("AT")
RESOURCE DIRECTORY
(COVERING LOW-TECH, OFF-GRID,
ALTERNATIVE/RENEWABLE ENERGY,
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND
APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY)
-
PEACE CORPS RESOURCES
-
Member, Friends of African Outlet
VISION
Friends of African Outlet
projects like the water pump and wheelchair to Africa, have started to address
problems faced by indigenous cultures in developing countries, and begun to
offer solutions, where negotiable with technology, delivered as personal and
village life support and enhancement tools.
The gear is characterized as being "off-grid, alternative/renewable
energy, sustainable development and appropriate technology" and is greatly
aided by the already-existing directories of accumulated resources that have
been developed as the Product Catalogs of organizations like the Whole Earth,
Real Goods and Sustainable Village companies.
A number of issues have begun to emerge from these developments:
(1)
Village Profile Status Checklist: Currently, finding solutions to problems
coming over from the villages depends upon individual reports from people
spotting a situation, people who "happen by", and the like. Struggling
or suffering folk may often be too ashamed/embarrassed to ask for help or too
humiliated to go begging; further, they may not even be aware of medical and/or
technical problems that a more proactive inquiry might turn up. A more proactive
approach to problem determination, perhaps invoking what might be called a
"Village Profile Status Checklist", may prove effective. The Checklist
would be a tool such that, when a village is encountered, there is a regular
procedure for determining the initial overall status of the community, what's
working, what's not, what's lacking, is there health hazard, illness, is there
school, hospital, and so on, in order to get an overall picture of what needs
doing, before figuring out what are the problem solutions and projects.
(2)
Solution Implementation Strategy: Once a solution to a problem is found,
what is the best way to implement and deliver the solution? Will each situation
encountered require a unique approach or is there a more general, even
"generic" pattern of technology delivery? How can we assure the
solution is installed and setup properly at it's intended target and not
intercepted by unscrupulous members of corrupt political organizations and sold
for personal profit? Once installed, what insures the maintenance, repair and
development of the system? Lastly, while having relied upon specific problems
being spotted and brought to attention by individuals (the Mali lady's water
pump, Horgan's wheelchair), how can 2-way communication be established with the
village members to determine a village's overall status and needs?
(3)
Low-Tech Path: While the Real Goods and Sustainable Village Product Catalogs
gear goes a long way towards a robust solution to many, if not most, problems,
the gear presented often represents a first instance version that is typically
"high tech" - an example would be a windmill, implemented in a
turbine-engine design, costing thousands of dollars and utilizing unique
high-tech component parts. What's needed is to develop or locate a compendium of
low-tech versions of the many items in the Product Catalogs.
PEACE CORPS INQUIRY
Considering that Friends of African Outlet is not the first group to address
these problems, and considering how similar these projects are to the work done
by thousands of people since the 1960's via our governmental organization known
as "The Peace Corps", it would seem advisable to contact the Peace
Corps directly for potential guidance and resources. I wrote a letter describing
the concerns and asking the questions, as excerpted below:
Dear Peace Corps,
I
wonder if you would help me track down a Peace Corps resource, if it exists.
Is there such a thing as (what I would call) a "Village Profile
Status Checklist" that the Peace Corps has developed over the years, so that when you enter a new village, you have a regular
procedure for determining the initial overall status of a village, what's
working, what's not, what's lacking, is their health hazard, illness, is there
school, hospital, etc. I'm visualizing something like a "structured
checklist" where you assess the
The
reason I'm asking for this checklist...is, I have a Nigerian friend, Horgan,
who, with his wife, Judah, run the "African Outlet" store in San
Francisco…Recently he went back to Nigeria (his Mom's a schoolteacher there)
and was very saddened to learn the village hospital had no wheelchairs...He is
really moved to try and help personally... Horgan & us "Friends of
Africa" have formed an African Community Group that meets monthly the 1st
Sunday at African Outlet at 4pm (all welcome) and we're finding from amongst our
dozen (& growing) mostly African members, similar problems with villages
"back home". We want to do "peace corps-like" work, but as
community member volunteers helping their folks back home.
We
are finding solutions to problems coming over from the villages but would like
to take a more organized, comprehensive, proactive approach to problem
determination - suffering folk are often too ashamed/embarrassed to ask for help
or too humiliated to go begging - hence the "checklist".
Our feeling is, rather than reinvent wheels, why not learn from the
"masters" at this, the Peace Corps, if they have methods,
procedures…and these tools might already be available in paper/online
libraries, then why not use these to model our own efforts on, to achieve a much
more efficient and effective delivery system....
For
example, for Horgan's wheelchairs, my wife...(located)...a course "How to
Build a Wheelchair"...developed from...Whirlwind Wheelchair International
Wheelchair Program...So what we're wondering now is, to paraphrase, if we were
using "Peace Corps-like" methodology, what would we be doing for the
next steps? Can we in general develop a basic methodology for (a) determining
the problem set (the "checklist"), (b) finding a solution (our current
specialty), and (c) implementing the delivery, setup, installation, maintenance
and development in a consistent, reliable, dependable manner?
