About

The Appropriate Technology Design Team (ATDT) was founded to develop appropriate and sustainable design solutions beneficial to EWB-USA projects. We have since extended our services to other organizations working in disadvantaged communities throughout the world with goals similar to those of EWB-USA. Our team is comprised of engineers interested in design, construction, and implementation of appropriate technologies.

The team seeks out and depends on collaborating organizations, established appropriate technologies, and our own research. We develop designs that take into consideration individual communities' needs and conditions, such as manufacturing methods and capabilities, locally available materials, and ecological effects. We believe appropriate technologies facilitate economic development and benefit societies by providing basic needs, local education and training, and entrepreneurial opportunities. We strive to provide these tools to empower individuals and communities to help themselves.

 

Process

Team members evaluate each project before design work begins. Our evaluation takes into consideration the overall sustainability, alternative technologies, and team capacity. We rely on our collaborators to be our eyes and ears in the field while we research and develop the technology locally. We prototype. We test. We iterate. We conduct focus groups with the actual users and respond to their feedback. Once the design is fully tested and refined, the technology is implemented within the community for which it’s designed using local manufacturing techniques and materials.

 

Things You Can Do

Links