About

John Barrie

Humanitarian innovator, speaker, and designer of practical technologies for the world's poorest people.

Close-up portrait of a smiling middle-aged man with gray hair, wearing a dark blue button-up shirt.

Approach

Designed with, not for.

Every technology is co-developed with the communities that will use it. Affordability, local repairability, and cultural fit drive every design decision. The result: tools that last and businesses that thrive.

Approach

Four principles that have never failed in twenty years of fieldwork.

Large gathering of people under solar panel shade in a desert village with traditional huts and sparse trees.
Line graph with a heart rate monitor line inside a heart outline
Line graph with a heart rate monitor line inside a heart outline

Designed With, Not For

Every technology is co-developed with the families and field workers who will live with it daily.

An orange circle icon with a white compass arrow pointing northeast.
An orange circle icon with a white compass arrow pointing northeast.

Dignified by Default

Affordable does not mean austere. People deserve technology that looks and feels worthy of their lives.

Stylized orange flower with a green stem on a white background.
Stylized orange flower with a green stem on a white background.

Locally Repairable

If a village mechanic can't fix it with the tools on hand, the design isn't finished yet.

An illustration of a light bulb with rays extending outward, symbolizing ideas or innovation.
An illustration of a light bulb with rays extending outward, symbolizing ideas or innovation.

Evidence-Based Iteration

Every deployment is measured. Every iteration is shaped by what families actually report.