Contexts of appropriate technology

Although the term appropriate technology is used wherever individuals or small communities wish to lower their environmental impact and increase their resilience, is typically used in these two contexts:

• Socially and environmentally acceptable technologies in industrialized nations.
• The most effective technology to address the needs of developing nations or less developed rural areas of industrialized nations.^[1]

When the technologies are applied in developed countries, it is often for the purpose of either going off the grid, or at least becoming less dependent on it. This form of "appropriate technology" usually prefers labor-intensive solutions over capital-intensive ones,^{[verification needed]} although labor-saving devices are also valuable, provided this does not mean high capital, maintenance cost or environmental impact.

In poorer or remote areas, the starting point is often a lack of a "grid" - i.e. a lack of infrastructure such as electricity, piped water and sewerage. Where the target is the poor, the greatest impact comes where massive scale-up occurs through an appealing, cost-effective product. The "bottom of the pyramid" can pay for technology if the price is right, and this allows for much greater scale than subsidized programs, and is likely to be more appealing than DIY approaches that require a particular skill-set.

Developing contexts[edit | edit source]

The term has often been applied to the situations of developing nations or underdeveloped rural areas of industrialized nations. The use of appropriate technology in these areas seeks to fill in the gaps left by conventional development which typically focuses on capital-intensive, urban development.^[2]

Appropriate technologies are not necessarily "low" technology, and can utilize recent research, for example cloth filters which were inspired by research into the way cholera is carried in water. High technology is used in appropriate technology applications in the form of high-efficiency white LED lights, used for example by the Light Up the World Foundation in remote areas of Nepal to replace kerosene lamps or wood fires - this reduces smoke and by doing that reduces problems with respiratory health and eyes, and can be expected to reduce child mortality.

Developed countries[edit | edit source]

The term appropriate technology is also used in developed nations to describe the use of technology and engineering that results in less negative impacts on the environment and society.^[3]E. F. Schumacher asserts that such technology, described in the book Small is Beautiful^[4]tends to promote values such as health, beauty and permanence, in that order.

The type of appropriate technology used in developed countries is sometimes termed "Appropriate and Sustainable Technology" (AST); besides being functional and relatively cheap (though often more expensive than the appropriate technology of the village), this technology is intended to be very durable. (Appropriate technology for the village may place less emphasis on durability than on ease of repair.).^[5][6]

John F. C. Turner, a British architect interested in human settlements and development, (author of Housing By People, and co-author and editor of Freedom To Build), says that truly appropriate technology is technology that ordinary people can use for their own benefit and the benefit of their community, that doesn't make them dependent on systems over which they have no control. Technology typically creates dependencies and thus to truly be appropriate, technology should enhance the local or regional capacity to meet local needs, rather than creating or amplifying dependencies on systems beyond local control.

City construction[edit | edit source]

The city's layout - urban planning - greatly affects the usefulness and appropriateness of technologies. For example, transport: Medium to high density development enables an emphasis on walking, cycling and public transit, all of which rely less on complex and expensive technology, as well as having a lower impact on the environment, and allowing a greater quality of life for residents. An emphasis on vertical development (medium to high buildings) reduces the land area used by buildings, leaving more open green space while maintaining the medium to high density needed for sustainable settlements.

Much more detailed recommendations can be found in New Urbanism and related concepts such as transit-oriented development. These typically include grid plans,^W narrower streets, traffic calming, transit nodes - and of course safe routes for cyclists.

In the developing world, cities are expanding rapidly, often along an ad hoc, car-dominated model. Changing this direction is essential for both sustainability and for creating desirable cities.

Building construction[edit | edit source]

Building methods regarded as appropriate technology include:

• Adobe and Super Adobe^W
• Rammed earth
• Compressed earth block^W
• Dutch brick^W
• Animal^W products
• Cob^W
• Autonomous building^W
• Earthship^W
• Wofati
• and/or other green building materials could be considered appropriate earth building technology for much of the developing world, as they make use of materials which are widely available locally and are thus relatively inexpensive.

The local context must be considered as, for example, mudbrick^W may not be durable in a high rainfall area (although a large roof overhang and cement stabilisation can be used to correct for this), and, if the materials are not readily available, the method may be inappropriate. Other forms of natural building may be considered appropriate technology, though in many cases the emphasis is on sustainable architecture^W and self-sufficiency rather than affordability or suitability. As such, many buildings are also built to function as autonomous buildings^W (e.g. earthships,^W ...). One example of an organisation that applies appropriate earthbuilding techniques would be Builders Without Borders.^W

Where building height is important - e.g. to allow sustainable levels of density and efficient transport within a city - then traditional and alternative methods such as earthen buildings are not appropriate.

