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edge, especially in the context of climate ~ change," he says. "Traditional societies ~ follow practices that conserve water and ~o energy and are respectful of all natural resources ." _ "The knowledge of the developing world is often called 'traditional knowledge,' " ~ explains Madhavi Sunder, a professor of ~ law at the University of California, in U Davis. "We have a stereotype of people in the developing world as traditional, communal, and engaged for millennia in imbibing tradition without creating anything new. But this is an incomplete picture, and is sometimes simply false! " The Honey Bee Network illustrates the ingenuity of people, including poor people, in every corner of the Earth. Everywhere, there are individuals putting their minds to solving current problems, improving their quality of life, and even inventing to find love. harvest from ," he notes. Gupta tells the story of one gentleman Gupta says he also gained insights who developed an amphibian bicycle so he from working with the Zunis, who live in could go and meet his lady across a lake. He the desert that stretches across the border tells of a young college student who inventbetween the United States and Mexico. ed a pedal-powered washing machine so For example, one could see potholes on she could complete her chores quickly and the road and find fields that had not been have more time for her studies. cultivated for centuries. The Zunis had As Sunder says, "The Honey Bee tried to revive old peach trees by applying Network has documented the stories of dung manure on the stumps. The sprout- real individuals with modern concerns ing of new shoots led to a revival of the and a modern sensibility for creatively germ-plasm that had been lost for several solving problems." In fact , folkloric decades, if not centuries, says Gupta. knowledge can be very useful in finding "Indigenous communities in America too solutions to contemporary problems. For face the same dilemma that their know 1- example, indigenous architecture across edge is not valued by society and yet they the world has evolved in such a way that have some of the most precious knowl- homes stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter, naturally, without electricalMadhavi Sunder. ly-enabled temperature c路ontrol. ffi Although it began in India, the Honey 11 til Bee Network has grown to be a movement, with a newsletter that reaches peo! ple in more than 75 countries. ~ "Innovators exist everywhere," con8 cludes Gupta. 'There are a lot of people who are ready and willing to share and become part of this global community of innovators. Sustaining a movement requires collective effort. Individuals can galvanize but they cannot sustain. The Honey Bee Network is not one person's work; it is the effort of many, many people." ~
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Susant Pattnaik from Bhubaneshwar in Orissa demonstrates the use of his breathing sensor apparatus. The device uses an electronic circuit to decode breathing patterns and tranf1Jate them into a communication system similar to Morse Code.
a Metaphor for Designing Technologies, Institutions and Social Networks," Gupta took students out to meet innovators in their own community. "Among the innovators we met was Andrew Smith, a farmer at Newport's Mineral Spring Mushroom Farm, who was using some very interesting methods in mushroom cultivation," Gupta says. "So, when the students asked him what he would do if they took his idea and started using it themselves, he said he was cool with it, that he would buy mushrooms from them and work on something else and create more value." Gupta notes that Smith did not have any problem with sharing his knowledge. "It's a stereotype to say people don't want to share, that they are greedy for more money. It's not true. Instead, there is a lot of encouragement and enthusiasm." In the high-crime, Iron Triangle area of Richmond, California, near Berkeley, Gupta says he met wonderful people who were encouraging kids to grow fruits and vegetables in an abandoned railway yard and sell them by the roadside. "They are 'open source gardens ' that anybody can
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Vaidehi lyer is a journalist and editor based in Chennai. SPAN MAY/JUNE 20 10
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