Appropriate technology – Technology that is suited to the needs, skills, knowledge and wealth of local people in the environment in which they live

To remember the meaning of the term Appropriate Technology, use the following mnemonic:

The way to remember appropriate technology is to think of the opposite. What would be inappropriate technology? As above, offering an iPhone would be inappropriate to a starving child, so appropriate technology would clearly be something suited to this child's needs.

Instead of carrying five gallons of water on your head, this rolling plastic container allows you to move 25 gallons a lot more easily from a water well to your village.

Sounds like appropriate technology but...

What might be a more appropriate technology in this instance could be:

Mahatma Gandhi, who led a non-violent campaign for India's independence from Britain, was sometimes called "the father of appropriate technology". He shunned foreign textiles in favour of homemade cloth and being self-reliant.