The building structure must also be considered. Cost-effectiveness is an important issue in projects based around appropriate technology, and one of the most efficient designs herein is the public housing^W approach. This approach lets everyone have their own sleeping/recreation space, yet incorporate communal spaces e.g. mess halls,^W latrines,^W public showers, ...

In addition, to decrease costs of operation (heating, cooling, ...) techniques as earth sheltering^W or Trombe walls may be incorporated.

Organizations as Architecture for Humanity also consider principles of appropriate technology, aiming to serve the needs of poor and disaster-affected people.

Energy[edit | edit source]

Microgeneration^W is appropriate to remote and mobile^[7] applications, with low power requirements.

The term soft energy technology^W was coined by Amory Lovins^{W[verification needed]} to describe "appropriate" renewable energy.^[8] "Appropriate" energy technologies are especially suitable for isolated and/or small scale energy needs. However, high capital cost must be taken into account.

Electricity can be provided from:

• PV solar panels (which are expensive initially, but simple), and (large) Concentrating solar power plants. PV solar panels made from low-cost photovoltaic cells^W or PV-cells which have first been concentrated by a luminescent solar concentrator^W-panel are also a good option. In certain cases, a dish stirling setup could be appropriate (by using low-cost Stirling engines as the thermomechanical generator^W); primarily as they have greater efficiency, reducing the size required for the plant. However, repair of these more efficient CSP setups is more difficult than with regular CLFR, solar power towers or parabolic troughs.
• solar thermal collector^W
• wind power (home do-it yourself turbines and larger-scale)
• micro hydro, and pico hydro^W[9]
• human-powered handwheel generators^[10]
• Plant microbial fuel cells
• other zero emission generation methods^W

Some intermediate technologies (causing still some degree of air pollution -yet no CO₂-emissions-) include:

• bioalcohols as bioethanol, biomethanol and biobutanol. The first two require minor modifications to allow them to be used in conventional internal combustion (gasoline) engines. The third requires no modifications at all.
• and plant oils (which can be used only in internal combustion (Diesel) engines. Biofuels are locally available in many developing countries and can be cheaper than fossil fuels.
• Anaerobic digestion power plants
• Biogas is another potential source of energy, particularly where there is an abundant supply of waste organic matter.^W A generator (running on biofuels) can be run more efficiently if combined with batteries and an inverter^W; this adds significantly to capital cost^W but reduces running cost,^W and can potentially make this a much cheaper option than the solar, wind and micro-hydro options.
• Feces^W (eg cow dung, human, etc) can also be used. For example DEKA^W's Project Slingshot stirling electricity generator works this energy source to make electricity.
• Biochar is another similar energy source which can be obtained through charring of certain types of organic material (eg hazelnut shells, bamboo, chicken manure, ...) in a pyrolysis unit.^[11] A similar energy source is terra preta nova.^W

Finally, urine can also be used as a basis to generate hydrogen (which is an energy carrier). Using urine, hydrogen production is 332% more energy efficient than using water.^[12][13]Electricity distribution could be improved so to make use of a more structured electricity line arrangement^W and universal AC power plugs and sockets^W (e.g. the CEE 7/7 plug). In addition, a universal system of electricity provisioning (e.g. universal voltage, frequency, ampère; e.g. 230 V with 50 Hz), as well as perhaps a simplified mains power system^W (e.g. through using only 3-phase power, even in houses, hence eliminating another energy conversion) can be implemented.

Electricity storage (which is required for autonomous energy systems) can be provided through appropriate technology solutions as deep-cycle and car-batteries^W (intermediate technology), long duration flywheels, electrochemical capacitors, compressed air energy storage (CAES), liquid nitrogen and pumped hydro.^[14] Many solutions for the developing world are sold as a single package, containing a (micro) electricity generation power plant and energy storage. Such packages are called remote-area power supply^W

Water supply and treatment[edit | edit source]

As of 2006, waterborne diseases are estimated to cause 1.8 million deaths each year while about 1.1 billion people lack proper drinking water.^[15]

Water generally needs treatment before use, depending on the source and the intended use (with high standards required for drinking water). The quality of water from household connections and community water points in low-income countries is not reliably safe for direct human consumption. Water extracted directly from surface waters and open hand-dug shallow wells nearly always requires treatment.

