Jugaad: Lessons from the Tropics to the World (Editorial)

Abstract

Jugaad is here to stay. The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘Jugaad’ as “a flexible approach to any problem-solving that innovatively uses limited resources”. In very simple terms, it stands for 'put together'. The word finds its origin from Northern India where farmers used essentially spare parts to assemble their own vehicles known as 'Jugaad'. Gen-Z talks about DIY (Do it yourself) and hacks; the millennials (Gen-Y) have lateral and out-of-the-box thinking. However, the decades-old concept of jugaad encompasses exactly that - the approach to finding solutions with improvisation and ingenuity.