Materials that are cheap in India

Clay

The cheapest material in India is probably clay. Since ancient times, people living in the Indus valley were capable of producing clay at large amounts, which the skill was then passed down to India. Till today, Indians heavily rely on clay in many areas, such as agriculture or even household work by women. Furthermore, clay is extremely cheap and is easily accessible.

However clay is heavy, hard and fragile. Although it may be a very poor conductor of heat, it is inconvenient to be carried around, hence clay is not a material suitable for someone to carry around during winter.


Plastic

Every year in India, about 2 million tones of plastic waste is disposed. Six percent of the gross domestic product in India is dependent on the large domestic consuming market in India in the purchase of plastic products, thus plastic as a material is very cheaply available and accessible.

Nylon, a form of plastic, is very strong and flexible. Applying this to our problem based learning, this material would be durable to withstand major scratches and mishandling of it by the poor. Its coefficient of thermal expansion is very low, thermal conductivity is 0.24-0.28 W m-1K-1 at 23°C and the specific heat capacity is 1700 J kg-1K-1, showing that plastic is a very poor conductor of heat energy. Since the material is light, durable and also cheap, it would be ideal for the poorer citizens to have them and carry them around, and also expenditure by the government would also not be so heavy.


Wood

Wood in India is slightly more expensive than plastic, but however is much more eco-friendly. However applying to the situation the poor are in, the most important is still the price, where they still can afford.

It is no doubt that wood is a very poor conductor of heat energy. Its thermal conductivity is 0.17 W m-1K-1, even lower than that of plastic. However, wood is easily dirtied and is not as durable and as sturdy as plastic, hence unless we are considering to build certain structures such as homes or shelters for the poor, wood might not be a considerable material in this case.


Metal

Metals are rather cheaply available in India, such as iron, steel, brass and copper, these metals are very commonly used in India. Metals are very durable and hard, and also easy to be carried around. However it will easily rust and thus have to be galvanised, which increases governmental expenditure. Also, metals are very good emitters of heat energy, thus if metals were to be utilised, they have to be used as a support of shelters or otherwise, as it would not be suitable for thermal insulation.