reiter@aifh.ed.ac.uk (05/26/91)
DevelopNet News is an electronic newsletter published every month or two by
VITA, an NGO specializing in (appropriate?) technology. If you want to get on
their mailing list, contact vita@gmuvax.gmu.edu . VITA also welcomes
contributions to the newsletter, see the note at the end of the newsletter.
VITA also has a program whereby workers in developing countries send in
technical questions that get passed on to volunteers who are experts in
the relevant field. If you are interested in participating in this program,
(either to ask or answer questions), contact VITA.
Ehud Reiter
e.reiter@ed.ac.uk
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May 1991 Volume 1, No. 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TECHNOLOGY: Easing the Work of Women Farm Workers . . . . . 2
HEALTH UPDATE: Childhood Diarrhea: Winning the Fight . . . . 2
ORGANIZATIONS: Will CGIAR Keep Ahead of Population Growth? . 4
Environmental Information Networks . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Third World Women's Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
VITA: Kurdish Relief: VITA'S Disaster Information Center . . 6
Technical Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
BOOKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ANNOUNCEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Important Notice to Our Readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
DevelopNet News is published by Volunteers in Technical Assistance
(VITA) in Arlington, Virginia, USA.
DevelopNet News page 2
T E C H N O L O G Y
EASING THE WORK OF WOMEN FARM WORKERS
An ultra light-weight rice transplanter has been designed by engineers
in the Philippines, in response to the concerns of women farm workers.
"Women have traditionally transplanted the rice crop. This work is
tedious and back-breaking," explains Dr. Graeme Quick (International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Banos). "Manual transplanting is
also thought to contribute to high rates of bad backs, miscarriage, and
other health disorders in female agricultural laborers. Moreover,
farmers often have difficulty finding enough laborers to transplant
their crops on time. We designed the transplanter to make the task
easier, quicker, and cheaper."
Lito Bautista (IRRI), co-designer of the new machines, adds: "Hand
transplanting machines have been around for 10 years, but they are heavy
and cumbersome, so adoption was not fast. Our modifications make mechan-
ical transplanting much easier."
The new transplanter is made of steel, aluminum, and wood, and weighs
about 13 kg -- half the weight of earlier machines. A bicycle wheel at
the front and a lockup handle allow workers to push it like a wheel-
barrow along narrow field bunds. The wheel can be removed in minutes.
Wooden "skis" keep the transplanter from sinking into the mud as the
operator pulls it across the paddy.
One worker can transplant 0.20 to 0.25 hectare per day with the new
device. Five workers would be needed to transplant the same area by
hand. Labor costs for this work in the Philippines would be about
US$100.
IRRI, a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research, designs a range of low-cost equipment for local manufacture.
After a machine has been developed and tested, IRRI releases the
plans free to manufacturers, or permits them to copy the designs
directly. In one year, IRRI sent almost half a ton of blueprints and
information to manufacturers and others in the rice-producing world.
Information: IRRI, P.O. Box 933, Manila, Philippines. Phone: 88-48-69,
Cable: Ricefound Manila, Telex: (ITT) 45365 RICE PM, Fax: 63-2-8178470.
HEALTH UPDATE: Childhood Diarrhea: Winning the Fight
More than 20 years ago, Bengali and U.S. research workers developed the
cheap and effective treatment for diarrhea that we now call "oral
rehydration therapy" or ORT. ORT now saves the lives of a million
DevelopNet News page 3
infants and children every year, one quarter of the total number who
would otherwise from dehydration due to the disorder.
According to Norbert Hirschhorn (John Snow, Inc.) and William Greenough
III (Johns Hopkins University), the bacteria that cause diarrhea "are
the leading killers of small children in the developing nations. . . .
Almost no one, adult or child, would die of diarrhea if only every
family in the world knew how to prepare and deliver some form of ORT."
When Latin America's present cholera epidemic began in Peru in January
1991, hardly any lives were lost to the disease because ORT was
available.
