Cottage Industry Appropriate Technology

Maya Pedal has quite a few interesting pedal powered machines
Maya Pedal has quite a few interesting pedal powered machines

This blog post lists numerous low cost appropriate tech devices that can be made at the cottage industry scale and sold for profit. As the economy continues to erode, a lot of readers are looking for ways to make extra money. The following list has some ideas to get you thinking. There are many appropriate technology devices, and many different ways to make them. A complete list would fill a book (see Field Guide to Appropriate Technology), so use this blog post as a springboard to discover additional items. Search YouTube for instructional videos.

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Backyard Farmers by Necessity: Self-sufficient & Debt-free

“When Myrna and Earl Fincher married 53 years ago they started farming their yard “out of necessity”. Today, the Finchers make a living selling their organic produce to restaurants and at the local farmers’ market twice a week for much of the year. They had no experience as farmers, but learned by trial and error.”

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Two Amazing Trees

Leucaena is a nitrogen fixing tree with many beneficial characteristics.
Leucaena is a nitrogen fixing tree with many beneficial characteristics.

In the process of researching trees and plants for our tropical food forests, we came across two trees with extremely practical characteristics. Moringa, the third tree we’re focusing on, was covered in previous blog posts. Moringa is considered one of the most nutritious plants in the world and will play a pivotal role in our food forests.

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Living in Ghost Towns

Chrystal, Colorado: The 1893 silver crash nearly emptied the town, and by 1915 only eight people lived there.
Chrystal, Colorado: The 1893 silver crash nearly emptied the town, and by 1915 only eight people lived there.

A recent blog post about a rebuilt ghost town in Spain turned out to be quite popular. This got me thinking about the practicality of living in ghost towns. If you don’t mind fresh air, no traffic jams, lack of noise and nosey neighbors then you might like it just fine.

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Tiny House Ecovillage in a Fruit Orchard

Imagine being part of an ecovillage, living in a tiny house next to an orchard.
Imagine being part of an ecovillage, living in a tiny house next to an orchard.

Close yours eyes and imagine a dream ecovillage near the base of the mountains where the weather is not too harsh. The sheltered climate and flat river bottom land is ideal for orchards and gardening. A small group of ecology-minded natural builders has cooperatively bought an old family farm with a good sized fruit orchard.

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