Design Challenges and Solutions to Create Toys with Reference to Sawantwadi Wooden Toy Manufacturing
摘要
The earliest physical evidence of toys in India was found from the Indus Valley Civilization. All the found toys are made from natural materials such as clay, bamboo, wood, and sticks. One of the traditional toy-making communities existed in Sawantwadi, Maharashtra. They make toys out of wood and turning/rotary methods are used to manufacture toys, which is manual and human-centric. However, currently, the application of advanced technology and mechanisms has stimulated the toy manufacturing industry. Side by side, there is the availability of industrial materials, which established challenges for traditional toy makers to compete in the present market. There are two significant gaps found in the traditional toy makers: Insufficient supply or availability of products in the market and the mindset of the parents to purchase toys for their children. The research aims to understand the deciding factors of choosing/buying toys and further exploration of the mass manufacturing methods through advanced mechanisms. The respondents for the research are the parents. Important data is collected through mixed methodology using interview and questionnaire methods. Finally, end of the research, a batch of toys will be developed for further observation to evaluate the research hypothesis.