ORT originally consisted of feeding as much clean water, containing
dissolved salts and a little sugar, as could be swallowed. This made up
for the massive fluid losses that characterize the disease. After
several days, the damaged wall of the intestine regains its ability to
reabsorb water from the intestinal contents. If treatment is prompt,
the recovery rate is 90%. The first major field test of ORT came during
the 1971 Was for Bangladesh Independence, when 10 million refugees from
Bangladesh fled across the border to India. Diarrhea was epidemic, but
in one camp ORT reduced the expected mortality from 30% to 3%. Today
about 60 countries make their own foil packets of salts to be dissolved
in a liter of water; the cost of a packet in U.S. equivalents is about
40 cents. The World Health Organization says that nearly 60% of the
world's children have access to the formula.
As a result of newer scientific knowledge, ORT has been improved by
adding carbohydrate and protein to the formula, causing the intestinal
wall to increase its rate of water recovery. Rice powder works well,
although the reasons for its success are not fully understood. Inter-
national research centers in Calcutta (India) and Dhaka (Bangladesh)
continue their studies of ORT.
If most children have access to the technology, why do so many still
die? The reasons are both social and technological. For example, the
feeding of large volumes of fluid opposes traditional beliefs that
during diarrhea the intestine "should be allowed to rest." And while the
materials for ORT exist in most households, people don't know how to
prepare and deliver the solution. Finally, one can't always find the
clean water that is needed for the formula. In fact, if general sani-
tation (especially hand washing with soap and water) were more widely
practiced, many children would not get sick in the first place.
Hirschhorn and Greenough say: ". . . before families will have con-
fidence in these indirect measures, they need to see that the children,
who are sick now, can be made well again. Oral rehydration therapy does
this -- sometimes spectacularly."
Of Latin America's current cholera epidemic, Susan Okie (Washington
Post) says "78% of this year's cases occurred in five countries --
Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, and Brazil -- which, until this year,
had been cholera-free throughout the 20th century." She notes that
between 90 million and 120 million people, a quarter of Latin America's
DevelopNet News page 4
population, were at risk when the epidemic started. The incidence of
cholera is also increasing in Benin and Zambia. She adds, "deaths can
occur when patients -- particularly children -- become rapidly dehy-
drated before [ORT] treatment can be administered." James Tulloch (WHO)
notes that in many developing countries, economic conditions are wor-
sening and urban slums are growing rapidly. As a result, more people
must rely on dirty water and eat food that is potentially contaminated
by sewage.
If you are planning to travel in areas with cholera, you can help avoid
infection by drinking purified or bottled water, eating thoroughly
cooked foods served hot, and avoiding fruits, vegetables and seafoods
that are raw.
Norbert Hirschhorn and William B. Greenough III, "Progress in Oral
Rehydration Therapy," Scientific American, vol. 264, no. 5 (May 1991),
pages 50-56. Susan Okie, "South American Cholera Epidemic Among Worst,"
Washington Post, 26 April 1991. [Abstracted by R.R. Ronkin, VITA
Volunteer.]
O R G A N I Z A T I O N S
Will CGIAR Keep Ahead of Population Growth?
What happened to the Green Revolution? A generation ago, it converted
chronic agricultural shortages into surpluses and changed the face of
much of southern Asia. The changes were brought about largely through the
efforts of a network of 13 international research centers that operate
under the umbrella of the Consultative Group on International Agricul-
tural Research (CGIAR), headquartered at the World Bank.
CGIAR has realized for some time that the improvements in food produc-
tion were levelling off. In addition, the Green Revolution was causing
social and ecological problems in some areas. According to John Walsh
(Science), "Liberal applications of water, fertilizer, and pesticides
are required to get the most out of the improved crop varieties devel-
oped by CGIAR, and critics argued that concentration on intensive agri-
culture, large farms, and the best growing areas damaged the environment
and offered little to the poor farmers whom the research network was
established to help."
