• A. Do You Want A Small Business
• B. Do You Want A Cheap Chair?
• C. Do You Want An Improved Cookstove?
• D. Do You Want Solar Energy?
• E. Do You Not Want Traditional Health Care?

Here I present several essays which exemplify what I earlier called zero technology. The examples also provide technical detail to text in the main body of this Occasional Paper.

A. Do You Want A Small Business

Many church leaders have come to our project asking for ideas on small businesses through which pastors could supplement their income without giving up their congregational work. Everybody competes for such extra income! AT does not provide a magic way for overcoming commercial competition.

The need for jobs and markets is very real, the rural farm becomes too small for sustaining the family, and urban living requires payment for every desired service.

It is ironic to try to create small businesses in the midst of a corporate society in which "merging" is a way of surviving. Common capitalistic understandings of efficiency demand automated and standardized production, thus allowing little room for small businesses.

Our motivation for supporting new small business was not only the real need for income, but also the potential for developing personal gifts in craftsmanship, satisfaction, and family sustenance. Moreover, in the majority of the cases we were called to support already existing concrete local initiative. Our focus was to support business and markets close to home, thus avoiding the move to urbanization. That calls for different community and commercial values, and a real participation of the entire family and even the neighborhood.

Hereafter I share some observations on promise and problems with small business;

1. Through the years our AT workshop became in a sense a small business. We sold cement, rented a telephone, sold homemade peanut butter and soap, etc. That made it easier for visitors to come in; they could buy something instead of having to beg for a service. There was no clear line between business and service!

2. Instead of only emphasizing production and income generation, we also checked on what I called elsewhere the zero approach; taking better care of what we have. In other words, we encouraged a sewing cooperative not only to produce for the market, but also to stimulate the members to improve and maintain their own clothing.

3. Much of our work was not commercially marketable. Nobody becomes rich by encouraging a community to take their traditional health care system as seriously as the pharmacy. Another example is that building mud stoves requires skill and training, but by the time a local craftsman is trained he will find that most of the market in his village has already been satisfied during the training process.

4. It is easier to market an artifact (though it may not be very useful) than to ask for money for good advice (though it may be useful).

5. Few programs aimed at supporting small business understand adequately the regular risks of living in marginal areas: coup d'etats, hyper-inflation, strikes, extreme weather conditions, poor communication systems, failing public transportation, etc.

6. Traditionally many people live according to solar time and season. They plant, weed, harvest, feast, do pottery and weaving, marry and all, on appropriate schedules. Such age-old traditions are actually very well balanced. Introduction of commercial production can upset that well-balanced system.

7. In order to maintain and improve small business, the children have to study more than when they only had to labor on the land with inherited traditional skill. This means a quantum leap for required profits (much more than foreseen for daily sustenance) so that such studies can be paid for.

8. One of the most subtle enemy of small business is probably the extended family, in which those who have cash are the first to be called on in case of a concrete need. Such a need may be a mother-in-law with a toothache, or a sister-in-law who is divorced and needs support for her broken family. The cash and credit line of the new entrepreneur provides the most obvious first aid, and very few are prepared to say "no!"

9. The other most subtle enemy of small business for the poor is that its market is also among the poor, so everything needs to be as cheap as possible.

Only a responsible society offers opportunity for small business because its dedication and tailor-made services can never be equalled by big corporate moneymakers!

B. Do You Want A Cheap Chair?

It is more difficult to make a good chair for a poor family than for a rich family, because the first may not have a flat floor. In our carpenters' tradition we do not easily envision how to make a good, stable and solid chair on three legs. Three legs would provide stability on an uneven floor.

The point of this essay is thus that working for the poor tends to be more cumbersome and expensive than working for the affluent.

However, the poor have different ways of doing things. I have discovered a wide variety of seating methods which may not only be a cheaper solution for the poor, but may also provide a healthier seat for the affluent. Of course, acceptance depends upon our willingness to adapt our cultural and physical appreciations.

1. In India and China people are accustomed to squatting.

2. In Guatemala people are used to kneeling.

3. In Honduras people take an "in-between position," or in some cases look for a rock to put under their heels.

4. Some North American Indians sit (like Buddha) with crossed legs on the ground, they appreciate being in direct relation to mother earth. Old photographs show "the natives" sitting on the ground when they meet with the white men on chairs.

5. In South Yemen people carry a belt which supports them when they sit on the ground, enabling them to have their hands free and eventually even to have a nap without losing balance.

6. Western civilization has made us believe that the only way to defecate is to sit on a pedestal. In fact that is not only unhygienic, it also causes our anal muscles not to relax completely, which in turn causes more pressure which causes us to experience hemorrhoids more easily. Throughout Southern Europe we can find luxurious squatting plates, and the truth is that the vast majority of the world's population could never imagine using such a pedestal.

C. Do You Want An Improved Cookstove?

A good place to talk about fire and improvement of cookstoves is around an open fire. The fireplace is essential to family and community life all over the world. An "improved cookstove," though healthier and more efficient, often takes away this center (focus-fireplace).