Appropriate technology options in water treatment include both community-scale and household-scale point-of-use (POU) designs.

The most reliable way to kill microbial pathogenic agents is to heat water to a rolling boil.^[16] Other techniques, such as varying forms of filtration, chemical disinfection, and exposure to ultraviolet radiation (including solar UV) have been demonstrated in an array of randomized control trials to significantly reduce levels of waterborne disease among users in low-income countries.

Over the past decade, an increasing number of field-based studies have been undertaken to determine the success of POU measures in reducing waterborne disease. The ability of POU options to reduce disease is a function of both their ability to remove microbial pathogens if properly applied and such social factors as ease of use and cultural appropriateness. Technologies may generate more (or less) health benefit than their lab-based microbial removal performance would suggest.

The current priority of the proponents of POU treatment is to reach large numbers of low-income households on a sustainable basis. Few POU measures have reached significant scale thus far, but efforts to promote and commercially distribute these products to the world's poor have only been under way for a few years.

On the other hand, small-scale water treatment is reaching increasing fractions of the population in low-income countries, particularly in South and Southeast Asia, in the form of water treatment kiosks (also known as water refill stations or packaged water producers). While quality control and quality assurance in such locations may be variable, sophisticated technology (such as multi-stage particle filtration, UV irradiation, ozonation, and membrane filtration) is applied with increasing frequency. Such microenterprises are able to vend water at extremely low prices, with increasing government regulation. Initial assessments of vended water quality are encouraging.

Whether applied at the household or community level, some examples of specific treatment processes include:

• Porous ceramic filtration, using either clay or diatomaceous earth, and oriented as either cylinder, pot, or disk, with gravity-fed or siphon-driven delivery systems. Silver is frequently added to provide antimicrobial enhancement
• BioSand Filtration an inexpensive water filtration appliance designed for household use in developing countries. Uses sand, gravel, and natural biological processes to remove pathogens from water.
• Intermittently operated slow-sand filtration.
• Chlorine disinfection, employing calcium hypochlorite powder, sodium hypochlorite solution, or sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC) tablets
• Chemical flocculation,^W using either commercially produced iron or aluminum salts or the crushed seeds of certain plants, such as Moringa oleifera
• Mixed flocculation/disinfection using commercially produced powdered mixtures
• Irradiation with ultraviolet light, whether using electric-powered lamps or direct solar exposure
• membrane filtration, employing ultrafiltration^W or reverse osmosis filter elements preceded by pretreatment

Some appropriate technology water supply measures include:

• Wood Mold for Concrete BioSand Filter Production
• Deep wells with submersible pumps^W in areas where the groundwater (aquifers) are located at depths >10 m.
• Shallow wells^W with lined walls and covers.
• rainwater harvesting systems with an appropriate method of storage, especially in areas with significant dry seasons.
• Fog collection, which is suitable for areas which experience fog even when there is little rain.
• Air well,^W a structure or device designed to promote the condensation of atmospheric moisture.
• Handpumps and treadle pumps are generally only an option in areas is located at a relatively shallow depth (e.g. 10 m). The Flexi-Pipe Pump is a notable exception to this (upto 25 meter). For most deeper aquifers (<10 m), submersible pumps placed inside a well) are used. Treadle pumps for household irrigation are now being distributed on a widespread basis in developing countries. The principle of Village Level Operation and Maintenance^W is important with handpumps, but may be difficult in application.
• Condensation bags^W and condensation pits can be an appropriate technology to get water, yet yields are low and are (for the amount of water obtained), labour intensive. Still, it may be a good (very cheap) solution for certain desperate communities.
• The hippo water roller^W and Q-drum allow more water to be carried, with less effort and could thus be a good alternative for ethnic communities who do not wish to give up water gathering from remote locations, assuming low topographic relief.
• The roundabout playpump,^W developed and used in southern Africa, harnesses the energy of children at play to pump water.

Waste material[edit | edit source]

Besides using natural, locally available resources (e.g. wood or adobe), waste materials imported from cities using conventional (and inefficient) waste management may be collected and re-used. Use of these cities' waste material allows the gathering of a huge amount of building material at a low cost. When obtained, the materials may be recycled over and over in the own city/community, using the cradle to cradle method. Locations where waste can be found include landfills,^W junkyards,^W on water surfaces and anywhere around towns or near highways. Organic waste that can be reused to fertilise plants can be found in sewage. Renovation or removal of material from building sites can provide a source of stone, soil and concrete.