CGIAR's response to generally worsening world conditions is to move
toward research in natural resources management. Until now, its agenda
concentrated on raising the yields of staple foods (maize, rice, wheat)
and improving agriculture on a regional basis. Now, its mission will
expand into forestry and agriforestry, irrigation management, and fish-
eries. New crop-research programs will relate to bananas, plantains, and
vegetables. Of CGIAR's seeming shift from sole emphasis on crop improve-
ment, Chairman Wilfried P. Thalwitz comments: "The basic mandate of
CGIAR is to contribute to the productivity of poor people, but this
cannot be done without mortgaging the future."
DevelopNet News page 5
Walsh questions that the new approaches in CGIAR "will be enough to
enable the world's farmers to stay ahead of the population curve in the
21st century."
John Walsh, "The Greening of the Green Revolution" (editorial), Science,
vol. 252, page 26 (5 April 1991). [Abstracted by R.R. Ronkin, VITA
Volunteer.]
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION NETWORKS
-- EcoNet is world-wide environmental computer network with hundreds of
discussion groups on every ecological topic imaginable. EcoNet, 3228
Sacramento Street, San Francisco, California 94115 USA. Phone: (415) 932-
0900.
-- Environet is a computer-based network operated by Greenpeace Action
for U.S. activists. Phone: (800) 759-7779.
-- RACHEL, the Remote Access Chemical Hazards Electronic Library, is an
on-line data base. Environmental Research Association, P.O. Box 3541,
Princeton, New Jersey 08541 USA. Phone: (609) 683-0707.
-- RTK Net, or Right-to-Know Network, has made several governmental data
bases on toxic chemicals available to the public. Unison Institute/OMB
Watch, 1731 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20009 USA. Phone:
(202) 234-8494.
-- ENS, the Environmental News Service, gathers news on the environment
worldwide and delivers it electronically by e-mail, fax machine, or
regular mail. ENS, 340 West Cordova Street, #710, Vancouver, British
Columbia V6B 2V3, Canada. Phone: (604) 687-6397, Fax: (604) 687-6390.
[From U.N. Environmental Program, UNEP North American News, December
1990.]
THIRD WORLD WOMEN'S PROJECT
The Third World Women's Project of the Institute for Policy Studies is an
international research and global education project inspired by the need
for critical analysis of U.S. foreign policy toward Third World nations
and its particular effect on the lives of women. It publishes a quar-
terly newsletter and is establishing a computer network for research on
issues affecting women in the Third World. Information: Third World
Women's Project/IPS, 1601 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20009
USA.
DevelopNet News page 6
V I T A : Project Focus
KURDISH RELIEF: VITA'S DISASTER INFORMATION CENTER
The Center was activated in April to help direct and facilitate the
donation of goods, services, and money for relief efforts to alleviate
the Kurdish refugee crisis along the border of Iraq. According to Pro-
gram Officer Suzanne Brooks, more than 400 calls have already come in to
the center offering supplies and services. One caller offered 20,000
packets of oral rehydration therapy, urgently needed to help the sustain
the lives of the many Kurdish children suffering from dehydration caused
by diarrhea.
The Disaster Information Center, formed in 1988 under a grant from the
U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) and IBM, is an informa-
tion clearinghouse designed to track private sector donations and offers
of volunteer technical assistance for use by AID and private relief
organizations in responding to foreign disasters. The Center was started
in 1988 to assist relief efforts following the earthquakes in Soviet
Armenia. It operated in hurricane and earthquake emergencies in 1988 and
1989.
The Center operates two data-base files to track information as it comes
in. One contains the names of people who are willing to volunteer or be
paid to assist in emergency relief operations; the other lists organiza-
tions and businesses that offer to donate or sell at cost commodities
that may be needed in relief operations. VITA staff and volunteers track
and record all nonmonetary donations called in to the hotline telephone
number. VITA's software categorizes the data and quickly makes it avail-
able to relief organizations that require it. In addition, the Center
keeps, for the use of relief agencies, a list of commodities and tech-
nical assistance requested by such agencies.
