Open: NCIIA 14th Annual Conference

An economic model based on self-reliance introduced in the Democratic Republic, Congo has in three years transformed a community of 4,000 people from abject poverty into one of Congo's largest rice producers. Our class series develops "leapfrog" technologies, allowing developing countries to bypass the carbon-rich step taken by the West. Our goal is a high standard of living that neither damages the environment nor subordinates the community to conventional energy supplies. We offer this model to faculty working to bring technical solutions to global problems for people at the base of the pyramid. We will discuss the economic model as well as the development of renewable energy technologies with a strong emphasis on efficiency and restraint of excess. In particular we will discuss several different kinds of solar technologies, ox power, and the use of biomass, including building materials, fuel for burning, and methane gas.