Appropedia, one of the major sources of inspiration for this site, is devoted to “collaborative solutions in sustainability, poverty reduction and international development through the use of sound principles and appropriate technology and the sharing of wisdom and project information.”
The following is from their “About” page:
Appropedia has been described as an “appropriate technology wiki,” but it is much broader than that – it is a green wiki, and a wiki for all matters of international development and aid. But most importantly, Appropedia is an open site for stakeholders to come together to find, create and improve scalable and adaptable solutions. For more about our motivation, see Appropedia:Mission.
Appropedia began in April of 2006. In the earliest stages it was a collaboration between passionate people from the United States and Australia, and quickly expanded to become a global project.
A number of other similar sites have “joined with” Appropedia since its inception, bringing many content pages, readers and contributors, including:
- Sustainable Development Wikia
- WinWinWiki
- Wikigreen.org
- Village Earth’s Appropriate Technology Wiki Project
- HowToLiveWiki, home of the Hexayurt
- The sGoals Wiki, a.k.a. the Sustainable Goals Wiki (sustainable business)
Our goal here is not to reinvent the wheel (perhaps the classic example of an appropriate technology) or to reproduce what can be found elsewhere. Consequently, wherever possible this site will draw from, and refer users to, the best available source of current information on appropriate solutions for sustainable social enterprises everywhere.