How to Make Sausages

A wide variety of sausages are produced in countries throughout the world. Most are produced from meat (especially pork and beef) but in some countries, fish sausages are also popular. Vegetarian and vegan sausages are available in some countries, made from tofu, nuts, pulses, mycoprotein, soy...

What is Appropriate Technology?

Technology: choice or compromise?

Solar Photovoltaic Water Pumping

The advantages and disadvantages of solar water pumping are outlined in this document.

Extrusion of Foods

There are two types of extrusion process: cold extrusion, which mixes and shapes foods such as biscuit dough and pasta without cooking them; and hot extrusion (or extrusion cooking).

Cable Selection in Small Off-grid Solar energy Installations

Ideally, voltage drop in a solar energy installation should be

A Handbook of Small-scale Energy Technologies

Neil Noble

Gaining access to modern forms of energy remains a crucial but under-recognised aspect of poverty reduction in the Global South. Practical Action has long been recognised as a leading authority on energy access, with decades of development programme and project experience worldwide upon which to bas...

Every Last Drop

Zhu Qiang, Li Yuanhong, John Gould

Over the past two decades a quiet revolution has been taking place in the countryside of China where hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty. This book focuses on some of the practical actions and clever use of appropriate technologies which have been at the heart of this posi...

Provocations for Development

Robert Chambers

Do we use obscure or fashionable words to impress our colleagues or win research proposals? Are many of our actions against poverty simple, direct and wrong? Provocations for Development is an entertaining and unsettling collection of writings that questions concepts, conventions and practices in de...

Rainwater Harvesting During Reconstruction

Overview of rainwater harvesting technologies and how they can be considered in the reconstruction process.

Natural resource management and the importance of gender

Taking into account the different roles and responsibilities of men and women is critical to the sustainable management of natural resources as well as the success of NRM policies and programmes. We need to be aware that NRM programmes may affect women and men differently due to their rights, roles...