The waste materials include

• plastics and aluminum^[17]
• ferrous^W waste materials (e.g. cans, ...)
• sewage sludge^W (for use as a fertiliser, depending on pollutant levels and application) See also Waste management, Solid waste^W and Sewage.

The waste materials can be gathered by waste pickers,^W or – if possible – with more sophisticated machines such as materials recovery facilities^W (MRFs),and solid waste processing facilities.^W The latter may allow better separation of the different metals, plastics, ... resulting in a higher – and more efficient- yield. Also, waste pickers -besides usually not being equipped to disassemble the materials - risk being exposed to various poisonings.

Sewage sludge is collected not by hand, but through a sludge processing plant^W that automatically heats the matter and conveys it into fertiliser pellets (hereby removing possible contamination by chemical detergents, ...)^[18] This approach eliminates seawater pollution by conveying the water directly to the sea without treatment (a practice which is still common in developing countries, despite environmental regulation). Sludge plants are useful in areas that have already set up a sewage system, but not in areas without such a system, as composting toilets are more efficient and do not require sewage pipes (which break over time).

After collection, the obtained materials often need to be melted and recast in forges^W and/or may require bending, cutting, folding, ... in a workshop.^W Plastics are a special case that are too melted in a workshop, using small, purpose-built hand-operated melting containers. Metalworking tools that can be used to cut or fold the metal are the OpenLathe^W and Multimachine. Also, some CNC metalworking tools can be appropriate.

In some cases, melting and recasting is not required, as some parts can be simply cut and used as is in different devices. An example is the passive solar collector built from old refrigerator tubing.

Transport[edit | edit source]

Human powered-vehicles^W include the bicycle, which provides general-purpose, human-powered transport at a lower cost of ownership than motorized vehicles, with many gains over simply walking, and the whirlwind wheelchair,^W which provides mobility for disabled people who cannot afford the expensive wheelchairs used in developed countries. Animal powered vehicles/transport^W may also be another appropriate technology.

Certain zero-emissions vehicles^W may be considered appropriate transportation technology, including compressed air cars,^W liquid nitrogen^W and hydrogen-powered^W vehicles. Also, vehicles with internal combustion engines may be converted to hydrogen or oxyhydrogen combustion.

Bicycles can also be applied to commercial transport of goods to and from remote areas. An example of this is Karaba, a free-trade coffee co-op in Rwanda, which uses 400 modified bicycles to carry hundreds of pounds of coffee beans for processing.^[19] Other projects for developing countries include the redesign of cycle rickshaws to convert them to electric power.^[20][21]

Sanitation[edit | edit source]

See also Greywater treatment and Water purification.

As of 2006, waterborne diseases are estimated to cause 1.8 million deaths each year, marking the importance of proper sanitation systems. It is clear that the developing world is heavily lacking in proper public sanitation and that solutions as sewerages^W (or alternatively small-scale treatment systems) need to be provided.^[22]

Ecological sanitation can be viewed as a three-step process dealing with human excreta: (1) Containment, (2) Sanitization,^W (3) Recycling. The objective is to protect human health and the environment while limiting the use of water in sanitation systems for hand (and anal) washing only and recycling nutrients to help reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers^W in agriculture.

Small scale systems include:

• Composting toilets are the most environmental form of excrement disposal systems. In addition, the toilets design allows the nutrients to be reused (e.g. for fertilising food crops). Also, DIY composting toilets can be build at a very low cost.
• BiPu^W is a portable system suitable for disaster management,^W while other forms of latrine^W provide safe means of disposing of human waste at a low cost. The Orangi Pilot Project^W was designed based on an urban slum's sanitation crisis. Kamal Kar has documented the latrines developed by Bangladeshi villagers once they became aware of the health problems with open defecation.
• Treatment ponds and constructed wetlands can help to purify sewage and greywater. They consist mostly of plants (e.g. reed,^W ...) and therefore require only little power, and are hugely self-sufficient.
• Certain other options as Slow sand filters, UV filters, ... may also be employed

Lighting[edit | edit source]

