In a consumer society transformed into a society of overconsumption, we use more resources than the Earth can replenish. Well, "we", Westerners, because elsewhere in the world, we know how to do the same things with simpler, more ecological and more artisanal techniques. As environmentalists of all stripes predict, it is urgent to learn to do things differently: go and discover low tech!
Low tech, what is it?
Did you know that you can operate a washing machine by pedaling a bicycle? That's the low tech spirit. We talk about "low tech", "low technology" in French, to designate simple technologies that work very well and that need little to exist and function. These are alternatives to modern systems and technologies, which can meet the needs of energy, food, water for housing and transport. And this as long as the low tech system has no impact, neither ecological nor social. This solution must also have an acceptable lifespan , be local and cheap. From this point of view, a bicycle is "low tech". Low tech is a bit like do it yourself applied to technologies. They are objects but also practices or lifestyles, which respond to the problems of resources that are not infinite thanks to another way of doing things. Low tech must be useful to individuals and/or the community (it can be an installation in a community). Behind the low tech philosophy also lies the idea of mutual aid and autonomy: everyone must be able to appropriate the system in question, use it and even transmit its use and implementation.
Low tech: better to prevent
Prevention rather than cure seems relatively impossible, at the rate things are going. On the other hand, we can prevent certain consequences of global warming and the scarcity of resources and learn to do without current systems by implementing alternative solutions. Society will have to change a large number of its processes, especially with regard to energy. If low-tech adaptations are emerging, timing is against us. Indeed, the entire system needs to be reviewed and certain problems are insoluble, leading for example to restrictions (as is already the case for water in the south of France every summer), or to rationing. Today, high-tech innovations are not really managing to save the planet, on the contrary... while conversely, low tech seems to be emerging everywhere to prevent future shortages, through ecological convictions or necessity. Little by little, these changes in habits towards low tech will become imposed on populations.
Examples of low tech
Low tech, inspired by the famous "system D", is another way of doing the same things, sometimes by yourself, with less. For example, with a few boards and nails, a window (for the greenhouse effect) and aluminum foil, you can make a solar oven that can heat up to 170° (if the weather is nice). This type of rudimentary equipment can also generate drinking water by pasteurization. You can also make mini wind turbines to recharge mobile phones or light a lamp using small motors. All you have to do is recover these small motors from discarded devices and attach small blades to them to get your homemade wind turbine! The famous washing machine that you turn by pedaling, by putting water and detergent in the drum, equipped with a pipe to evacuate the dirty water by gravity, washes without electricity. In Africa, we manufacture with Toyota car spare parts (the brand is very established in the region, no problem of supply to repair), some baby incubators but also terracotta refrigerators and tiny houses. Finally, a low tech is considered "low" compared to another existing technology for the same use: a pencil can for example be considered as a low tech compared to a plastic ballpoint pen which is more complicated, more polluting to manufacture and to dispose of.
Low tech: back to the Middle Ages?
When we talk about solar ovens or dry toilets, some people have difficulty admitting the interest of such installations, not to mention ironic remarks like "going back to candles" or the Amish model. Indeed, low tech means for some the loss of modern comfort, a social regression or even a sacrifice, like "getting by" or survival, without any notion of desirability. However, these "low technologies" could anticipate future shortages today by maintaining a pleasant level of comfort. The development of low tech could explore the last possible avenues of an economic and industrial system that is out of breath. The need for change requires all sectors to look into the development of such alternative solutions. Low tech is indeed one of the paths of the future: it allows us to reduce negative impacts on the environment and gain autonomy. With, as a bonus, a collaborative vision of society.
The ecological interests of low tech
Durable, robust, inexpensive, repairable, recyclable, accessible, functional, low tech is presented as THE possibility to live differently , as opposed to polluting and resource-intensive materials, and this without giving up the functionality of the object. In a difficult economic context accompanied by an environmental crisis, low tech systems can be built by almost anyone, often with recycled materials (Upcycling, i.e. making a new object with an old one, is in itself a kind of low tech), without many resources. They are also easily repairable by those who made them. These concepts of "frugal innovation" allow communities to solve their problems locally independently, with the means at hand, while respecting the principles of resilience and circular economy. Fewer resources, less pollution, less waste...
Low tech business
The low tech ideology is therefore that of sustainability. The idea? to live better with less, and to adopt more sober and collaborative lifestyles, by putting meaning back into everyday life. Low tech absolutely does not exclude trading in it, or mass producing, as long as the object is eco-friendly and meets the criteria of this concept. We can imagine local companies producing low tech systems, marketing them, being profitable with a controlled use of resources and the integration of ecological aspects at all stages of product development. These companies could quite easily distribute solar ovens or install dry toilets in a professional manner and make a lucrative business out of it. On the contrary, for consumers to change (we don't all have DIY skills), the emergence of such micro-enterprises that would work locally would be a virtuous path. To do this, we need to review the concept of technology, rely on collective intelligence and local cooperation. If low tech meets the basic needs of emerging countries, they are inspiring examples for our Western societies in terms of ingenuity, mutual aid and sobriety.
The collective vision of the Low Tech Lab
A system based solely on these techniques offers, as a bonus, a more united and more "reasonable" society. This is the vision of all the actors and founders of the LowTech Lab who have specialized in observing low tech all over the world. These pioneers have identified virtuous solutions combining respect for the environment, community autonomy and effective solutions for humans including an understanding of ecosystems for better cohabitation with them.
Their mission? to list and test all these discoveries to imagine a new world " The pooling of robust services rather than the sale of disposable products; open and free education and knowledge, decentralized, relocated, autonomous and interconnected spaces for creation, research and training; regenerated ecosystems, territories that their inhabitants know like the back of their hand; communities that share a sense of responsibility for their own resources as well as the fruits of their labor. " To discover the many lessons from these low-tech organizations via tutorials and freely accessible content: www.lowtechlab.org/fr .
If today's society can make us believe that current comfort is eternal, the essence of low tech could bring another vision that is more sober, more autonomous, more accessible and more united. These low technologies could be THE answer to the major challenges to come. The development of these technologies would also establish a fairer relationship between humans and nature. A notion of progress revisited for the benefit of all!
