Human Settlements Review - Parliamentary Monitoring Group

Human Settlements Review, Volume 1, Number 1, 2010
materials, such as clay, wood, or thatching.
In most cases the utilization requires skilled
personnel, and requires money to purchase
materials and to pay artisans for work done.
This contrasts with what was achieved over
centuries by many indigenous societies, who
relied on locally available materials and their
own skills. This vernacular knowledge is
nowadays often ridiculed and described as
back ward, although they could be described
as eco-materials.
Non-conventional or alternative technologies
have been advocated especially in the 1960a
and 1970s. Wang (1991:10) differentiates
between three terms, which are often lumped
together. The first is intermediate technology,
an approach to development in which full
industrial technology is eventually possible.
The second term, appropriate technology
was discussed above. Proponents criticised
many industrial technologies, which are
not appropriate for poor communities. The
third term alternative technology, is a radical
criticism of the excesses of the industrial
society. By promoting alternative technology,
its proponents seek to reform society by making
use of technology, which is environmentally
sustainable, affordable, and allows equity in
the access to resources. The alternative to
industrial technology should have aspects
accommodating the needs of the rich and
also the poor. The rich need a technology
to allow them to achieve their desired living
conditions without unnecessary depletion of
natural resources, whereas the poor require
technology suitable for their survival needs
(Wang 1991:11). These technologies should
be cheap, simple and effective. Among the
alternative technologies are for example biogas
plants, which make use of waste products,
are environment friendly, and could be used
for fertiliser production and to produce gas
for cooking purposes in rural areas, thereby
minimising the need for firewood.
Intermediate technology is concerned with
small-scale industries starting with existing
techniques and using knowledge of advanced
techniques to transform or improve them
(Rondinelli & Ruddle 1978:105-106). In poor
communities technological innovations must
be inexpensive and of minimal risk. Thus to
be relevant, the demand for products must be
within the purchasing power of the consumers.
Another form of intermediate technology is
village technology aimed at small farmers. It
is advocated that innovations in this respect
should begin at the current level of village
competence, for example using traditional
carpenters or blacksmiths. Materials used
should be locally available at low costs.
“Village technology should seek principally
to reduce bottlenecks and constraints in
production systems” (Rondinelli & Ruddle
1978:104). Intermediate technology must
be made available to those interested and
requiring it. Knowledge can be transmitted
through training and information channels
from one place to another. A central authority
gathering, researching and providing relevant
information, can be a useful point to start with
the dissemination process.
The term ‘appropriate technology’ is defined
by Napier, et al. (1987:1) as “technology that
is appropriate to the needs of a particular
society at its present level of development,
since different cultural and geographic groups
require different technologies.
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