A low-cost wheelchair needs to be constructed using locally sourced materials, simple tools, and measurements specific to each user. Cadires x Tororo applies this logic in the Tororo district of Uganda, using a structure made of PVC pipes and wheelbarrow wheels, costing around 70 euros. In chapter 76 of Toque de Ingenio, Carlota Regales and Adrià Sallés explain how two academic projects evolved into a partnership and the design and manufacturing decisions they made on-site.
Guests: Carlota Regales and Adrià Sallés, who are presented in the episode as the founders of Cadires x Tororo. Interview published: April 14, 2026. Episode: 76. Duration: 53 min.
In this episode:
- Why PVC pipe for plumbing allows you to build a chair in any construction site where there’s work being done.
- How does geometry adapt to children with cerebral palsy who are unable to propel themselves?
- What needs to happen to ensure production continues when the equipment is not in Uganda?
At the time of the interview, the association had produced approximately 40 PVC chairs and had recently returned from a trip to Morocco. It’s a voluntary role carried out by a group of 12 to 15 people.
Low-cost wheelchair: start with a material that’s readily available.
Adrià Sallés recounts that the origin of this stems from his final year design project, about ten years ago, alongside a colleague who had previously been a ski guide for the blind. They designed a chair that anyone could use without any special knowledge or tools.
The structure is built using pressure PVC pipes – not drainage pipes. They are cut with a saw and joined together with elbows and connectors, which are glued. Afterwards, an axis and wheels are added. Adrià explains that using carpentry tools allows for a very adaptable geometry.
“It’s a material that can be found in any building or construction site”.
Adrià Sallés 05:53.
The concept is being compared to the early days of 3D printers and their open-source culture: a good video tutorial, a guide, and readily available materials, so that the chair could be produced and sold in any country, and at an affordable price.
Two academic projects intersecting in Tororo.
Carlota Regales encountered the problem through a different route. For her final school project, a teacher who had volunteered in Tororo told her that many children with disabilities were spending their days on the floor due to a lack of chairs. She designed a positioning chair for children with cerebral palsy, according to her account, despite having no prior knowledge.
He contacted the hospital in Tororo, which took three months to respond. He raised money by selling fabric bags and cakes, winning an award for the best school project, and collected approximately €6,000. This money was used to manufacture 14 positioning chairs and to fund improvements at the Gururu school.
In 2022, they travelled to Uganda for the first time with three companions. They began working with the hospital and school, teaching carpentry to deaf students, and supporting a team that visits children with disabilities in a very extensive area.
The following year, Adrià became his professor at university. Carlota recounts that he was working on a finite element analysis of a chair when he mentioned that he had done the same in his final degree project. It was from that conversation that the PVC chair and Tororo’s project were born.
Adapt the design to the actual user: wheelbarrow wheels and manual measurements.
Carlota’s wooden chair was put aside. It was difficult to manufacture there and deliver in good condition over roads that were almost non-existent. A PVC tubular structure was chosen for its ease of cutting and assembly.
There’s a difference compared to the original design: in Uganda, the chairs are not self-propelled. The majority of the children being served have cerebral palsy, often associated with untreated malaria, and are unable to move their arms or legs. The team has replaced the self-propelled wheels with traditional cart wheels, which are readily available in the Tororo market, and which, according to their explanation, perform very well on the terrain.
The geometry is adapted to each child, taking their measurements. A child with stronger core stability receives a chair that is slightly wider, so it doesn’t become too small as they grow; one who has spent the day on the floor needs sides that provide more support. The seat depth is also adjusted to fit the femur. This is the product design that cannot be resolved from the technical department.
That adaptability was tested with Opio, a 12 or 14-year-old boy who was using a chair from the previous year. After repairing the fabric and installing a new piece of wood, the seat raised, and his foot no longer touched the ground – which was how he was moving around. Adrià recounts that the boy became angry, and two weeks later, they returned with a saw to modify the structure.
To manufacture on-site and to purchase from the local market.
