IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Spring 2014 - 21

theorists differentiated these concepts into "indigInstead of outsiders dictating a specific definition
enous" (local traditions and understandings often
of cultural preservation, local residents should be
passed down through generations) and "Western"
empowered to choose the life they want. On one hand,
(positivist and scientifically-derived
the evolution of culture may be secondinformation, often from the developed
ary to basic survival and an improved
world). Often, external technologies will
quality of life. Conversely, technology
Should we
challenge local traditions and champion a
should not force a community to lose an
be donating
Western perspective. New ideas can help
identity it wishes to preserve. When forproducts
catalyze change and generate appropriate
eign breakfast cereals were introduced
solutions that meld Western and indigin Kenya, their popularity among expawhen costenous knowledge. However, excessive
triates threatened the traditional Kenyan
sharing with
deviations from indigenous perspectives
breakfast industry. This was true even
recipients
often lead to the failure of AT projects. In
though the foreign cereals had a higher
is just as
principle, ATs should leverage both Westcost per nutrient ratio than that of the
ern and indigenous knowledge - but how
traditional diet. The loss of traditional
effective and
can they be balanced?
has the added food habits did not improve community
One example of such a balance is Kicknutrition but instead worsened it [12].
advantage
Start's manual treadle pump, which allows
Culture is a dynamic entity and technolof fostering
communities to access clean water quickly
ogy-driven social development is a valid
and easily. The initial design of the treadle
basis for cultural evolution. Outside
a sense of
pump caused women to move their hips
innovators can introduce game-changownership?
in a provocative manner, leading many
ers and culture-changers, as long as the
communities to reject it. Subsequently,
users maintain their right to determine
indigenous perspectives and knowledge informed
which technologies and cultural artifacts they want to
the redesign the pump's pedal geometry in order to
adopt and which ones they want to discard [13].
satisfy the communities' cultural norms and expectations [3]. Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE) in
Should AT Products be Localized for a Specific
Uganda took on the problem of young women missRegion or Standardized for a Larger Population?
ing school due to lack of sanitary pads during menOne of the most crucial design decisions for an AT
struation. SHE adopted a more Western perspective,
venture is whether to standardize or localize a paradvocating against this status quo by making sanitary
ticular product. Standardization means delivering the
pads affordable and accessible to schoolgirls. They
same product across cultural and geographical marleveraged indigenous knowledge to make pads from
kets, while localization treats each community as a
eco-friendly natural materials like banana bark and
"cultural being" and designs for specific needs and
employed traditional cooperative business structures
behaviors [14]. Standardization engenders reliabilto integrate this product into the local marketplace.
ity, quality control, and cost-effectiveness, and thus
They successfully improved the girls' school attenenables greater customer access. Localization ensures
dance while augmenting livelihoods and stimulating
that the needs and preferences of specific commuthe local economy [10].
nities (market segments) are met. However, it also
implies dozens of variations, higher upfront design
Is a Technology Appropriate
costs, and higher price points that could ultimately
if It Violates Cultural Norms?
render the product unaffordable.
New technologies often clash with local cultures. This
At the height of the appropriate technology movecould be unavoidable, as with ubiquitous technologies
ment in the 1980s, ATI developed a sunflower oil press
such as the Internet, or unintentional, like the treadle
designed specifically for small communities. The press
pumps that did not consider local cultural sensitivities.
was efficient and fit perfectly in the community. HowEven when ventures try to mitigate both these possiever, at a cost of nearly $200, it was too expensive for
bilities, achieving harmony with local cultures can be
the target users. Nearly a decade later, KickStart develdifficult [11]. For example, cell phones inherently comoped a cooking oil press that costs less than $30 and
promise cultural traditions and face-to-face conversations
has helped over a million people [15]. Their success
in rural areas. On one hand, we can blame cellphones for
can be attributed to standardizing and producing one
the destruction of traditional culture. At the same time,
specific product instead of several locally-attuned vercellphones have enhanced the lives and livelihoods of
sions. Even if a venture accepts the benefits of stanbillions of people, who have readily accepted the techdardization at the manufacturing level, implementation
nology and adapted their cultures accordingly. Culture is
may not be possible without localization. For example,
dynamic and should not be museumified either.
while the design of a basic mudbrick press might be
IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

SprING 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Spring 2014