The fireplace can be improved in many ways: reduced wood use, less smoke, gas substituting for electricity, more convenience and attraction for the user, etc.

My particular experience is with wood stoves, and I am grateful for having been able to participate in quite successful work. Through that involvement I understood the four levels of technology: hardware, software, environment and zero- technology. I also understood Elluls' classification of a design; desired effect, expected effect and unexpected effect. I understood how poorly I was prepared for my job. I believed that all open fires make to have a place for Lorena stoves (Lorena is a massive stove of clay and sand mix.) Only after several years did I learn that maintaining a fire is an art. Since I, in my kitchen, simply push a button, I ignored all that is involved in select- ing, carrying, cutting, drying and arranging of the firewood. Yet I told the poor (our target) that their open fires were wrong. Now, instead of imposing well- engineered stoves from the out- side, I became challenged to en- courage the refinement of the art of fire-making. That makes the cheapest, improved cookstove because n o investment needs to be made by the user, yet the users' morale can get a boost because of the recognition of her craft. A main contribution from the technician is to raise systematical awareness of what the user already knew instinctively: heat is transmitted by radiation, conduction and convection; fire is a mixture of cold air and hot gases from the firewood. Once this is clearly understood, step by step physical improvements can result. The fire gets shielded to keep the heat in and excessive cold air out. The distance between fire and pot is more carefully observed. The smoke is guided away from the incoming air. Chimneys draft too much smoke if not appropriately dampened. Secondary pots may be heated between the main fire and the chimney, etc.

Some technical remarks in random order;

1. Choose the right fuel for the required use. Firewood does not make much sense in Libya's desert. Kerosene does not make much sense in Guatemala's still abundant forests. Heat-generated electricity is of too high a quality (energy level) to be downgraded to simple space or food heating.

2. Chimneys limit potential for really high efficiencies, because they require part of the heat for causing the draft. If the fire is more efficient, and hotter, there will also be less smoke produced. Effective reduction of smoke also reduces the need for the chimney.

3. Along with the introduction of improved cookstoves, attention should be paid to the planting of appropriate firewood trees in appropriate places.

4. Major savings can be achieved if trees are used up more carefully, including trunks, branches, etc.

5. Rice or beans require significantly different fires and stoves. Some people thus promote completely different diets, e.g. saying that the Mayas should switch from their sacred corn to soya. That may be an option, but way down the road, especially if the affluent themselves do not even consider choosing their diet on the basis of energy-input in production and processing of their food.

6. Stoves are often promoted in an effort to reduce deforestation. That is a valid reason for every community, however in many places the main reasons for deforestation are war, infrastructure, urbanization, increased beef production, exploitation of natural resources, unwise logging ,etc.

7. Direct health reasons may be the most direct benefits for the family. Smoke as a result of poor combustion (cold fire) can create counts of up to several hundreds of parts in toxic components. Women are exposed to smoke loads and accompanying health risks which equal smoking up to two packages of cigarettes per day. If they are pregnant, or carrying a young baby on their back, the young life gets an equal share in its blood.

8. Systematical study of acceptance of stoves in Guatemala showed that the majority of users did prefer the stove because it was more attractive, not because of health, economy or any other reason.

D. Do You Want Solar Energy?

The sun is of overarching importance to us. Without it, nobody would move, spirits would not be lifted up, no flower would give delight, no car would drive. The following is my journey of solar discovery. As an architect in training I heard futuristic talk about photo voltaics, and parabolic mirrors. Later, I heard about solar herb and fruit drying and solar cooking ovens. I bought my own solar pocket calculator. Now after years of practices, I saw these arti-facts work perfectly, and I support ongoing development of solar energy applications. In AT I learned, however, that solar technologies are often expensive and not available at the place of need. But, I learned also that the places of need have their own way of harmonizing with solar energy, thus setting useful examples for the affluent society.

1. The following quote about clever technology gives an appropriate example from the animal world. "One Australian termite builds its mound in the shape of a wedge, a dozen feet high, and as many long. This long, thin mound always points directly north-south, like a compass needle. The orientation of the nest protects the termites from overheating, since one side of the mound receives sunlight for only half a day, and the noon sun strikes only its thin edge." (Ref 1)

2. I look at my friends from traditional cultures. Many have learned to live quite harmoniously with the sun. Their houses have heavy walls of adobe, rock, bajaraque (a traditional way of building walls using cornstalks and mud), etc. The roofs are made of clay tiles, palm thatch or wooden shingles, providing adequate ventilation and a rather cool and shady interior. These friends live and work outside, wearing palm hats, and their daily schedule does not require air conditioning. They learned to live with the active cooling shade of a tree, or a breeze. They plant and harvest what is adapted to the climate.

3. I look at the affluent who are creating their own environment. In San Antonio, Texas, it is illegal to hang the laundry outside, where it can dry and bleach (wash white) by virtue of solar energy. That would be a really cheap and clean solution, but society doesn't prefer it.

