Sustainable development advocates working abroad in the field of water supply and sanitation like to talk about the need for appropriate technology: the use of sturdy, effective equipment that can be repaired locally, is robust, and fits into the local culture. An example is installing hand-powered PVC and rope pumps into shallow dug wells for village water supply, rather than electrical submersible pumps that require more mony, an electrical supply and expensive parts and repairs.
I have worked on development of water supply on 3 continents, and know the frustration of finding broken, abandoned and useless water projects installed with good intentions by foreign workers only a few years before. And on a whitewater trip to Costa Rica, I found the perfect metaphor to illustrate, and demonstrate the success and satisfaction of a more apprpriate choice: The Potato Gun as appropriate technology!
In case you don't know, the potato gun is a home-built PVC and glue contraption that fires whole potatoes, with shocking velocity and limited accuracy, using a shot of fuel and a simple ignition spark. Mankind has long struggled to launch potatoes (or tomatillos, jicama, small mangoes or other locally grown produce) long distances to impress his drinking buddies. The satisaction of a successful potato shot, the root vegetable launching in a tongue of blue flame and becoming into a speck in the sky, as a pack of children of all ages clamor for a turn to fire it, is a slice of true domestic happiness.
It builds a feeling of comunity, and of connection between the generations (OK, between generations of silly guys; Moms usually don't get it) that has to be experienced to be understood. I find it also bridges a language gap very effectively and builds trust and common interest when you are a newcomer. You don't have to explain the potato gun, you just assemble and shoot it, and you are soon one of the community. Everyone understands the purpose (there is none) and the joins in the process of optimizing the experience. There is a natural tendency to suggest improvements, and try alterntive projectiles. Mandarin oranges and jicamas work pretty good, tomatoes and other fruits less so. Prettty soon, even in remote villages, sombody drags out an old broken TV to blast a potato into, and your team building mission is complete, joined with a cultural commentary on the worth of broadcast entertaiment. A wIn-win. Just watch out for local authority figures who might want to be consulted first. I have found that cops everywhere love potato guns, but they also love confiscating them.
Yet, fancy technological modifications, such as battery powered sparkers and propane tank fuel lines (to replace the traditional hand-sprayed shot of carburator cleaner accelerant) have prolifereated in designs in the United States. A potato gun arms race. It was not until I introduced the potato gun to the talented local river guides on the Pacure RIver in the Costa RIcan highlands that I understood the importance of using appropriate technology.
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Posted by: Guillermo - CEO Localyte.com | September 09, 2009 at 10:48 PM