Low-tech approaches for sustainability: key principles from the literature and practice

Figures & data

Figure 1. Three-step methodology used to identify the key principles.

Table 1. Selected low-tech literature.

Literature	General objectives	Scientific disciplines
Abrassart, Jarrige, and Bourg (2020); Bihouix (2014); Florentin and Ruggeri (2019); Grimaud, Philippe, and Vidal (2017); Hurson (2019); Roussilhe (2020)	General thinking, across all sectors, about low-tech issues and characteristics as well as its distinction from high-tech	History, design, engineering, urbanism, architecture
Alexander and Yacoumis (2018); Bauwens, Hekkert, and Kirchherr (2020); Moriarty and Honnery (2008)	Description of low-tech scenarios (current and future)	Economics, engineering
Carrey and Lachaize (2020); De Decker (2017); Jaglin (2019); Durand, Cavé, and Pierrat (2019)	Discussion of low-tech criteria around a case study (object, approach, or economic sector)	Urbanism, physics/chemistry

Table 2. Respondents by category and organization.

Category	Function/role	Organization type	Representativeness
Educators	To offer trainings on low-tech in a structured context, often face-to-face with a studied pedagogical process.	Associations, cooperatives, training organizations, federations	6/19
Facilitators	To share and disseminate information and awareness about low-tech through various media and tools (e.g., open source, third places).	Associations, individuals, websites	5/19
Experimenters	To allow the practical application of low-tech systems or to make them part of the daily and professional lives of people. Low-tech solutions are tested, with no certainty on future evolution toward promotion and training.	Associations	3/19
Designers	To develop ideas about a low-tech object or approach.	Association	1/19
Makers and Fixers	To create, design, and make unique objects, handmade rather than industrial, associated with the DIY movement.	Associations	2/19
Federators	Networking to create links between collectives, movements, events, and gatherings.	Website	1/19

Table 3. Coding exercise for the key principle back to basics.

High-level code	Mid-level code	Low-level code	Issues addressed	Key principle
Social change	Demand sufficiency	To go straight to the point, start by reducing the need	Sufficiency In consumption (e.g., to avoid rebound effects) In performance to maintain a comfort level Usefulness	Back to basics
	Usefulness	Objects that are useful and long-lasting
	Performance	[Objects] that are efficient and useful

Figure 2. Seven key principles of low-tech systems.

Table 4. Key principle occurrence in the literature and in practice.

#	Key principles	High-level codes	Literature	Actors
1	Decreased resources consumption in technology	Technological	12/13	13/19
2	New or extended service lives	Technological	9/13	18/19
3	Appropriation	Social	12/13	19/19
4	Collective networks	Social/organizational	8/13	11/19
5	Back to basics	Social	10/13	13/19
6	Limited external dependency	Organizational	5/13	13/19
7	Context-dependency	Organizational	8/13	12/19

Figure 3. Key principles as mentioned by different actor categories.

Figure A1. Low-tech concepts retrieved from the low-tech literature.

Figure A2. Activity profile of the actors.

Table A1. Examples of low-tech objects and objects used from a low-tech perspective cited by the interviewees.

Low-tech objects or practice	Objects developed from a low-tech perspective
Solar cooking	Seeding tool
Vegetarian/vegan diets	Dishwashing
Norwegian kettle	Water kettle
Pigott wind turbines	Toaster
Edible forests	Musical instruments
Dry toilets	Stage decorations
Mass stove	Building insulation
Solar stove
Fertilizing solar tubes

Table A2. The interview grid.

Themes	Questions
Actor: 05–10 minutes	Can you introduce yourself and your organization in a few words
	Interviewee Name: Job: Function/specialization: Other:
	Organization Name: Legal status (company, association, cooperative): Founding year: Activities/sector Location/scope and affected audience: Other:
Semantics 10–15 minutes	Assuming I’m talking about low-tech but you’ve never heard the term/If you remember the first time you read or heard this concept What do you understand by “low-tech” in the literal sense?
	Do you often use the term low-tech? Usually in what context?
Principles: 20–25 minutes	In a broader sense, what do you understand by the term “low-tech,” what does it represent to your opinion/experience? If you were to try to define low-tech? If you were to explain what it is to someone? What characterizes low-technology? Citing examples Why this example? Which stakes? Which objectives?
	Do you think it would be possible one day to reach an agreed definition of low-tech? Would it be useful?
Hierarchy and low-tech boundaries : 25–30 minutes	Are there some criteria or low-tech principles that you think are more important than others? Which ones?
	Are there any aspects that you question, that you are not sure they fit into the low-tech framework? Examples of low-tech or not low-tech objects or approaches that are debated For what reasons? What levers, what criteria could make the difference between what is low-tech and not low-tech? Where is the limit?
	What do you think low-tech can be confused with?
	If someone were to talk to you about “going back to the Stone Age,” what would you say? Where do we stop in the “lower-tech” and where is the limit?
Implementation: 30–40 minutes	How do you concretely/in practice implement all this/the low-tech approach? Since when? What is the place of low-tech within your organization? What role, what function do you attribute to yourself with regard to low-tech? What are your objectives with regard to the low-tech theme?
	Are there any characteristics related to your territorial context that affect the way you work and the impact of your activity?
	Do you rely on methods/processes/indicators? Do you have any examples?
	What are your ethical, philosophical, or other values? How do you relate these values to low-tech values?
Difficulties with low-tech: 40–45 minutes	What difficulties do you encounter in the implementation of a low-tech approach? What solutions do you see to these difficulties? Do you perceive any legal obstacles to the use of low-tech? What do you think is missing today for low-tech to be perhaps more developed or more efficient? Are there contradictions or points of tension that make it difficult to apply your values/criteria in practice?
Perspective for the interviewee: 45–50 minutes	What are your current projects and objectives? At which scale?
	What are the feedbacks? That you perceived, that we give to you From whom?
Perspective at larger scales: 50–55 minutes	In your opinion, what could be the future of low-tech on a larger scale in France? Can it work, massively? At an industrial scale?
	What would you expect on a large scale for low-tech?
Other 1:00 hour	Is there anyone or anything that inspires you? How did you get interested in low-tech? If there was no external factor, do you think you might have discovered and embraced low-tech in a different way? You could have carried out low-tech actions without knowing that they were low-tech?
	Do you feel qualified to talk about low-tech? Who do you think would be qualified to do this?
	Do you know other low-tech actors in your network or in France? Do you know of other actors that would be low-tech but do not necessarily claim to be? In a similar way to low-tech? And on the contrary, do you know actors who claim to be low-tech but who, according to you, are not really?
1:00 –1:15 hour	There are X minutes left: Are there any other topics that you would like to talk about, or that you would like to explore further? What is your feedback on this interview? Do you have anything to add or any questions?