"
I
accessed the Peace Corps website and submitted the query to their online
"Submit Information" form, by taking the following route:
Peace
Corps Homepage > Contact
Us > Questions
and Comments
> Step 2: Select a Topic > My question/comment is about:
> Field manuals developed by the Peace Corps about languages,
training, etc.
> Step 3: Fill Out the Form (entered my email query "Village Profile
Status Checklist") and Press "Send" (the "Submit
Information" button)
PEACE CORPS RESPONSE
Reply To: (1) Village Profile Status Checklist (2) Solution Implementation
Strategy
I got back an email reply from Peace Corps ICE Resource Center Library
Technician Douglas Moors,
as reproduced
below:
"
-----Original
Message-----
From: Moors, Douglas [mailto:DMoors@PeaceCorps.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, March/11 6:34a
To: 'cliff@cresswell.net'
Subject: RE: Questions and Comments: Village Profile Status Checklist?
Hello
Mr. Thompson,
I
believe you are referring to the Peace Corps publication "Promoting
powerful people" which is used to train Volunteers to:
1.
Listen and observe in the community to understand the community's strengths,
desires, needs, and problems.
2. Discuss and decide with community members what solutions and actions they
will take to change their reality.
3. Communicate effectively (counseling, training, facilitating group
discussions) with community members.
4. Develop and use print, folk media, and locally recorded materials.
5. Assess the results of the community's project by listening and observing
again.
There
are chapters on Asking Questions, Community Mapping, Observation, Participatory
Sorting and Ranking, etc.
This training manual is available for downloading from the Peace Corps Online
Library:
Go to http://www.peacecorps.gov and scroll down to the heading "About the
Peace Corps" and double click on the subheading "Online Library".
On the library page, scroll down to "Index of all publications" and
locate "Promoting powerful people".
The file is in PDF format, which retains all the layout, text, and graphics of
the printed version. Due to
printing costs and Volunteer demand, we are unable to provide hard copies to the
public. The Online Library was
created to make Peace Corps publications accessible to anyone with internet
access.
Another popular title among trainers is "The Thin Book of Appreciative
Inquiry" which is available though your local or online book retailer.
The
overall concept being that someone is not simply filling out a checklist and
then telling the community what to do, but rather listening to and working with
the community to achieve it's goals (Participatory Analysis/Appreciative
Inquiry).
Douglas
Moors
Library Technician
Peace Corps
ICE Resource Center
"
Reply
To: (3) Low-Tech Path
While searching the
Internet for a catalog of low-tech versions of the Real Goods/Sustainable
Village Product Catalogs, I ran across a Peace Corps Newsgroup Q&A email concerning a "fabled" Peace Corps low-tech compendium that
read, as excerpted below…
Q. Peace Corps Low-Tech Survival Kit - 11/30/97...Years ago, I heard the
Peace Corps had developed a 'survival kit' that contained information in the
form of microfilms and a manual microfilm viewer that could be illuminated by
candles or sunlight, all in a single portable case...These microfilms provided
various methods for purifying water, basic agriculture, basic health, housing
construction and other life sustaining technologies…as low-tech as
possible…It seems like something that every community or group should have…
A. From: David Book…To: Jerry Decker…Date: Mon, 1 Dec 1997 17:16:32 -0500
…Subject: your info request…Here it IS!!…This might be what you are
looking for:...Appropriate Technology Library...An AT Library for your
desktop!...The most comprehensive, practical, and economical Appropriate
Technology reference collection ever compiled. 138,650 pages from 1000 books and
documents on microfiche at 5% of the original book cost. At the tip of your
fingers information on agricultural tools and techniques, crop storage, water
supply, forestry, aqua-culture, improved cookstoves, solar/wind/water power,
biogas, transportation, health care, communications, small industries, and all
other small scale technology topics. "If you work overseas, you need this
book and the library." - Whole Earth Catalog...Respectfully, David Book
"
Resource: Peace Corps Online
Library Community Development Training Manuals
Areas
Covered:
(1) Village Profile Status
Checklist
(2) Solution Implementation
Strategy
To
access the Peace Corps Training Manual "Promoting powerful
people" from the Online Library "Index of all publications"
section, follow the "Index…" section links below.
