*Appropriate technology is an aspect of sustainable

development*Appropriate

technology projects follow four main

rules…

*The initial cost and any maintenance and parts must be cheap enough for the people involved*

For example, this piece of machinery is too expensive

for use in an LEDC.

More relative equipment for use in an LEDC.

*It must provide long term use for the people with very little impact on the environment*

The water pumps used here are worked by hand so are friendly to the environment. Also they don’t need much maintenance so last for a long time.

*Local technology and expertise should be used whenever possible*

A sickle, used for harvesting grain, is a well known tool by the locals and their expertise with the tool make it appropriate for the area.

House construction using straw bales.

The solar cooker is easy to use so expertise are not really needed and locals can operate them easily.

*The project should be what the people need. It also should be run by local people with very little

outside help*

The Mossi people of Burkina Faso – soil and water

conservation

Lines of rocks and stones built across the landSlow overland flow, capture water for growing crops

Encourage deposition of nutrient rich sediment

[In China small dams are built across the Loess GAIA4 505]

Not large dams BUT tube wells and drip irrigation

Not chemical fertilisers BUT cheaper organic [food and milk a by product]

Not tractors BUT simple tools made locally

Not cash crops [monocultures] BUT small holdings where subsistence and profit making mixed farming co-exist

Dam, Rat proof stores or Emergency aid – which is

appropriate?

Komogo on River VoltaHorreos grain cribs, Galicia Spain

2000 yr old rat proof store Japan – Note rat barrier on legs + ramp

Treadle pump developed in Bangladesh in 1990s

Main crop – rice needs lots of water so particularly importantCost $7 to buyAverage incomes increased by approximately $100Increased irrigation = increased crop yield Local workshops, village dealers, well drillers + installers all benefitGood practice has been transferred to Zambia

Simple hand operated machine based on Bulgarian idea$50 to make, concrete poured into two fibreglass mouldsShells 50 kgs raw sun-dried peanuts in an hourPeanuts drop down the machine shelling as it becomes more constricted – can also be used for coffeePeanut = legume, husks can make briquettes

SimpleSustainable

LocalUnderstood

Phrase coined by Schumacher in ‘Small is

beautiful’Implication that technology

must improve previous methods