Appropriate technology

Appropriate technology is technology chosen in a way to be sensitive to its context of use.

Appropriate technology is generally considered to be that which is designed with the user in mind, and is often small-scale, often labor-intensive, energy-efficient, sustainable, and amenable to local maintenance and control.

The term "intermediate technology" was used by the economist Dr. E.F. Schumacher in his pioneering work, Small is Beautiful.

Appropriate technology resources for education
Appropedia is an active "sustainability wiki" with a focus on appropriate technology and developing country contexts.
 * The Appropriate technology category has many pages, but the wiki as a whole (with 5000 pages) tends to view technologies, techniques, policies etc through the lens of appropriateness to the context and to the environment, i.e. appropriate technology.
 * Permaculture is a growing focus of Appropedia. Permaculture this is an approach to food production and living which includes a major focus on appropriate technology.
 * Various university classes use Appropedia as a platform for students to document their projects or to post their written project. This includes ENGR305 Appropriate Technology at Humboldt State University in Northern California, among others.
 * A teacher's guide describes how to use Appropedia with your class.

Wikipedia has an appropriate technology category.