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Sharing knowledge to build rich, sustainable lives.

Appropedia is for collaborative solutions
in sustainability, appropriate technology and poverty reduction.

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Windmillprint-crop.jpg Yes it is possible to print a windmill with a 3D printer for a fraction of the cost of manufacturing one conventionaly. Learn more about open-source 3-D printing of open source appropriate technology for sustainable development.


Sectional view of sand dam
Sand dams. Drought is the most serious natural hazard facing Eastern Africa in terms of severity and frequency of occurrence. The most seriously affected areas are Arid and Semi Arid Lands (ASALS) that face frequent reduction of water or moisture to significantly below the normal or expected amount Pastoralists and agro pastoralists who occupy this vast region barely meet basic water requirements. Consequently they suffer from livelihood losses, hunger, diseases, conflict and internal displacements. The worst affected are women and children who may have to walk all day long in search of water.

Due to limited and unreliable rainfall most rivers are ephemeral seasonal sandy bed streams and only experience heavy water run-off for short periods of time after rain. During such periods of high flows, large quantities of sand are transported downstream while others get trapped on the upstream sides of rocks ledges along the stream. Such sand traps form natural aquifers that are capable of providing clean adequate water if well harnessed. Using appropriate technologies this can be exploited for water storage in the form of sand dams.

Wild Chick Farm

Recent winners of the $25,000 Economic Fuel award. Wild Chick Farm pecks ahead on local sustainable chicken raising.

Albert Einstein
The only source of knowledge is experience.

— Albert EinsteinW
You can have a green Christmas.
Green living (or sustainable living) is about practical choices, large and small, to preserve the earth and have a better quality of life. It is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual's or society's use of the Earth's natural resources and his or her own resources.

In order to make sustainable choices, it is very helpful to have solid, reliable information that tells us which behaviors are sustainable and which are unsustainable. In quantitative terms, which actions will make the greatest difference, and should be prioritized. Green living can be high tech (buying a hybrid vehicle), low tech (green cleaning, or completely "back to nature." It can be smart grid or off the grid. Sustainable city living explains some of the areas of action for a city dweller.

Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption and diet. Proponents of sustainable living aim to conduct their lives in ways that are consistent with sustainability, in natural balance and respectful of humanity's symbiotic relationship with the Earth's natural ecology and cycles. The practice and general philosophy of ecological living is highly interrelated with the overall principles of sustainable development.

edit  watch  Selected service learning Projects gallery (refresh)

Engr305 Appropriate Technology Projects: Below are selected service learning projects from Engr305 Appropriate Technology, which is a course on appropriate technology at Humboldt State University taught by instructor Lonny Grafman.

AEF food dehydrator
A solar dehydrator to help preserve surplus crops  
AEF greywater
Greywater system at the CSA, Arcata Educational Farm  
AEF informational kiosk
An earthen informational kiosk  
AEF photovoltaic system
Modified off-grid photovoltaic system  
AEF solar water heater
Improved solar water heating system  
AEF spiral herb garden
Restored the existing herb spiral  

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Selected categories

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New pages being developed:
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  2. LCOE and CHP
  3. LCOE and PV
  4. Photovoltaics energy: Improved modeling and analysis of the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and grid parity – Egypt case study
  5. Lounge decor ideas
  6. Auto-Clearance Adjustable Tripple Hotend Effector.
  7. Bayside Park Farm rainwater catchment system
  8. PV and Generator Hybrid System
  9. Auto-Clearance Adjustable Triple Hotend Effector
  10. Bayside Park Farm living roof

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