From the Marketplace

I read an interesting article describing new innovations in technology for developing countries. Inexpensive technology such as a hand powered pump sold for about $50 could enable a previously destitute group of farmers to adequately irrigate their fields and provide enough food for their families and additional food to sell. The interesting fact is that commercially, with the needs for such basic technology so widespread, it can actually be a profitable enterprise for the manufacturer.

Most of us forget the nature of such basic challenges as moving water from a river to a field, but for much of the world, those matters involve hours of laborious hauling by bucket or barrel, dipping into the streams or rivers and traveling long hours by foot to move that provision of water to the family home. Essential needs remain at the forefront of changing the political landscape and removing the many abuses brought about by poverty and ignorance. To control a population of people by the imposition of restrictions on their access to water or food resources has been and will continue to be the way of many of the world’s dictators and political thugs.

As simple new technologies are made available through the work of communities of faith, dramatic changes can take place. Such work has been seen in many parts of the world as the labors and instruction of faithful servants of God have taught the basics of planting and growing using a system of crop rotation and fertilizing that maintained good soil fertility. Teaching about animal health for herdsmen and offering helpful instruction regarding the care of their animals has done much to rebuild the lives of many. Families and communities have their lives dramatically changed by the provision of a pair of goats or the bringing of clean drinking water to their village via a tube well.

Closer to home, it may be time to rethink getting back to basics in light of our changing economies. Fewer cars, more public transportation, more communities centered around basic services in close proximity may need to be the “wave” of the future. Exercising cooperative efforts that improve the quality of life for others may be a way to find a rejuvenation of our own economies and likewise a lifestyle that incorporates more responsible stewardship of resources.

The golden rule of Jesus’ teaching marks a socially unsettling message of caring about others as much as we care about ourselves. As they say…try it and you might like it. Advice from the Savior of the world seems reasonable to act upon.