Since it was established, embassies, government agencies, international
corporations, and nearly 100 private voluntary organizations from around
the world have contacted the Disaster Information Center and its data
bases on the VITANet bulletin board system. The hot-line number for a
recorded message giving more information on the Center is (703) 276-
1914.
H E L P N E E D E D : Can You Help Solve These Technical Problems?
VITA has requests for information on these questions and seeks help from
individuals who can answer them.
1. A technology student at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, is
studying the construction of lead-acid accumulator batteries. He needs
to know how to recover the lead plates of old car batteries so that it
can be recycled to make new batteries.
DevelopNet News page 7
2. A nonprofit, cooperative youth association in Valle de Amilpas,
Mexico, requests information on techniques and requirements for raising
poinsettias for the market. The organization plans to sell the plants
to generate funds for its activities.
If you can provide any information bearing on these problems, send your
ideas to: DevelopNet News, VITA, 1815 North Lynn Street, Suite 200,
Arlington, Virginia, 22209 USA. Phone: (703) 276-1800. Fax: (703) 243-
1865. Or e-mail: (VITA@GMUVAX).
B O O K S
TINKER, TAILOR, TECHNICAL CHANGE
By Matthew S. Gamser, Helen Appleton, and Nicola Carter
"Tinker, Tailor, Technical Change" seeks to raise awareness of people's
innovation. Its authors consider 17 cases of locally developed technol-
ogies from 14 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. They examine
who are the innovators, how they work, what motivates them, and what
constrains their productivity. On regional and global levels they con-
sider how workers in technical assistance can make better use of this
powerful resource for change.
Why do so many attempts to introduce "western" technologies into poor
communities end in failure? Technical assistance often fails to bring
change because it fails to work with local innovation and innovators.
The "experts" often do not recognize that technological development is
taking place locally. They rarely make efforts to understand how local
innovators are organized and supported. As a result, opportunities to
benefit from local knowledge, experience, and creativity, are lost.
IT Publications Ltd., 103-105 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4HH, United
Kingdom.
COMMUNICATIONS FOR PROGRESS
By Graham Lane
"Communications for Progress: A Guide to International E-Mail" invites
nongovernmental organizations to join the global "on-line" community of
electronic-mail users. The book begins with an overview of telecommun-
ications, followed by case studies of NGOs and development organiza-
tions. These show how e-mail has enhanced development effort at local
and international levels. The last part of the book deals with technical
details, including an explanation of jargon, and describes how to send
and read e-mail messages.
Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR), 22 Coleman Fields,
London N1 7AF, United Kingdom. Phone: (071) 345-0883. E-mail: GEONET:GEO-
2:CIIR
DevelopNet News page 8
A N N O U N C E M E N T S
JOIN VITA'S ELECTRONIC FORUM
VITA's public, on-line discussion forum, DEVEL-L, provides for the
exchange of ideas and information on a wide range of development issues
and topics; for example, technology, communications in development,
sustainable agriculture, the environment, and small-enterprise devel-
opment. All persons with such interests are invited to share them on
DEVEL-L. Subscribers to DEVEL-L will automatically receive DevelopNet
News. There is no charge.
To subscribe, send a SUB DEVEL-L <YOUR FULL NAME> command or message to
LISTSERV@AUVM or LISTSERV@AUVM.AUVM.EDU . All messages to the forum
(reaching all of its subscribers) should be sent to DEVEL-L@AUVM. Please
don't use these addresses for editorial correspondence or other messages
to VITA; for these purposes use VITA@GMUVAX or VITA@GMUVAX.GMU.EDU .
KNOW AGRIBUSINESS? SPEAK FRENCH?
