Appropedia Blog

Vinay with the latest incarnation of the Hexayurt (the H13) at the Cloughjordan Ecovillage in Ireland.

In the Appropedia community we often talk about thriving - but Vinay Gupta is a philosopher of surving. From the Hexayurt shelter to the Six ways to die‎ framework, to the upcoming book of essays The Future We Deserve, his focus is on dealing with the critical questions that vast numbers of people in the world face, and which we all might face if and when things go belly-up for us.

Like us, Vinay is a proponent of the value of open knowledge, one of the reasons he uses  Appropedia as a collaboration tool for his projects.

Vinay's just been interviewed for Boing Boing, where he talks about his influences: Mahatma Gandhi, Buckminster Fuller and Richard Stallman.


Image credit: Vinay's blog.

Two stories from recent years got me thinking. (If you know the stories, you're allowed to skip to the last paragraph.)

1. A British father helped his wife give birth at home. He's not the first, and won't be the last, but there's a lot that can go wrong. You really want to get it right, and if you don't have a midwife or doctor handy, and you (and the woman giving birth) never happened to learn how to deliver a baby, what do you do? Leroy Smith turned to the web, via his mobile phone. He found a wikiHow article, and by following the 10 steps, he did his part well.

2. Surgeon David Nott had a more complex challenge. A hippo had bitten off a boy's arm, and faced death within days from infection. An amputation of his shoulder blade and collar bone would save him - but the doctor didn't have any experience of this unusual and complex procedure, and no one he knew in the Democratic Republic of Congo could help. But a colleague in the UK could help - and did so via SMS. In two very long text messages he explained the procedure, and wished Dr Nott luck. The operation - carried out in a basic operating theater, without the equipment and support the doctor would have expected back home in the UK - was a success, and the boy's life was saved.

In the appropriate technology for solving a problem, the key component is often information. Whether we're talking about health services or development, the right information can be the difference between a good outcome and a failure.

I'm inspired to see wikiHow used in this way - as I am with the stories I hear of Appropedia being used in the field. It's also true that making the best use of expert knowledge, as Dr Nott was able to do, supports good outcomes. Combining these ideas - enhancing ways of accessing knowledge, and making available the best knowledge - continue to guide our mission.

What brought you to Appropedia? What did you find, and what difference did it make for you?

We'd love to hear your stories, short or long, about how you used Appropedia. Please take a moment to add a comment at the end of this post, to tell us about your experience. Whether you learned something, or were inspired, or found what you needed for your project, or contribute your knowledge about making the world better in one particular way - let us know what Appropedia means to you. Even a single line is valuable feedback, and appreciated.

You can share your story as a comment below, or add it to our Appropedia:Stories page on Appropedia itself - and you can read other stories there, as well . You can also share on this Appropedia Facebook post.

We hope to re-share these stories to inspire others, so comments left here are accepted under the same Attribution ShareAlike license used by Appropedia. Many thanks - and we look forward to hearing your story!

There is an ecosystem of wiki websites on sustainability, design and development issues.

Appropedia is a large and broad site; others include small but active communities and NGOs doing good, focused work (e.g. Greenlivingpedia and Akvopedia), wikis run by multilateral organizations (e.g. the UNDP's WaterWiki and the OECD's Wikiprogress and Wikigender), and (sadly) wikis where nothing has happened for years, and the community appears to have scattered.The ecosystem isn't exactly thriving - even when we're friendly (and we usually are) we don't talk and we don't share as much as we'd like.

As communities we want to collaborate and encourage each other, but as individuals we're busy - and I'm as guilty as anyone. What can help is just being aware of what is on other wiki sites - knowing of good wiki pages out there in the green wikisphere, to learn from, borrow from and link from our own pages. That can even lead to the odd bit of drive-by editing on another wiki - all the better.

To that end, here's a tool I've made - a search engine for green and development wikis.

It's a Google custom search of over 40 wiki sites - apologies to the good wikis I haven't named in this blog post, but I hope you'll check that your site shows up in the search results.