Figure A3. Occurrences of the low-tech concepts among the actors.

Figure A4. Additional concepts mentioned by the actors.

Abrassart, C., F. Jarrige, and D. Bourg. 2020. “Introduction Au Dossier Low-Tech: Low-Tech et Enjeux Écologiques: Quels Potentiels Pour Affronter Les Crises?” [Introduction to the Low-Tech Special Issue: Low-Tech and Ecological Issues: Which Potentials to Face the Crises?] La Pensée Ecologique 5: 1. doi:10.3917/lpe.005.0001.

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Bihouix, P. 2014. L’âge Des Low Tech: Vers Une Civilisation Techniquement Soutenable [The Low-Tech Era: Towards a Technically Sustainable Civilization.] Paris: Editions du Seuil.

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Florentin, D., and C. Ruggeri. 2019. “Ville (S)Low Tech et Quête d’une Modernité Écologique” [(S)Low Tech City and the Quest for an Ecological Modernity]. Urbanités 12: 1–8.

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Grimaud, E., Y. Philippe, and D. Vidal. 2017. “Low Tech, High Tech, Wild Tech: Réinventer La Technologie?” [Low Tech, High Tech, Wild Tech: Reinventing Technology?]. Techniques & Culture 67: 12–29. doi:10.4000/tc.8464.

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Hurson, L. 2019. De La Démesure à La Juste Mesure: Le Low-Tech, Entre Confort et Volonté de Changer [From Excess to Appropriate Balance: Low-Tech, Between Comfort and Will to Change]. Grenoble: Dépôt Universitaire de Mémoires Aprés Soutenance. https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-01996417.

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Roussilhe, G. 2020. “Une Erreur de Tech” [A Tech Mistake]. https://gauthierroussilhe.com/articles/une-erreur-de-tech

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Alexander, S., and P. Yacoumis. 2018. “Degrowth, Energy Descent, and ‘Low-Tech’ Living: Potential Pathways for Increased Resilience in Times of Crisis.” Journal of Cleaner Production 197: 1840–1848. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.09.100.

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Bauwens, T., M. Hekkert, and J. Kirchherr. 2020. “Circular Futures: What Will They Look like?” Ecological Economics 175: 106703. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106703.

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Moriarty, P., and D. Honnery. 2008. “Low-Mobility: The Future of Transport.” Futures 40 (10): 865–872. doi:10.1016/j.futures.2008.07.021.

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Carrey, M., and S. Lachaize. 2020. “La Recherche Scientifique En Low-Tech : Définition, Réflexions Sur Les Pistes Possibles, et Illustration Avec Un Projet de Métallurgie Solaire” [Low-Tech Scientific Research: Definition, Reflections on Possible Paths, and Illustration with a Solar Metallurgy Project]. La Pensée Ecologique 5: 7. doi:10.3917/lpe.005.0007.

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De Decker, K. 2017. “Comment Bâtir Un Internet Low Tech” [How to Build a Low-Tech Internet]. Techniques & Culture 67: 216–235. doi:10.4000/tc.8489.

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Jaglin, S. 2019. “Basses Technologies et Services Urbains En Afrique Subsaharienne : Un Low-Tech Loin de l’écologie.” [Low-Tech and Urban Services in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Low-Tech Far from Ecology]. Urbanités 12: 1–14.

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Durand, M., J. Cavé, and A. Pierrat. 2019. “Quand Le Low-Tech Fait Ses Preuves: La Gestion Des Déchets Dans Les Pays Du Sud Technologie Pour Les Pauvres Ou Sobriété Écologique?” [When Low-Tech Proves Its Worth: Waste Management in the South Technology for the Poor or Ecological Sobriety?]. Urbanités 12: 1–13.

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