There are a few items around now that seem to be intended for use in the third world. This latest, a bio-mass cooker which also generates power, seems to me to be very useful for remote areas. I do like the idea of units like these where aid is not in monetary form and it is difficult for it to be taken and sold on for money. However, what about the users carbon footprint? Only joking.
The cooker, cost about $20, doesn’t seem to be available in the West at all where it would also be useful for outdoor pursuits. Similar items, with more gizmos, are on sale however at about £200, currently $330, a significant difference. Other items in a similar vein such as the wind up laptops, cost about $100, don’t seem to be available either.
I wonder why that is? I suspect that it is to stop us purchasing a useful low cost, no frills tool so that manufacturers can sell us tools that are more expensive with lots of addons. Keeps their businesses going.
Personally, for many things, I actually prefer a simpler and robust model. The extras are usually the bits that break first and the whole quality of the units seem to be such that they are designed to be obsolete in a few short years. Some cheap and simple items just go on and on and the items designed as aid seem to be build this way. They should be available here as well. After all most people would actually go for the one with all the gadgets anyway. We all like our toys.
It’s easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.
Technology in Aid
There are a few items around now that seem to be intended for use in the third world. This latest, a bio-mass cooker which also generates power, seems to me to be very useful for remote areas. I do like the idea of units like these where aid is not in monetary form and it is difficult for it to be taken and sold on for money. However, what about the users carbon footprint? Only joking.
The cooker, cost about $20, doesn’t seem to be available in the West at all where it would also be useful for outdoor pursuits. Similar items, with more gizmos, are on sale however at about £200, currently $330, a significant difference. Other items in a similar vein such as the wind up laptops, cost about $100, don’t seem to be available either.
I wonder why that is? I suspect that it is to stop us purchasing a useful low cost, no frills tool so that manufacturers can sell us tools that are more expensive with lots of addons. Keeps their businesses going.
Personally, for many things, I actually prefer a simpler and robust model. The extras are usually the bits that break first and the whole quality of the units seem to be such that they are designed to be obsolete in a few short years. Some cheap and simple items just go on and on and the items designed as aid seem to be build this way. They should be available here as well. After all most people would actually go for the one with all the gadgets anyway. We all like our toys.