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.

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. A type of high-efficiency, white LED lights is used by the Light Up the World Foundation in remote areas of Nepal to replace more traditional forms of lighting that cause health problems associated with kerosene lamps or wood fires.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!