The Problem: In Cambodia, much of the population lives on a diet of fish and rice and so suffers from iron deficiency, leading to anemia and other serious health conditions. The simple solution is to cook a small piece of iron in the same pot with a meal for 10 minutes, providing 75% of the iron a family needs. The dilemma was that people were happy to use the iron slab as a doorstop but wouldn’t toss it into the cooking pot.
The Solution: Fashion the small piece of iron into the shape of a fish, a cultural symbol of hope and good fortune in Cambodia.
Initial Results: After nine months of trials and tests, a 55% drop in iron deficiency was recorded. Additionally, the project is sustainable, featuring recyclable materials and adding jobs in the local community to package the iron fish.
The Design: The Lucky Iron Fish was designed by Canadian science graduate Dr. Christopher Charles, who travelled to Cambodia in 2008 on a research project.
The design was recently awarded the prestigious Product Design Grand Prix at Cannes, the pre-eminent global festival for ‘creative communications’ (there was a controversy as the PR company Geometry Global was given the award instead of the original designer, Christopher Charles).
To distribute the product and spread awareness, the Lucky Iron Fish company was established. You can learn more about the company and their goals at luckyironfish.com
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