Appropriate technology villages are places where people live with, make and demonstrate appropriate technology, i.e. technology for sustainability, affordability and appropriateness to its setting. They have similarities with ecovillages and some sustainability-oriented communes, and all these concepts overlap to a degree.
Real world examples:
Asia:
- The Smoke-Free Village in Andhra Pradesh, India
- AurovilleW in India (though the emphasis is broader, and there is a spiritual basis).
Australia and Oceania
Europe
- CAT - Centre for Alternative TechnologyW in Machynlleth Mid-Wales - an old slate quarry which has been a centre for demonstrating and teaching appropriate technology since 1974.
- Monte Cerro Solar Power Village - A project of the Tamera Community
- Arboricoli A highly sophisticated Experiment of the Damanhur Community in Italy
See also the Directory of European eco-centres http://www.cat.org.uk/links/links.tmpl?subdir=links&sku=LINKS_EECSR
Latin America
North America
- Open Source Ecology - Factor E Farm Facility
- University of the Nations' "Appropriate Technology Village" in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii[1] (University of the Nations appears to be a Christian university focused on missionary work.)
Proposed examples:
- Vinay Gupta, Smári McCarthy and Chriswaterguy have speculated about setting one up, possibly in the South of India or elsewhere in Asia. (We could live in Hexayurts.)
- A similar concept is Living Co-laboratories, developed by Marcin Jakubowski and Richard Schulte
- ApTech Village, Bangladesh, "a supportive measure that plans to “show-case” technology to enable transfer of necessary know-how as well as building up of economic, technical, and managerial capabilities for the efficient use and further development of the transferred technology."
- The Self-help Corporation [2] or Community Investment Enterprise is a way to organize people and resources that are excess to the market - allowing integrated production for consumption by the participants. Such an organization is uniquely suited to employ appropriate technologies as it solicits contributions of labor instead of contributions of capital. David Braden