Appropriate Technology
Appropriate Technologies are small-scale, more labor intensive than capital intensive, culturally-relevant, and sustainable technologies appropriate for particular environmental conditions, social contexts, and economic situations. It also includes the recognition that technologies can embody cultural biases and sometimes have political and distributional effects that go far beyond a strictly economic evaluation. Appropriate Technologies are not appropriate for all situations, but are more about local people using local knowledge and resources to meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same. Therefore it involves a search for technologies that have, for example, beneficial effects on income distribution, human development, environmental quality, and the distribution of political power in the context of particular communities and nations.
Village Earth works with communities, individuals, and organizations around the world to empower people to determine for themselves what technologies work and what do not. We also work to develop not just "hard" technologies but also "soft" technologies such as organizational structures and participatory processes that help people to maintain and create hard technologies (like agricultural implements, energy generators, etc). Village Earth has partnered with Lakota tiyospayes to create wind turbines out of old car parts, locally produced biofuels, stewardship models, and farming systems.
Online Training: "Technology and Community-Based Development"
Technology is the principle means by which individuals and communities access and manage resources. However history has taught us that technology can be both a blessing and a curse. Without careful consideration for the equitable distribution of its productive gains, environmental impacts, debt burdens, health consequences and impacts on the social and cultural fabric of a community, new technologies can cause more harm than good. Using case studies, videos, presentations and group discussion, this course explores some of the practical and ethical challenges faced by communities and community workers in their efforts to develop or introduce new technologies to enhance human well-being. This course will also explore importance concepts and strategies for successful participatory technology development, emphasizing principles developed by thinkers such as Ghandi and E.F. Schumacker. |
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Appropedia Partnership
Village Earth merged our Appropriate Technology Wiki with Appropedia - a site for collaborative solutions in sustainability, poverty reduction and international development through the use of appropriate technology and the sharing of project information. Appropedia is a wiki, a type of website which allows anyone to add, remove, or edit content. Appropedia is an open site for stakeholders to come together to find, create and improve scalable and adaptable solutions. |
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The Appropriate Technology Library
The Appropriate Technology Library is one of the world's most comprehensive, cost-effective, and compact do-it-yourself sustainable living resources! The AT Library contains the full text and images from over 1050 of the best books dealing with all areas of do-it-yourself technology. Portable and easy to use on 28 CDs or 2 DVDs. The AT Library is currently in use in sustainable development projects in over 74 countries worldwide.
Click here to learn more and view the Appropriate Technology Library contents
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