SPECIAL SEATS AND WHEELCHAIRS
Wheelchair production as a small ‘village-industry’
603
In several countries small groups of
disabled persons have started to produce
low-cost, good-quality wheelchairs adapted
to local needs. Usually this is in places
where standard factory-made wheelchairs
are very high-priced and are not suited
for use on rough or sandy ground.
Some of these ‘little factories’ try
to be self-sufficient. A few have even
succeeded in making a modest profit, while
keeping prices low.
A disabled worker from PROJIMO
paints a wheelchair frame.
Sometimes, a small-scale wheelchair making and repair shop is set up as part of a
community rehabilitation program. Self-sufficiency (selling the chairs for a little more
than it costs to make them) is often a goal. But because families with the greatest need
are often least able to pay, the chairs must often be sold below cost.
WHAT KIND OF WHEELCHAIRS TO MAKE
This depends on many factors: cost, skills or training available, tools and equipment
needed, amount of money available to start, building materials available, the possible
market, the local economy, and needs of the wheelchair user and family.
For example, folding tube-metal chairs are relatively expensive to
make and require more skill, training, and equipment. However,
they often work smoother, last longer, and are easier to transport
than are many other models. These high-quality, good-looking
chairs—painted or even chrome plated—may sell the best, even if
expensive, and may compete with factory-made chairs (see p. 622).
If the wheelchair users will be mostly children and poor families, low-cost wooden
chairs may be more appropriate. These can be easily built to size and adapted to the
needs of the individual child. The chair may not last as long. But the child is growing and
her needs may change. Simple wood chairs also require fewer skills to build—mainly
carpentry. They are easier for the family to build, repair, or add changes to at home.
Ideally, a village shop would make a variety of chairs out of different materials and
at different prices. Chairs of all models, sizes, and adaptations should be kept on hand
to give the child and family a chance to know and try different possibilities. Be sure to
make child-sized chairs. And make chair inserts so that adult-sized chairs can be
adapted for children.
Look for every opportunity to keep costs low. Providing repair services for used
and broken chairs are good ways to keep children on wheels. Also use as much
‘waste’, and used and free materials as you can: old bicycle wheels, old machinery
bearings, scrap metal, and bolts from junk yards. For basic building materials, check
prices of different sellers. Once you are sure of what you need, try to buy large
amounts at lower cost. If you explain to the sellers the purpose of your purchase, they
may lower prices or give you useful scraps.
Designs for 6 different wheelchairs are in Chapter 66.
disabled village children