Solutions 03-04
October
2003
Learn
about
briquetting as an answer to
desertification, health problems,
unemployment, and reforestation in
developing communities.
Photos of
briquettes and a
small
press
are available.
November 2003
Learn about the
Solar Water
Heater and Solar Dryer
technology developed by Prof. A.
Jagadeesh from the Nayudamma
Center for Development
Alternatives in Nellore, India.
December 2003
Learn about pottery
water purification systems and more
specifically the
Filtron developed by Potters for
Peace in Nicaragua.
The
Filtron is a simple clay filter
incorporating the microbiological
inhibiting properties of colloidal
silver. It provides
clean drinking water to families
throughout the developing world,
can be made by enterprising local
potters, and
can be sold
inexpensively to people in rural areas.
Photo 1 and
Photo 2.
January 2004
Learn how to make
vegetable-based
biodiesel fuel and how to
design and build a processor that
could turn waste vegetable oil into fuel
for a Diesel engine.
The biodiesel group at CU Boulder has
started a pilot project converting
on-campus waste cafeteria grease into
diesel that can be used to power the bus
fleet on campus.
February 2004
Learn
about LED (Light Emitting Diodes)
technology and its benefits by exploring
the web site of the
Light Up the World Foundation. LED
lighting provides unique opportunities
to provide light to communities in the
developing (and developed) world as
reduced cost and in a more efficient and
sustainable way. David Irvine Halliday
was one of the
2002 Rolex Awards laureates for his
work on LED lighting.
March 2004
Learn
about
drip irrigation
as a way to use
more efficiently
water in
agriculture by
exploring the
web site of the
Chapin Living Waters Foundation. The
Chapin Bucket Irrigation kit
represents a unique, inexpensive, and
effective AT for enabling the poor of
the world feed themselves. The kit has
been used in more than 70 countries.
April 2004
Learn
about straw bale
building construction as an alternative to construction as usual.
The following web sites will give you plenty of information on how
to get started and learn more about this interesting way of
constructing houses that are ecologically sustainable:
www.ecobuildnetwork.org
and
www.greenhomebuilding.com/strawbale.htm.
May 2004
Learn
about
thin-shell acrylic
concrete roofs.
Light weight, acrylic modified concrete on
stretched fiberglass or cloth membranes can be used for the roofing
of habitable shelters, utility buildings, water tanks and tank
covers. This shell membrane building technique has unique
application in settings where technical expertise is limited or
non-existent. Thus its most logical application is in rebuilding war
torn villages, in housing in under-developed countries, and for
human use in rural, native or jungle environments.
June 2004
Explore
the www.gapminder.org web
site. GAPMINDER is a non-profit venture for development and
provision of free software that visualize human development. This is
done in collaboration with universities, UN organizations, public
agencies, and non-governmental organizations.
July 2004
Explore the
www.itdg.org
web site. The
Intermediate
Technology
Development
Group (ITDG)
based at the
Schumacher
Center for
Technology and
Development in
the UK, aims to
demonstrate and
advocate the
sustainable use
of technology to
reduce poverty
in developing
countries. The
publishing arm
of ITDG
provides a
wealth of
information and
references in
appropriate and
sustainable
technologies for
the developing
world.
August 2004
Learn about water
well drilling. Several manufacturers provide inexpensive,
lightweight, and powerful drilling equipment that can be used to
provide drinking water to local communities. You may want to check
several manufacturers before purchasing equipment. Examples include:
Consallen
Group; Deep Rock
Manufacturing and PortaDrillMini
among many, many others. NGOs such as
Life Water and
Living Water International
provide unique services in the area of water well drilling and pump
installation. Want to learn more...check the
Water Wells Tutorial
assembled by Life Water
,Canada. It will provide you basic technical instructions needed to
construct safe drinking water wells.
September
2004
Explore the
www.solarenergy.org web
site. Solar Energy International (SEI) is a member-supported
organization that offers hands-on
workshops in solar, wind and water power and natural building
technologies in eleven locations around the world. SEI also offers
internet based
online courses. SEI just published a
textbook in PV Design and
Installation that gives critical information needed to
successfully design, install, and maintain PV systems. Click
here to order the
book.
October
2004
Explore the
www.natcapsolutions.org
web site. Natural Capitalism Solutions (NCS) is a non-profit
organization that educates decision-makers in business, civil
society and government about the principles of sustainability,
Natural Capitalism and the opportunities to active genuine progress
through its implementation. NCS is based on the principles presented
in the book Natural capitalism - Creating the Next Industrial
Revolution co-authored by the organization's founder
Hunter Lovins.
November
2004
Explore four recent UNESCO
publications dealing with international development:
Small is Working: Technology for Poverty Reduction
(video and booklet), Solar Photovoltaic Project Development
and Solar Photovoltaic Systems: Technical Training Manual (Toolkit
of Learning and Teaching materials), and
Rays of Hope: Renewable
Energy in the Pacific (video and booklet).
Dec ember
2004
Learn about
fog harvesting as a resource where
traditional water sources do not meet the needs of the people. Fog
collectors are inexpensive, passive devices each producing 200 to
600 liters of fresh water a day by collecting the tiny wind-blown
water droplets constituting fog. The technique was developed by
FogQuest, a Canadian NGO
established in 2001 to implement and promote the environmentally
appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable use of fog,
rain, and dew as sustainable water resources.
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