What is lost in this proc_e~s is many-fold: • people go home frustrated not knowing what is an appro- 'priate technology and what is not-there is no objective way or means to evaluate the products that ii-re put before them in a competitive context. (There is little or no education.) • which brings us to another problem: the context is selling, • people are'left with the impression that a.t. fs something you buy. • • the kinds of ideas shared there are limited-no one is there selling dirt for mud housing, for example. • there is a competitive spirit, rather than a kindred spirit. • the total picture which is inherent in any definition of a.t.-the form, _sense of community, is absent. A.T. is a field ripe fo~ capitalization, exploitation, and co-optation. We need to ask ourselves what our role and responsibility is in relation to these new age scams. Do we participate? Are we co-opted ,if we do participate? There is definitely lots of appeal in reaching more people, helping our financial situations-there is a need for inore people to have access to a.t. kinds of information. How do we evaluate the tradeoff? When the entrepreneurs work hard at getting credible groups involved, they use that credibility to lure other groups in. Can we learn from and work with the entrepreneurs to organize successful conferences and fairs and share with them our sense of community, education and business as interrelated elements of our lives? Or do grassroots groups have the skills to organize events themselves? This is not to say that there can't be selling at a fair/conference. Only that if things are being sold, there must be ac-' companying education via.workshops, for example, so people can hear so~eone with expertise on wood-heat explain about wood-heat principles, safety, stove efficiency, or even how to build your own woodstove. The effects of doing things for oneself can come through in all levels of the process-from eliminating cq.rtain dividers so we can construct our own spaces to public participation and hands-on learning experiences. , Otlier'questions can. be raised as well: if you have th.oughts to be shared on ~he subject, we.'d like to hear how you feel. -LS November 1978 RAIN Page 15 Yes! A Grassroots Organized A.T. Fair! We've just received word about MATNET (Mid-Atlantic Appropriate Technology-Network) doing this very thing in the East. They're the grassroots behind the Appropriate Community Technology Fair and Conferenc~-a region-wide event scheduled next spring April 2? to May 1, 1979, in Washington, D.C. Take a look at their plans and see how positive it can be: • plans for the fair and conference include featuring all the exhibits and speakers in the context of a model a.t. community. That is, the layout of the booths, exhibits, speakers, etc. will seek to simulate as closely. as possible the layout of a community. • the primary focus is training of citiz,en activists from throughout the region as well as exposing people from the region to resources and hands-on information available in the mid-Atlantic region. Rather than bringing people together to show them an exhibit of a commercial solar collector, people will learn via workshops and participatory exhibits: how to build a solar greenhouse, how to organize a community sweat equity program, how to open a community health clinic, how to start,a small newsletter, how to retrofit a house, start a community garden, etc. • people will take skills home with them. Contact MATNET about the fair at: ACT, P.O. Box·57078, Washington, DC 20037, for more information. -LS (Thanks to Ken Bossong) Citizen Involvement in the Local Budget Process, A Citizen Action Guide, 1978, 50 pp., $1.50 from: FORESTRY Practices Rules relati~e to the aerial application of these chemicals-{ncreasing spray buffer zones,.public warning requirements, road closures in affected areas and monitoring for herbicide conta~inatian. For a copy of these amendments contact: The Center for Community Change 1000 Wisconsin Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20007 Attn: Publications For those of us working to move our communities in 101 saner directions, the need to bring more influence upon local political and economic processes is becoming increasingly clear. Here is a remarkably handy guide that will help in one phase of tltat effort: navi-• gating the ins-and-outs of a typical city budgeting process. It clearly and simply outlines direct access points for citizens groups throughout the entire process-from departmental requests to the final auditing. Among other things, the report notes a strong connection between innovative budget-making approaches and the resurgence of neighborh,ood self-determination. -SA The Other Face of2,4 D, A Citizens' Report, John W. Warnock and Jay Lewis, 1978, 17 5-plus pp., $7.00 from: South Okanagan Environmental Coalition P.O. Box 188 Pendcton, B.C. V2A 6K3 CANADA First serialized in Acres, U.S.A. (see Rain, Aug/Sept 1978), an expanded edition of this excellent report is now available in its entirety from the above group. It is a must for people working to control the use of all-pervasive and persistentl,y dangerous phenoxy herbicides. On a related front, supporters of increased regulations on the use of Dioxin-containing herbicides have succeeded in amending the Oregon Forest I Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NtAP) P.O. Box 375 Eugene, OR 97440 Finally, in response to a U.S. Forest Service official's comment that opposition to herbicide usage was coming, from a "lunatic fringe," Citizens Against Toxic Herbicides, 2737 25A St., Clarkston, WA 99403, is offering handsome certificates confirming membership in the Order of 'the Lunatic Fringe. Do'nations will be used to fi- .. •nance a federal lawsuit attacking the use of phenoxies in forestry practices. Get yours today! -SA·
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