NaturalFreeChoice.com is a blog about permaculture. The mission of this blog is to help people learn about how to become sustainable and live harmoniously in relation to our earth. It is about responsible consumption, community values, sustainable production of food and other related information.
Technology for Permaculture
Choosing the right technology helps to protect our environment, and at the same time makes our work easier, this type of technology is called appropriate technology. It is designed taking into consideration the ethical, community, economical, and cultural aspects from where it is going to be used.
There are some characteristics that describe this technology like the reduction of electric use, reduction of labor, uses renewable energy and materials that are friendly for the environment, etc.
Following are some example of this technology with a brief description:
1) Solar cookers
a) Use heat from the sun and cooks slow
b) There are several designs:
1) Heat trap boxes
2) Curve concentrators (parabolic)
3) Panel cookers
2) Solar dryers
a) Can be used to dry vegetables and fruits
b) Some designs are:
1) Plastic dryers: made of wood frame and wrapped with a clear plastic
2) Wood and glass dryers: uses air flow
3) Water pumps (no electricity)
a) Solar power pumps: Powered by the sun
b) Treadle pumps: foot operated water lifting device
c) Ram pumps: can pump water above a source of flowing water with no other power required
4) Biogas systems
a) Uses methane generated from human and animal waste
b) Used for cooking, to create electricity, for gas lights, etc.
Appropriate technology also includes solar energy systems, wind systems, hydroelectric systems, etc. These technologies helps communities become more sustainable and can be adapted according to the community needs.
Following are some links where you can find information related to appropriate technologies:
http://www.solarcooking.org/plans/
http://www.regia.org/ovens.htm
http://www.geda.org.in/solar/so_slr_dry_how.htm
