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Ive been thinking about design again.

In the even of floods and monsoons, I am reminded of this community of people in India. As I was told they live as a village by a river. Their houses, made from mud and wood provide shelter for their families, safe for their livestock and limited belongings.
Every year during the monsoon season these mud houses would be washed away. These inhabitants of the once life giving river would have to pack up and move up to higher ground to set up home again. After the monsoon season passes the Indians will once again move back down to the river. And theses resilient people do it every year, over and over.

Ive never seen this place for myself, only heard of it from a distant source, however it sounds possible.

First thoughts were why would anyone want to repeat building their homes over and over, year after year. Doesnt seem very smart. However, ill suppose the river brings about extremely fertile soil for farming and rearing livestock. And each year as these farmers have their homes washed away, the monsoons also carries away the old, nutrient depleted, soil. And along with it comes new grounds for tilling and ranching.

So lets suppose this is the reason for the Indians to keep returning to the river.

Now these city free Indians are now experts in mud house construction since they do it every year. Im sure throughout the years theyve improved in their methods of building mud houses. They must also have their own ways of transporting families, livestock and possessions. Maybe even building materials.
Dont think any designer could match their knowledge in temporary and limited resource constructions.
Also these homes that they create would probably be in their simplest form – ‘minimalist design’.
And nothings stopping them from personalizing each home, wouldnt you? I think, here in the city, we call it interior design. (I dun believe in interior design but thats another issue for another time.)
How then would they device means to transport their annual move of homes, or their methods of recognizing the time to start moving? We have so much to learn.

Design problems, solved by solutions of non-designers, which are likely to prove themselves more efficient and effective than the produce of a pampered, city spoiled designer. Makes me wonder how any self respecting designer can feel happy producing rubbish on paper, which gets haggled down to rock bottom prices, sells it for peanuts and pat him/herself on the back and say “I also can design what” and eventually kill the market for design.

I once heard a comment that design was suited only for the rich. Ive always thought it was flawed but could never find what was wrong with it since it had some truth in it.
With the short discussion above, I now think design is suited only for extreme circumstances, extreme poverty or extreme wealth – monomaniacal culture.