If you want to who's writing about something on which wiki, this can help. The results are a little quirky, so allow a few seconds to scan the list to find what you want, and maybe try different search terms. Give it a try, and let me know.

May it add a little more unity to our wiki ecosystem.

Wherever you are in the world: if you're studying Communications, or wanting to break into the field, and you're passionate about solutions for positive change in the world, then this could be the opportunity for you. Appropedia is looking for interns - one to start in October, another to start in the New Year - to help us communicate and engage with people who might be interested in this project, as well as communicate with and strengthen our existing community.

The work will involve a mixture of interviewing, contacting and/or helping to write publicity materials. You can work part-time, and you'll have a lot of flexibility in how you work, but you'll have guidance always available.

There is a lot of potential to learn and to make a difference. I sometimes say, only half-jokingly, that Appropedia was built by engineers and scientists, so we're much better at doing stuff than at talking about what we do. But we've talked, and got better at it, and become active in social media, as we've taken our message out there. We're happy to share with you what we've learned, but we're also happy to learn from you and with you.

You'll need to take initiative, experiment and report on what's working and what isn't. We have a high respect for failure with enthusiasm, which is often the basis for future success, and even more often the basis for very valuable learning.

This is a virtual internship - you'll be working with people who might be on the other side of the world, but with email, chat and VOIP, that's not such a challenge these days. You can work from anywhere in the world with internet access. That requires you to manage your time, organize yourself and get things done - an online internship isn't for everyone.

If you have any questions or want to apply, please get in touch - email me on chriswaterguyappropediaorg, or leave a comment below, or on my Appropedia talk page. For up-to-date info on these internships, see: For more on all Appropedia's internship opportunities, see:

To follow this blog in your blog reader, through your computer desktop or your phone, or to follow a particular topic, or the comments on a post, check our new help page:  Feeds.

It's pretty simple - basically just adding "feed" to the end of the web address - but I know that when I first went looking, I didn't realize it could be so simple. (Nice job, WordPress.) So, you know how to get the feed for the whole blog, or for any tag (e.g. Announcements), or the comments on any post.

Speaking of feeds - there are some very cool blog readers on smart phones these days. (I use RSS Demon for Android, but there are other good ones). It's one good way to stay up-to-date with developments and opportunities at Appropedia.

Want to be a geek for good? Help build a comprehensive database of knowledge for solutions in sustainability and in overcoming poverty - Appropedia.

We're looking for two to three interns with a desire to learn, a willingness to try, and at least basic skills in managing software and accessing a server. You'll be installing, configuring and testing software - focused on MediaWiki, with WordPress to a lesser degree, and possibly some other platforms and tools. Our intern team's tasks will include helping to build our spam defenses, and building features to enhance the community on Appropedia.

Knowledge of PHP and/or Python is a plus (but not essential). Likewise for experience with installing software on a server, and experience with the open source platforms that you'll be working with.

You will work as part of a team, with other interns and with mentors. We've been lucky to have an enthusiastic volunteer, Wesley, for the last few months, who's made a real difference to Appropedia. Now we're expanding the team.

This is a global, online project. Our address is in California but you'll be working with people on at least two continents. You can work from anywhere in the world with internet access. That means you need to be someone who can manage your time, organize yourself and get things done.

Is this you? Get in touch - please leave a comment either below or on my Appropedia talk page, and I'll get in touch.

Tonight Indonesia is celebrating - fireworks, rhythms beaten out on oildrums in the back of pickup trucks, and prayers continually ringing out from mosques. It's the end of the fasting month, when people from across Indonesia "pulang kampung" - literally, "return to one's village." (People have been asking me if I'm going to pulang kampung, and I answer that my kampung is very far, so I won't be going just now.)

Over the last few days, roads, trains and buses have swollen with people for the yearly return home. Jakarta, the megacity, is quieter than I've ever seen it - this really is a huge exodus. Many years ago I saw a photo of a man being helped onto a bus heading home - it wasn't possible to fit in through the door, so his friends lifted him up as though they were pallbearers, and passed him through an open window. Train stations are a sea of people.

