The freshly launched
"International Traditional Knowledge Institute" (ITKI) is an ambitious
effort to preserve, restore and promote the re-use of traditional skills
and inventions from all over the world. It includes an online
encyclopaedia of low-tech know-how, though it will take many years before it is
completed.
Continue reading "UNESCO sets up online Traditional Knowledge Database" »

Ropes and knots are among the most ancient and useful
technologies ever developed by man, predating the wheel, the axe
and probably also the use of fire. Today, they are fast on their way to
become an obsolete technology.
Continue reading "Lost knowledge: ropes and knots" »
The sheer number and diversity of knots that was once in use would be
bewildering
to the modern city-dweller. About 4,000 different knots are described, ranging
from the very simple to the extremely complex.
Not so long ago, each
profession or
trade had adopted the knots best suited to its requirements, and
knotting was part of their daily lives. There are some good
knotting reference books available online, and all of them are older than most of us.
Continue reading "How to tie the world together: online knotting reference books" »
Electric motors and batteries
have improved substantially over the past one hundred years, but today's
much hyped electric cars have a range that is - at best - comparable to
that of their predecessors at the beginning of the 20th century.
Weight, comfort, speed and performance have eaten up any real progress.
We don't need better batteries, we need better cars.
Continue reading "The status quo of electric cars: better batteries, same range" »
From the earliest civilisations right up to the start of the Industrial
Revolution, humans used sheer muscle power, organisation skills and
ingenious mechanics to lift weights that would be impossible to handle
by most power cranes in operation today.
Continue reading "The sky is the limit: human powered cranes and lifting devices" »
The ingenious low-cost vertical farms of Willem Van Cotthem are within reach of everybody.
Continue reading "How to make your own low-tech vertical farm" »
During the Second World War, almost every motorised vehicle in continental Europe was converted to use firewood.
Wood gas cars (also known as producer gas cars) are a not-so-elegant but surprisingly efficient and ecological alternative to their petrol (gasoline) cousins, whilst their range is comparable to that of electric cars.
Rising fuel prices and global warming have caused renewed interest in this almost-forgotten technology: worldwide, dozens of handymen drive around in their home-made woodmobiles.
Continue reading "Wood gas vehicles: firewood in the fuel tank" »
For many centuries, canal boats were propelled by men, horses or mules on the towpath beside the water. Before
diesel power took over, engineers developed several interesting methods
powered by electricity: trolleyboats, floating funiculars and electric
mules. Many of these ecological solutions could be applied today instead of diesel engines. Because of the very low energy requirements, they could easily be powered by renewable energy, generated on the spot by water turbines located at sluices. One trolleyboat line is still in use.
Continue reading "Trolley canal boats" »
Increasing the share of renewable energy will not make us any less dependent on fossil fuels as long as total energy consumption keeps rising. Renewable energy sources do not replace coal, oil or gas plants, they
only meet (part of) the growing demand. The solution is
simple: set an absolute limit to total energy production. Why should we
not be able to cope in 2030 with the amount of energy we consume today?
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Continue reading "How (not) to resolve the energy crisis" »
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