In Agricultural Marketing / Agribusiness, VITA would like to receive
expressions of interest in possible long- and short-term consultancies
in Agricultural Policy and Planning; Marketing Studies and Information;
Small Agribusiness Technologies; Project Management; Training. Persons
should have agricultural marketing / agribusiness experience in French-
speaking Africa and, preferably, a graduate degree in the field of
specialization. Fluent French is required. Send resume to Regina Wynn,
VITA, P.O. Box 12438, Arlington, Virginia, 22209-8438.
ARE YOU A FORESTRY EXPERT?
In response to a request from an international organization, VITA is
assembling information on clonal stock as well as on root-trainers for
tropical and subtropical forest plantations. If you have expert know-
ledge in either area and are willing to supply information, please con-
tact Brij Mathur at VITA as soon as possible for details on the type of
information needed.
WORLDTEACH
WorldTeach, one of the fastest growing international service programs in
the United States, has placed more than 400 volunteers in Africa, Asia,
Latin America, and Central Europe. In 1991-1992 volunteers will serve in
China, Costa Rica, Namibia, Poland, and Thailand. Most volunteers teach
English as a second language, but science and math teachers are greatly
needed in Namibia. In addition to the year-long programs, WorldTeach has
a summer teaching program for undergraduate and graduate students in
Shanghai, China.
DevelopNet News page 9
No special language skills or teaching experience is required. Appli-
cants are accepted from all ages, nationalities, and specialties, but
must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
by their date of departure. Volunteers pay a program fee of about $3,000
which covers the cost of airfare, health insurance, orientation and
training, and support during the year. For more information or an appli-
cation, contact: WorldTeach, Harvard Institute for International Devel-
opment, One Eliot Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, Phone: (617)
495-5527, Fax: (617) 495-1239.
AGRICULTURE TRAINING PROGRAMS
Tillers International will hold workshops and special training sessions
designed for international agriculturalists from May through October
1991. Topics covered include animal-powered farming and supporting
skills in metal and wood working. Programs feature hands-on exercises
and demonstrations, and a wide spectrum of options in appropriate tech-
nology for agriculture. Information: Richard Roosenberg, Director,
Tillers International, 5239 South 24th Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49002
USA. Phone: (616) 344-3233.
* * *
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO OUR READERS
VITA is grateful for the messages of encouragement received since
DevelopNet News was first published a month ago. Several people asked
how they could become more involved in VITA's work. Here is one answer:
DevelopNet News needs your short articles, reviews, and announcements.
Indeed, the newsletter can meet your high hopes -- and ours -- only if
you send materials for publication. Please note that the next deadline
is 15 May 1991.
* * *
DevelopNet News is an electronic newsletter published monthly by Volun-
teers in Technical Assistance (VITA). It welcomes contributions of arti-
cles, editorials, book reviews, announcements, etc. for publication in
future issues. Local redistribution of the newsletter by hard copy or by
electronic means is encouraged. VITA will appreciate any information on
the approximate size of your redistribution list.
VITA is a private, nonprofit international development organization
located in Arlington, Virginia. VITA specializes in information dissem-
ination and communications technology and offers services in the areas
of sustainable agriculture, food processing, renewable energy applica-
tions, water sanitation and supply, small enterprise development, and
DevelopNet News page 10
information management. VITA is currently involved in long- and short-
term projects in 10 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin
America.
President: Henry R. Norman
Editor: Patricia Mantey
1815 North Lynn Street, Suite 200, Arlington, Virginia, 22209 USA.
Telephone: (703) 276-1800, BBS: (703) 527-1086, Fax: (703) 243-1865,
Telex: 440192 VITAUI, Cable: VITAINC, E-Mail: VITA@GMUVAX or
VITA@GMUVAX.GMU.EDU .
<end of file>
--
Ehud Reiter
(e.reiter@edinburgh.ac.uk)