4. I made a serious effort to promote solar cabinet dryers, but found out, in spite of the perfect function of the cabinet, the profit on the dried product was not worth the investment in time and care for the cabinet. Then I learned that traditionally the people hang baskets, covered with cloth (against the dust), in the sun for the same dry- ing. When the drying is done, the baskets and covering cloth can be immediately used for other purposes. I can not think of any higher efficiency!

E. Do You Not Want Traditional Health Care?

People, but also animals, plants and our entire ecosystem, can be sick in several ways. Let us restrict our discussion to people. Mainstream Western society suffers diseases due to smoking, traffic, industrial accidents, pollution, etc. Mennonites suffer from overworking and overeating. Qakchikeles die mainly because of intestinal and respiratory diseases and violence.

One of the main differences between these extremes is the cost and specialization of treatments.

Another difference is the mainstream experience of the population. Our Guatemalan friends have so much experience with natural ways of healing (herbs, massages, time, etc.) that they believe that they can beat every disease with such treatments. Moreover, they are poor, so they have no other chance than to try their other way! In the West we are so alienated from those domestic means, that we don't believe in anything other than expensive commercial treatments, and even come to see the delivery of a baby as a disease which can only be treated in a hospital.

Even the understanding of the word "traditional" is different. I talk here about "traditional" in the sense of age-old ways of relating to nature, whereas our western society see its conventional health technique as "traditional."

A commonality between the two approaches is that many diseases are preventable, and in a sense a result of poor management of society and human nature. That is a disease in itself! In the United States we know of many cases of overeating, while in Guatemala undereating is more common. In other words, too much fat in the United States and too little in Guatemala. Ironically, today's economic development comes with promotion of often nonessential foods, so that it leads, in spite of abundancy, to malnourishment.

The major conflict between the two approaches may well be the scientific argument: "as long as we can not explain we cannot believe." While it depends on which kind of stomachache we talk about, there is no sense in discouraging treatment of common stomachaches with peppermint. We did it as children in the Netherlands; I found the practice in Guatemala, and now in the United States. Especially there is no sense in sending the poor to the pharmacy. They can not pay and will thus not receive any cure at all.

The simple attitude of expectation towards nature may well be an important element in healing. Traditional medicine is much more than just herbal medicine. Another point to be stressed is that traditional health is not good only for the poor because it is cheap, but it is good for all because it tends to be much less harmful, if well administered of course. But correct and responsible administration of medicine is important in all possible approaches.

Sun is a medicine. It provides the energy for life, it makes our food grow, it stimulates production of vitamins in our own body, it gives us a sense for timing, etc.

Time is a medicine. Many people are sick because they do not have time to rest, to reflect, to relate to others, or to have their own body come to their defense. An old, experienced doctor in West Virginia told me that many people would be better off waiting one day before coming to him, and they would see that, in the meantime, their own body could defeat the problem. A doctor with time for the patient is, in general, a better doctor.

Good food is a medicine. People do not get sick as much if they eat well. Carrots are delicious, give appetite and energy, and provide vitamin A. Lemons refresh and build up resistance through vitamin C. We learn about carbohydrates, fiber, proteins, etc., and all that is available in good food. Confucius inversed our concept of health and food even more when he wrote: "when the doctors go by foot and the bakers by horse, than the country is well governed."

Clean water is a medicine. With lemon or salt, it washes and disinfects common wounds to the point where the body can do the rest. It helps to flush bladder infections, keeps us awake, and so much more!

Good people are a medicine. Many common diseases would be unknown if we would care well for each other. Moreover, some people have the gift of healing. As a friend they can hear and work through the sorrow and pain of somebody's life, or their hands know to touch and pressure some crucial points in the body and relax physical and mental hurt. Some massage schools in Japan only admit blind people, because they are believed to have better developed senses in their fingers.

Much could be added about clay, fresh air, heat, physical activity, a good roof, a good story and so on. Even music belongs to the list: King Saul called for David's harp when he was depressed. Today mental depression is a major disease and source of income for the health industry.

Traditional health does not mean to keep people away from professional modern medical advances, but it can not see progress in taking common responsibility out of the sensitive hands of common people, by putting it in the hands of a professional elite who measures health in terms of money.

Good people teach us that there is no plant, animal or mineral on earth without a purpose. In theological terms they ask "should God have made anything without a purpose?" Some of creation is poisonous, much is beneficial. No poison is believed to not have at least a neutralizing counterpart. But even the poisons may be of use in rare but well discerned cases, and sometimes the beneficials may make us sick if not taken in adequate doses. Good people in India believe goat milk to be healthy because a goat eats from so many different herbs and leaves. Other good people say of their dog: "it gets sick, goes out in the field and knows exactly which herb to chew on." That does not mean that dog will never die, but that it knows how to live.

Knowing how to live and how to die may be the best medicine. That brings me again to my Maya friends, who through those years of political oppression showed that they know both very well. One of them answered my question: "Traditional health care (and AT) is not oppressive; it offers itself to the people of healthy common sense, not only free of charge, but as a rewarding challenge to see nature as a potential friend."

I ponder this thought: "It is difficult to make big business out of traditional health care." I wonder what my future business will be--probably AT, technology in service of well-being for us all, abroad and at home!

XIRIJ TA!