Tomorrow people will visit friends and family, asking forgiveness for past wrongs, eating and drinking, but above all reconnecting.  This is a Muslim tradition, but people of other religions are often involved, being visited and sometimes visiting as well.

But like Christmas in my own home culture, this is a hard time for some. Many can't afford to go home, especially if home is a thousand or two thousand kilometers away on a different island. Walking the relatively quiet streets, you see the people who have stayed behind - busy working and hoping to go home next year, or mentally ill or down and out.

It strikes me again that Indonesia is a rich country with many poor people. I think about the things that could help them. I don't have the answers - but I maybe have a few ideas, and I know others have better ideas. Imagine if we all shared our ideas, in food production, health, children's education, financial literacy programs and business, found the best of them and promoted these. Think what changes could come about.

Appropedia is seeking an intern to work on Intellectual Property. The focus will be on public domain content, and mainly US federal government online resources.

This would be particularly suitable for a law student with an interest in US and/or international IP law. Ability to use a spreadsheet might come in handy, and being more tech-savvy than that would be a bonus.

The main task is to help identify which web resources are and aren't public domain. This information is used as the basis for the Public Domain Search - see the Beta version here (still a significant number of false positives):

This is an unpaid internship (the Appropedia Foundation being a non-profit organization) and you would be working remotely - unless you happen to be near a trusted member of the Appropedia community who can assist in mentoring you. (I'm near Jakarta, and others are in various parts of the US, Canada and the UK.) I've done the work on this so far, but we also have an attorney (Joel Scott) on our board of directors, with an interest in IP issues; and we've discussed this project with the Wikisource community, who may be able to lend a hand. You won't be on your own.

If you are interested, please leave a comment either below or on my Appropedia talk page, and I'll get in touch. (Or email me at my username, above, at appropedia dot org.) For more information about the search engine, see Public Domain Search on our wiki. The position will be open until it is filled, but we'd ideally like to find someone to start in this half of 2011.

Introducing a series of guest posts from knowledge sharing projects aiming to build a better world.

Our first post is from Philippa Lysaght from Wikiprogress - looking at progress as more than just increasing GDP.

When Wikiprogress launched at the 2009 OECD World Forum, there was a lot of excitement and nervousness as to how the wiki platform would develop and foster the progress community. Almost two years on and Wikiprogress has grown to play a central role in the progress movement, with many lessons learnt on the challenges and opportunities wiki platforms present. We have gathered a few of the highlights from this experience so far, along with a little background info what Wikiprogress is and what it aims to achieve.

What is Wikiprogress?

Wikiprogress is an online platform centralizing data, information, initiatives, publications, events and networks that are part of the international movement to look beyond GDP in measuring the progress of societies.

In recent years, the shift from measuring economic production to wellbeing has gained a lot of support from organisations and governments around the world. National statistics offices, intergovernmental organisations, research networks, non-government organisations and interested individuals are working to develop new and existing measures of social, environmental and economic progress.

Wikiprogress aims to provide a platform for all parts of the progress community, citizens and policy makers alike, to develop information on measures of progress by creating a robust wiki of related research and statistics. In doing so, Wikiprogress aims to foster a web community around the vision of measuring progress and provide a platform for collaborative participation.

Why wiki?

In fostering the development of progress indicators, it is important to develop a conversation with all levels of society on what dimensions of progress are important to each community.

Joseph Stiglitz, a world-renowned economist and pioneer of the progress movement, has called for a ‘global dialogue’ on measuring progress: ‘part of the objective of rethinking our measurement systems is to generate a national and global dialogue on what we care about.’ (From Measuring Production to Measuring Well-being, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Presentation to the Productivity Commission, Melbourne, July 29, 2010)

The wiki platform ensures that all voices are heard in developing progress indicators, and more importantly, fosters a multidisciplinary community to work together.
Read the rest of this entry »