• White LED and a source of renewable energy (such as solar cells) are used by the Light Up the World Foundation^W to provide lighting to poor people in remote areas, and provide significant benefits compared to the kerosene lamps^W which they replace. Certain other companies as Powerplus^W also have LED-flashlights with imbedded solar cells.^[23]
• Organic LEDs^W made by production are another source of cheap light that will be commercially available at low cost by 2015.
• Compact fluorescent lamps (as well as regular fluorescent lights and LED-lightbulbs^W) can also be used as appropriate technology. Although they are less environmentally friendly than LED-lights, they are cheaper and more efficient than incandescent lights.
• The Safe bottle lamp^W is a safer kerosene lamp^W designed in Sri Lanka. Lamps as these allow relative long, mobile, lighting. The safety comes from a secure screw-on metal lid, and two flat sides which prevent it from rolling if knocked over. An alternative to fuel or oil-based lanterns is the Uday^W lantern, developed by Philips as part of its Lighting Africa^W project (sponsored by the World Bank Group).^[24]
• The Faraday flashlight^W is a LED flashlight that operates on a capacitor. Recharging can be done by manual winching or by shaking, hereby avoiding the need for any supplementary electrical system.
• HID-lamps^W finally can be used for lighting operations where regular LED-lighting or other lamps will not suffice. Examples are car headlights. Due to their high efficiency, they are quite environmental, yet costly, and they still require polluting materials in their production process.

Food production[edit | edit source]

Food production has often been included in autonomous building/community projects to provide security^{[verification needed]}. Skilled, intensive gardening can support an adult from as little as 15 square meters of land^{[verification needed]}. Some proven intensive, low-effort food-production systems include urban gardening (indoors and outdoors). Indoor cultivation^W may be set-up using hydroponics with Grow lights,^W while outdoor cultivation may be done using permaculture, forest gardening, no-till farming, Do Nothing Farming,^W etc. In order to better control the irrigation outdoors, special irrigation systems may be created as well (although this increases costs, and may again open the door to cultivating non-indigenous plants; something which is best avoided). One such system for the developing world is discussed here.

Crop production tools are best kept simple (reduces operating difficulty, cost, replacement difficulties and pollution, when compared to motorized equipment). Tools can include scythes,^[25] animal-pulled plows^W[26] (although no-till farming should be preferred),^[27] dibbers,^W wheeled augers^W[28][29] (for planting large trees), kirpis,^W hoes,^W ...

Greenhouses are also sometimes included (see Earthship Biotincture). Sometimes they are also fitted with irrigation systems, and/or heat sink^W-systems which can respectively irrigate the plants or help to store energy from the sun and redistribute it at night (when the greenhouse starts to cool down).

Food preparation[edit | edit source]

According to proponents, Appropriate Technologies can greatly reduce the labor required to prepare food, compared to traditional methods, while being much simpler and cheaper than the processing used in Western countries. This reflects E.F. Schumacher^W's concept of "intermediate technology," i.e. technology which is significantly more effective and expensive than traditional methods, but still an order of magnitude (10 times) cheaper than developed world technology. Key examples are:

• the Malian peanut sheller^W
• the fonio husking machine^W
• the screenless hammer mill^W
• the ISF corn mill
• the ISF rice huller
• all other types of electrical or hand-operated kitchen equipment (grinders, cutters, ...) Special multifunctional kitchen robots that are able to perform several functions (e.g. grinding, cutting, and even vacuum cleaning and polishing) are able to reduce costs even more. Examples of these devices were e.g. the (now discontinued) Piccolo^W household appliance from Hammelmann Werke (previously based in Bad Kissingen.) It was equipped with a flexible axis, allowing a variety of aids to be screwed on.^[30][31]

Cooking[edit | edit source]

• Solar cookers are appropriate to some settings, depending on climate and cooking style. They are emission-less and very low-cost. Hybrid variants also exist that incorporate a second heating source such as electrical heating or wood-based.
• Hot plates^W are 100% electrical, fairly low cost (around 20€) and are mobile. They do however require an electrical system to be present in the area of operation.
• Rocket stoves and certain other wood stoves (e.g. Philips Woodstove^[32]) improve fuel efficiency, and reduce harmful indoor air pollution. The stoves however still make use of wood. However, briquette^W makers can now turn organic waste into fuel, saving money and/or collection time, and preserving forests.

