Practical Action
Encyclopedia
Practical Action is a development
charity
registered in the United Kingdom
which works directly in four regions of the developing world – Latin America
, East Africa
, Southern Africa
and South Asia
, with particular concentration on Peru
, Kenya
, Sudan
, Zimbabwe
, Sri Lanka
and Nepal
.
In these countries, Practical Action works with poor communities to develop appropriate technologies
in renewable energy
, food production, agro-processing
, sustainable transport
, water
, sanitation
, small enterprise development, building and shelter, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction
.
Lessons from Practical Action’s grassroots experience are spread through consultancy services, publishing activities, education resources, advocacy and an international technical enquiries service, Practical Answers.
had an article published in The Observer
, pointing out the limitations of aid based on the transfer of large-scale technologies to developing countries which did not have the resources to accommodate them. He argued that there should be a shift in emphasis towards intermediate technologies based on the needs and skills possessed by the people of developing countries.
Encouraged by the response, Schumacher and a few of his associates, including George McRobie, Alfred Latham-Koenig and Professor Mansur Hoda
, decided to create an "advisory centre" to promote the use of efficient labour-intensive techniques, and in 1966 the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) was born.
From its origins as a technical enquiry service, ITDG began to take a greater direct involvement in local projects. Following initial successes in farming, it developed working groups on energy, building materials and rural health, and soon grew to become an international organisation. The group now has seven regional offices, working on over 90 projects around the world, with a head office in the UK.
In July 2005, ITDG changed its working name to Practical Action, and since 2008 this has been its legal name.
Practical Action has seven country offices.
Developing country
A developing country, also known as a less-developed country, is a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developing country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries...
charity
Charitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
registered in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
which works directly in four regions of the developing world – Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, Southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
and South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
, with particular concentration on Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
.
In these countries, Practical Action works with poor communities to develop appropriate technologies
Appropriate technology
Appropriate technology is an ideological movement originally articulated as "intermediate technology" by the economist Dr...
in renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
, food production, agro-processing
Food processing
Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
, sustainable transport
Sustainable transport
Sustainable transport refers to any means of transport with low impact on the environment, and includes walking and cycling, transit oriented development, green vehicles, CarSharing, and building or protecting urban transport systems that are fuel-efficient, space-saving and promote healthy...
, water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, sanitation
Sanitation
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...
, small enterprise development, building and shelter, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction
Disaster risk reduction
Disaster Risk Reduction is a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and reducing the risks of disaster. It aims to reduce socio-economic vulnerabilities to disaster as well as dealing with the environmental and other hazards that trigger them: here it has been strongly influenced by the...
.
Lessons from Practical Action’s grassroots experience are spread through consultancy services, publishing activities, education resources, advocacy and an international technical enquiries service, Practical Answers.
History
In 1965, economist and philosopher E. F. SchumacherE. F. Schumacher
Ernst Friedrich "Fritz" Schumacher was an internationally influential economic thinker, statistician and economist in Britain, serving as Chief Economic Advisor to the UK National Coal Board for two decades. His ideas became popularized in much of the English-speaking world during the 1970s...
had an article published in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, pointing out the limitations of aid based on the transfer of large-scale technologies to developing countries which did not have the resources to accommodate them. He argued that there should be a shift in emphasis towards intermediate technologies based on the needs and skills possessed by the people of developing countries.
Encouraged by the response, Schumacher and a few of his associates, including George McRobie, Alfred Latham-Koenig and Professor Mansur Hoda
Mansur Hoda
Mansur Hoda: was born in a middle class Muslim family in eastern Indian state of Bihar. Mansur Hoda as a student, had worked as a research volunteer for the Intermediate Technology Group. After working for Indian Railway for 10 years, he joined Bihar government as Inspector of Factories.Mansur...
, decided to create an "advisory centre" to promote the use of efficient labour-intensive techniques, and in 1966 the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) was born.
From its origins as a technical enquiry service, ITDG began to take a greater direct involvement in local projects. Following initial successes in farming, it developed working groups on energy, building materials and rural health, and soon grew to become an international organisation. The group now has seven regional offices, working on over 90 projects around the world, with a head office in the UK.
In July 2005, ITDG changed its working name to Practical Action, and since 2008 this has been its legal name.
Project work
Practical Action works in partnership with poor people and their communities, building on their own knowledge and skills to come up with innovative, sustainable and practical solutions. The organisation's project work is based around four international programmes:- Coping with environmental change and conflict - reducing the vulnerability of poor people affected by natural disasters, conflict and environmental degradation.
- Making markets work - enabling producers to improve their production, processing and marketing.
- Improving access to services - helping poor communities gain access to basic services such as clean water, food, housing and electricity.
- Responding to new technologies - helping poor communities to access effective new technologies.
Practical Action has seven country offices.
Awards
- Practical Action's post-tsunami reconstruction work in Sri Lanka was selected as a finalist for the 2008 World Habitat AwardsWorld Habitat AwardsThe World Habitat Awards were established in 1985 by the Building and Social Housing Foundation as part of its contribution to the United Nations' International Year of Shelter for the Homeless in 1987....
. - Practical Action's work in renewable energyRenewable energyRenewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
in Peru was awarded the 2008 UNEP Sasakawa prize for making a substantial contribution to the protection and management of the environment. - Practical Action Bangladesh's Disappearing Lands project, which works on river erosion in Gaibandha, won the 2007 Ryutaro Hashimoto APFED Award for sustainable practices shown in this project.
- In 2007 Practical Action in Peru won an Ashden Award for its work using micro hydroMicro hydroMicro hydro is a term used for hydroelectric power installations that typically produce up to 100 kW of electricity. These installations can provide power to an isolated home or small community, or are sometimes connected to electric power networks....
schemes to bring electricity to remote villages. - In 2004 Practical Action (then ITDG) in Kenya won an Ashden Award for its work using pico hydroPico hydroPico hydro is a term used for hydroelectric power generation of under 5 kW. It is useful in small, remote communities that require only a small amount of electricity - for example, to power one or two fluorescent light bulbs and a TV or radio in 50 or so homes. Even smaller turbines of...
schemes to bring electricity to remote communities on Mount Kenya.
See also
- AppropediaAppropediaAppropedia is a website for collaborative solutions in sustainability, poverty reduction and international development, with a particular focus on appropriate technology. Appropedia is a wiki-based website like Wikipedia, a website where a large number of participants are allowed to create and...
- holding many Practical Action designs and open for editing - BiofuelBiofuelBiofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases...
- GVEP InternationalGVEP InternationalGVEP International is a worldwide non profit organisation working to reduce poverty by accelerating access to affordable and sustainable energy services....
- Hydro power
- Small is BeautifulSmall Is BeautifulSmall Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered is a collection of essays by British economist E. F. Schumacher. The phrase "Small Is Beautiful" came from a phrase by his teacher Leopold Kohr...
- Tools for Self RelianceTools for Self RelianceTools for Self Reliance is an international development charity in the United Kingdom which recycles and refurbishes tools and sewing machines and supplies them to users in Africa....