APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY
("AT")
RESOURCE DIRECTORY


(COVERING LOW-TECH, OFF-GRID,
ALTERNATIVE/RENEWABLE ENERGY,
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND
APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY)
-
PEACE CORPS RESOURCES

-

  Compiled by Cliff Thompson,
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 village & it's "eco/urban environment" using a kind of (hierarchical?) "Systems approach", maybe starting with the buildings/dwellings, then the water system, then any power systems, etc", that you would first use to get an overall picture of what needs doing, before you start figuring what the project(s) will be. If there is such a "Checklist", what's it called and has the Peace Corps put it on the web somewhere or can it be obtained by mail?

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 Do
uglas 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

"


PEACE CORPS RESOURCES

 
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

Promoting Powerful People

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