Nanna Technology: What do YOU think of the term?

Have you ever been to a public talk where question time was hijacked by statement time?  Apologies in advance, I think I am about to do that.

I came across the term 'Nanna Technology' when I was researching for my master's project.

Check out this cool pdf with explanation and examples

I was on board immediately - I loved the term as it summed up exactly what I was interested in:

Simple, frugal, often daggy solutions to address issues of reducing wastage and resource use in the home.  The solutions might not look as pretty as the store-bought solutions, but they are just as neat.  Also, skills such as vegetable gardening and sewing are include in the broad umbrella of technologies - skills that were once more common.

I love that there is problem solving involved, asking yourself:

What is going on?
How can I stop that happening?
What do I have that would work?
What do I need to solve this?

Snake draft stoppers are an example of nanna technology.  Older houses especially have large openings that allow cold air in and leak warm air.  Solution? Block the gap.  Use some material offcuts and fill with whatever you have around. Alternatively, roll up some towels and secure with rubber bands.

I like small scale solutions to problems. They can be done immediately or almost immediately and thus get done.  They don't involve 'barriers to participation" like money outlay, specialised knowledge or skills or much time and organisation.  So all can do it- and I guess my interest in sustainability is how we can make it accessible to all.  Not necessarily as it is "good for the environment" or it being the "right thing to do" - just small, doable solutions that make sense for comfort, cost, energy consumption..oh and the environment.  In my experience, and from research too, I know that one positive experience or action begets another.  You have a win with something, you get confidence and you want to learn more.  You make it a priority - or even if not a priority, it is not a chore.  In short, it gets done.

And that's how I want to seek a response to climate change.  Just get it done - without preaching and doom and gloom.  I want to learn heaps about how I can live with less wastage and less resources.

And how interesting that we can learn so much from the past on this - and people who have experienced it themselves.  Living through war rationing and economic depression will do that!

I have some wonderful female "role models" - relatives, friends and co-workers who inspire me in many ways.  Including Gwen and Ellen, my Granma and Nanna.  Both had interesting lives.

Granma was a nurse during WW2 and was stationed at Magnetic Island, just off Townsville.  She taught me how to march around the garden and made clothes for my dolls - she was great on the sewing machine.  She knitted and made dresses - including my Mum's wedding dress.  Jack, my Grandpa, was equally awesome: he was a barber who also enlisted during the war (They met on Magnetic Island, Gwen nursing Jack to health while they fell in love…sigh!).  He kept a vegetable garden.  They had a grey water system back in the early 80s!

Nanna grew up in a large family on a farm.  She married, went to the city and had 6 children.  She was very religious and went to mass most mornings, before feeding, cleaning, washing and shopping for her family.  Nanna is famous for her Ginger sponge.  I never met Arch, my Dad's father.  He died when Dad was still at school.

Suffice to say, I have a lot of respect for my own grandparents and would never use the term "nanna technology" if I felt it was offensive.  Older people have skills we now need - they used them or they were taught by their parents.  We are losing these skills and it WORRIES me we are so passive and dependent on technology and energy.

I want to learn how to look after myself and my family and feel the self esteem that comes with doing it myself.  I also want to spend time with my daughter and my older relatives to learn and teach and do - and while learning get that intangible bonding time that we are missing in modern society.

You know what I mean.

I want to step in to the movie, "How to make an American Quilt".  I want to be adopted by an Italian family for tomato sauce making day.

I'm looking forward to writing about technologies I have already learnt.  Plus my new project that is still in the developmental stages.  Let's just say, "very excited" and "that's what I have been looking for, for at least 5 years" - it will be huge.  But in a small and simple way.

So, the question I would like to ask today is, What do you think of the term, Nanna Technology?  Does it engage you?  Do / did your grandparents have their own technologies?

Welcome to my place on the internet.

Welcome.

Chotto Nanna is the title I have settled on after much thought and tweaking.

'Chotto' is my favourite Japanese word - it means, "a little bit".  It also softens expressions, useful in a country where people are polite and generally not too direct in their communications with each other.  I love a lot about Japan -I lived there for 4 years- and continue to be inspired by their design and principle of "just enough".  I am also fairly moderate in my approach to most things - a little bit of a hippie, a little bit of a travel freak.

'Nanna' refers to my interest in Nanna Technology - not "7" in Japanese, although I do love double meanings. Pass me a knee rug and help me preserve some apricots while we talk about finding simple but ingenious solutions to everyday problems - not at a shop, but within the home.   Why buy something when you have the solution at home?  Save the money for …. an awesome trip somewhere?!? Yes, it is a contraction to be acutely aware of resources at home and then to get on a plane. But, you know, chotto get over it!!

Moderation, mindfulness and an open mind are what you will find here.

I'll put on the kettle, pop your slippers on and relax.

Welcome.