Appropriate Technology - why it is important to us all

Addison, one of the amazing SIFAT staff, promised that during our time at SIFAT we would learn how to feel more connected to the world - and that we would live SIFAT with a better understanding of how those outside of our communities live.  He was right and I encourage you to ask one of the ten children who participated in the CUMC Family Mission trip about Ap-Tech, why it is important, how we learn from it, and how we can spread the word and spread the solutions.

A hint about why ap-tech is important; we learned at SIFAT that 15% of the world lives about the way we do, 35% live pretty much on the verge of having enough, but struggling, and 50% of the world is truly struggling everyday to meet basic needs of food, shelter and water.  The world in fact cannot support more than 15% living the way we do - there aren't enough resources to do that - however, there are plenty of resources to go around if we spread them more evenly, and use them more efficiently.

During our Ap-Tech work sessions, our ten children became experts in leaf-for-life and adobe brick making.

Leaf-for-life is a way to use indigenous plants, (like for example, Kudzu), to add nutrition to food.  For example, in Central America, mesa (corn flour) is used frequently to create tortillas because it stretches a long way and tortillas are filling.  However - mesa is lacking in important nutrients that children in particular need to thrive and be healthy.  Adding leaf powder, picked, dried and ground in the very easy and inexpensive leaf-for-life ap-tech, will boost the nutrition value and significantly improve health.

Stay-tuned for an entry about the importance of adobe brick making...