Refrigeration[edit | edit source]

• Solar,^W special Einstein refrigerators^W and thermal mass refrigerators reduce the amount of electricity required. Also, solar and special Einstein refrigerators do not use haloalkanes (which play a key role in ozone depletion), but use heat pumps or mirrors instead. Solar refrigerators have been built for developing nations by Sopology.^W[33][34]
• The pot-in-pot refrigerator is an African invention that keeps things cool without electricity. It provides a way to keep food and produce fresh for much longer than would otherwise be possible. This can be a great benefit to the families who use the device. For example, it is claimed that girls who had to regularly sell fresh produce in the market can now go to school instead, as there is less urgency to sell the product before it loses freshness.^[35]

Ventilation and air conditioning[edit | edit source]

• Natural ventilation^W can be created by providing vents in the upper level of a building to allow warm air to rise by convection and escape to the outside, while cooler air is drawn in through vents at the lower level.
• Electrical powered fans (e.g. ceiling fans^W) allow efficient cooling, at far lower electricity consumption as airconditioning systems.
• A solar chimney often referred to as thermal chimney improves this natural ventilation^W by using convection of air^W heated by passive solar energy.^W To further maximize the cooling effect, the incoming air may be led through underground ducts^W before it is allowed to enter the building.
• A windcatcher^W (Badgir; بادگیر) is a traditional Persian^W architectural device^W used for many centuries to create natural ventilation in buildings. It is not known who first invented the windcatcher, but it still can be seen in many countries today. Windcatchers come in various designs, such as uni-directional, bi-directional, and multi-directional.
• A passive down-draft cooltower may be used in a hot, arid climate to provide a sustainable way to provide air conditioning. Water is allowed to evaporate at the top of a tower, either by using evaporative cooling pads or by spraying water. Evaporation^W cools the incoming air, causing a downdraft^W of cool air that will bring down the temperature inside the building.

Health care[edit | edit source]

According to the Global Health Council,^W rather than the use of professionally schooled doctors, the training of villagers to remedy most maladies in towns in the developing world is most appropriate.^[36] Rick Kimball, CEO of HEXL, pointed out that a team of social and health care workers can help improve chronic care for low income families.^[37] Trained villagers are able to eliminate 80% of the health problems. Small (low-cost) hospitals - based on the model of the Jamkhed hospital – can remedy another 15%, while only 5% will need to go to a larger (more expensive) hospital.

• Before being able to determine the cause of the disease or malady, an accurate diagnosis is required. This may be done manually (through observation, inquiries) and by specialised tools.
• Herbalist medicines^W (e.g. tinctures, tisanes, decoctions, ...) are appropriate medicines, as they can be freely made at home and are almost as effective as their chemical counterparts. A previous program that made use of herbal medicine was the Barefoot doctor program.
• A phase-change incubator,^W developed in the late 1990s, is a low-cost way for health workers to incubate microbial samples.
• Birth control^W is also seen as an appropriate technology, especially now, because of increasing population numbers (overpopulating certain areas), increasing food prices and poverty. It has been proposed to a certain degree by PATH (Program for appropriate technology in health).^[38][39]
• Jaipur leg^W was developed by Dr. P. K. Sethi and Masterji Ram Chander in 1968 as an inexpensive prosthetic leg for victims of landmine explosions.
• The Leveraged Freedom Chair is a low-cost wheelchair designed specifically for rough terrain^[40]
• Natural cleaning products^W can be used for personal hygiene and cleaning of clothing and eating utensils; in order to decrease illnesses/maladies (as they eliminate a great number of pathogens).

Note that many Appropriate Technologies benefit public health, in particular by providing sanitation and safe drinking water. Refrigeration may also provide a health benefit. (These are discussed in the following paragraphs.) This was too found at the Comprehensive Rural Health Project^W[41] and the Women Health Volunteers^W projects in countries as Iran, Iraq and Nepal.^[42]

ICT4D[edit | edit source]

Banking and finance[edit | edit source]

Through financial systems envisioned especially for the poor/developed world, many companies have been able to get started with only limited capital. Banks and government and NGO programs lend appropriate amounts of money (i.e. small amounts, often starting below $100) to people wishing to start a business with microfinance. Organizations, communities, cities or individuals can provide loans to other communities/cities (such as with the approach followed by Kiva.org, MicroPlace^W and LETS). In other systems, people for a Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA) to take turns in access to the combined pot of money - this depends on community trust and accountability. (Variations are practiced in many societies). Finally, in certain communities (usually isolated communities such as small islands or oases) gift economies^W can be effective due to the small community and the importance of social acceptance.

See also[edit | edit source]

• Appropriate technology for refugees
• Appropriate technology for Indonesia
• Principles of appropriate technology

References[edit | edit source]