural African villages. He also actively promotes indigenous wheelchair design and manufacture in developing countries, and teaches many Third World designers who subsequently bring their know-how home.  </P><br />
<P><a  href="http://www.newscientist.com/opinion/opinterview.jsp;jsessionid=HCLBJCGNPJBA?id=ns24351" target="_blank" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/tracking/external/'+this.href);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link to interview in <em>New Scientist</em></A> </P></p>

</div>
<div class="quick-links-wrapper">
<h3>You might also like</h3>
[related-articles]
</div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/features/wheelchair-design-looks-to-the-south/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(e,t,n,r,i,s,o){e["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=i;e[i]=e[i]||function(){(e[i].q=e[i].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[i].l=1*new Date;s=t.createElement(n),o=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];s.async=1;s.src=r;o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js","ga");var _gaq=_gaq||[];var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(["_setAccount","UA-3223906-8"],["_trackEvent","article interaction","republished","https://www.scidev.net/global/features/wheelchair-design-looks-to-the-south/",null,true])
</script>
</div>

In the West, a wheelchair user needs to get from car to building. In the developing world it’s a different story – rough terrain, unpaved roads and diverse cultural and practical needs, all demanding considerable ingenuity in chair design.

In this interview, Ralf Hotchkiss – a wheelchair designer and user – relates how insights from counterparts in South America, Africa and other developing regions revolutionised his understanding of what disabled people there face, and need.

Hotchkiss has designed cheap, custom-made wheelchairs for people ranging from disabled Zambian footballers to women in rural African villages. He also actively promotes indigenous wheelchair design and manufacture in developing countries, and teaches many Third World designers who subsequently bring their know-how home.

Link to interview in New Scientist