Intermediate technology
Intermediate Technology Development Group (IT) is a non-governmental international development agency which works with rural and pert-urban communities in Developing Countries. Intermediate Technology was founded in the 1960s by Dr E F Schumacher, author of Small is beautiful, a book that has had a lasting influence on development philosophy and has helped to define 'appropriate' technology. IT's aim has always been to provide a scale of technology and methods of production which can meet the basic needs of poorer people. It regards 'development' as a process of increasing people's economic power by improving their access to technologies appropriate to their skills, incomes and environment. As a result, rural people should have greater control over their own lives and so contribute to the long-term development of their communities. A major focal point has been IT's recognition that women's technical knowledge and skills have been undervalued in the past and IT has been promoting strategies to ensure that women have access to resources, services and training. Intermediate Technology has six Country Offices (Bangladesh, Kenya, Peru, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Zimbabwe) which implement, in conjunction with a number of partner organizations, its programme of practical project work. The programmes comprise four major sectors. Manufacturing includes transport, micro-hydro energy, workshops, textiles, stoves and household energy, while Agriculture and Fisheries covers livestock, dryland food security, fisheries, and agricultural engineering. A third sector is Agroprocessing, and the fourth is Mineral Industries and Shelter. Two journals, Food chain which contains articles on small-scale food processing and Boiling point, containing news and views on stove improvement and promotion, are produced respectively by the Agro-processing and the Manufacturing programmes. The Technical Enquiry Unit was set up three years ago, to handle the 1,300 or so enquiries being received each year. More recently a series of technical briefs on the most common requests for information has been prepared. However, each enquiry is still given individual attention. This service is free to individuals and organizations. IT Consultants offer professional advice and assistance to NGOs, governments and international agencies worldwide not normally covered by IT's in-country programme activities. IT Consultants are able to call on the services of IT's staff and some 300 associate consultants. In the year 1991-92, 29 assignments were carried out, involving multidisciplinary teams; two-thirds of these assignments were conducted outside the countries where IT is currently operational. IT Consultants also offer training to project partners overseas as well as to European aid agencies and universities in the UK. IT Publications, a subsidiary of IT, publishes and distributes a wide range of practical handbooks, directories, manuals, case studies and bibliographies. These publications are available at low prices to enable information on appropriate technologies to be readily accessible to the development field. A direct mail service is offered and a catalogue Books by post is available. IT Publications also produce three quarterly journals; Waterlines - dealing with appropriate technology for water supply, sanitation and irrigation; AT Journal - on appropriate technology worldwide and Small enterprise development, a journal for those involved with small enterprise programmes. Intermediate Technology Myson House Railway Terrace Rugby CV21 3HT UK IT Publications 103-105 Southampton Row London WC1B 4HH UK
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| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
1992
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/45900 http://collections.infocollections.org/ukedu/en/d/Jcta42e/ |
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