While the Index is comprehensive, a more useful grouping of training
materials related to village "AT" projects can be found in the
"Community Development" section. Besides listing the "Promoting
powerful people" training, the section also offers follow-on and related
training, a number of which are listed below. All of the Training Manuals are
viewable/downloadable as PDF files from the Community Development page or
directly below (in Windows, to view, left-click, to download, right click and
"Save Target As…"):
Peace Corps Online Library:
Index of all publications section:
"Promoting powerful people"
Peace Corps Homepage > About
the Peace Corps > Online
Library > Index
of all publications > "Promoting
powerful people"
Community
Development section:
Training Manuals:
Peace Corps Homepage > About
the Peace Corps > Online
Library > Community
Development
The
New Project Design and Management Workshop Training Manual
Peace
Corps Programming and Training Manual
Booklet 1:
The Basics
Booklet 2:
How to Design or Revise a Project
Booklet 3:
How to Integrate Second and Third Goals into a Project
Booklet 4:
How to Assess a Project
Booklet 5:
How to Implement a Project
A
Community Economic Development (CED) Training Guide for Peace Corps Volunteers
(full manual, intro + all mods)
Introduction
Module 1:
Understanding Community Economic Development (CED)
Module 2:
Citizen Participation in CED
Module 3:
Developing a CED Strategic Agenda
Module 4:
Implementing a CED Strategic Agenda
Module 5:
Monitoring and Evaluating CED Projects
A
"Promoting powerful people" related book recommend by the Peace Corps Library:
"The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry"
Amazon
Resource: Peace Corps
Appropriate Technology Library
Areas
Covered:
(3) Low-Tech Path
The Appropriate Technology
Library is available both on Microfiche and CD. As noted on it's website,
"The Appropriate Technology Library contains the complete text and images
from over 1,050 of the best books on all areas of village-level and
do-it-yourself technologies...over 150,000 pages! In use in over 130 countries
by Peace Corps Volunteers, development and relief organizations, engineers, and
missionaries, the Appropriate Technology library is the most comprehensive,
compact, and cost effective information resource in the world!...The AT
Library's simple cataloging system and the microfiche version's "card
catalog" are conveniently located in the AT Sourcebook which is included
with both the CD-ROM and Microfiche formats. It's easy to use so the books are
easy to find. All of the books contained in the AT Library are reviewed in the
AT Sourcebook…Over 1050 titles on appropriate technology - all in one place -
have been carefully selected for their relevance and value...Having a resource
like the AT Library in the office, enables your staff to quickly research
spontaneous ideas, encouraging creative solutions...A new user can learn how the
whole system works in a matter of minutes...".
The
Complete AT Library comes on 27 CD-ROMS. The Website homepage offers a salient
comparison of the Original Paper Copies vs. CD-ROM versions in terms of cost of
a 1050 volume reference library (paper: $14,500 vs. 27 CD-ROMS: $495), weight
(paper: 800lbs vs. CD: 1lb) and Storage Space Required (paper: One large room
vs. CD: Space of a single book). The
homepage furthers offers a list of "Subjects Covered in the AT
library" and link to a "complete list of books in the AT
Library".
Appropriate
Technology Library
AT Sourcebook
AT Library Subject CD's
Complete
list of books in the AT Library
Resource:
Peace Corps Online Bulletin Board (BBS) and Newsgroup
The original "Peace Corps
Inquiry" titled "Is there a Village Profile Status Checklist?"
was also posted to the Peace Corps Online News Library Bulletin Board by their
Webmaster Hugh ("Admin1") Pickens. The
"(#)" by the message title
indicates the number of message-threaded replies. The original
Appropriate Technology Library Newsgroup Q&A email is also on the Web.
Peace Corps:
Bulletin
Board
(On 4/2/03 the message was 7th from the top)
Is
there a Village Profile Status Checklist?
(direct link to message)
Appropriate
Technology Library:
Newsgroup Q&A email
Resource: Peace Corps Online Library and Appropriate Technology Library
Documents PDF Format
All of the documents in the Peace Corps Online Library, (in such sections as
"Community Development", for example "Promoting powerful
people"), as well as all of the documents on the Appropriate Technology
Library CD's, are stored in Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF file format. This means
that the files can be read on virtually any type of desktop or laptop
computer (Apple, IBM, etc). Recently,
Adobe came out with a Reader for such wireless, mobile, "PDA"
platforms as the "Pocket PC", which fits in a pocket and is less to
lug around that a laptop. Some Pocket PC's support pairs of "Expansion
Slots" each capable of supporting removable matchbook-sized memory cards
holding up to (currently) 5 Gigabytes of data each, which could effectively
contain the entire Peace Corps and Appropriate Technology Libraries on 4 cards.
Once
the PDF files are downloaded to the PC, they can be further
"dragged-&-dropped" onto the Pocket PC, which is
"cradled" and attached by cable to, and "Auto Synchronized"
with, the PC. The software automatically handles any reformatting for the Pocket
PC and does an excellent job, as demonstrated by the sample "landscape
display mode" screen prints below, of the Peace Corps "Promoting
powerful people" training manual running on my Pocket PC.
Pocket
PC
Dual-Slot PC Card Expansion Pack
Toshiba
5GB Type II PC Card hard disk
Pocket
PC Phone Edition
Adobe Acrobat
for Pocket PC
Sun Catcher Sport portable solar charger
Peace Corps "Promoting powerful people" training manual running on
Pocket PC (click on thumbnail picture to zoom)
RELATED GOVERNMENTAL RESOURCES
Resource: African Embassies
"Portal No1 To
Africa" offers a comprehensive list of "African Embassies On The
Net".
Portal No1
to Africa African Embassies on the
Net