Throughout the year, the association maintains contact with entities in Tororo and raises funds through events, crowdfunding campaigns, and merchandise sales. In the summer, they travel to Uganda, purchase the materials, and assemble the chairs with the hospital and school.
The PVC pipes, elbows, tees, and wheels are purchased there. The guests explain that they don’t bring anything from Spain except, occasionally, electrical tools, because everything was done by hand at the local workshop. This way, the expenses remain within the local economy.
The cost is around 70 euros per chair. Guests estimate the typical monthly salary in the area to be around $100, and the price of a standard chair to be approximately $280 – almost three months’ salary. This difference explains why a family with limited resources cannot consider purchasing one.
The fundamental challenge: that production continues without the equipment.
The initial idea of providing a manual so that each family could build their own chair won’t work effectively on its own. The founders explain that in rural areas, a family with several children will dedicate their limited resources to the healthy children. Many families don’t even go to the hospital, which is two hours away.
This is further compounded by the stigma. Having a child with a disability has historically been viewed negatively, and mothers are often blamed. Sometimes, the parents withdraw, leaving the child in the care of grandparents. The hospital, run by Benedictine monks, deals with very serious cases and doesn’t always recognize the need for specialized equipment as a priority.
Because the guests are pointing out that the main challenge with the project is ensuring that the chairs continue to be produced when they are not present. They report that it won’t be implemented within a year – it’s necessary to return, correct mistakes, and listen to feedback.
The chair project is named Ubuntu, referring to an African philosophy which the team translates as “shared humanity.” The five-year goal is for the project to become self-sufficient: to have a location in Tororo where people can request chairs, and for the activity to generate its own income. To ensure a regular income, they are working with a partner figure.
From Tororo to Morocco: three measurements and a metal workshop.
The open design has allowed the chair to travel. A friend built one in Nepal, and Adrià built another during a trip with students to a design competition in India. In February, the team travelled through Morocco with a solidarity convoy and distributed 15 PVC chairs.
In Morocco, they hadn’t identified the beneficiaries until they reached each location, so they shifted their approach. Instead of measuring each child individually, they created three sizes: small, medium, and large.
“Well, one of the three always fits.”
Carlota Regales 41:04.
For Tororo, the next step is different. The guests explain that they are looking for a metal workshop in the district that can manufacture metal wheelchairs adapted for children in the area, utilizing the students from the welding workshop as labor. It’s more expensive and complex than cutting PVC with a saw, but it allows them to offer a self-propelled wheelchair, with metal wheels, to those who need it.
PVC frames don’t disappear. They remain a viable option for more rural areas, where it’s difficult to get other types of seating, and for children who don’t need to actively propel themselves.
What can another development team learn?
The Cadires x Tororo case offers four lessons for anyone designing products that need to be manufactured far from their engineering office:
- Design starting from the actual supply chain. A plumbing pipe and a wheelbarrow wheel, available at the local market, help to avoid relying on deliveries and spare parts.
- Accepting that the user can modify the design. The need to cut and reassemble arose from the requirement to raise the platform, which allows for a modifiable structure.
- Separating the product from the system. The chair works, but the challenge is that the manufacturing, funding, and coordination will continue even when the founding team is not.
- Choosing between size and measurement depending on the context. Measuring each child in Tororo and creating three outfits in Morocco represent two separate responses to the same question.
At the time of the interview, the association possessed approximately 40 PVC chairs and was preparing to collaborate with the metal workshop. Cadires x Tororo website Gather the project and the ways to collaborate.
This episode doesn’t focus on startups or funding rounds, but rather on the engineering decisions that any team can relate to. If you’re developing a product that needs to adapt to individual users or be produced with limited resources, Tell us about your project.. And if you’re interested in having more conversations like this, you can find them in Toque de Ingenio.
To continue reading: how to adapt a product to the measurements of each individual using 3D scanning.
Source of article: An interview with Edgar Guerrero, featuring Carlota Regales and Adrià Sallés on Toque de Ingenio. The excerpts cited link to the relevant minute of the conversation. The project recommendations presented are a summarised editorial from i-mas.
