History and Vision
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Steve Troy - Mexico 1967
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Steve is a founding pioneer of our sustainable living/ appropriate technology/ renewable energy culture.
Since 1966, he's worked to shift our ways of living toward systems that protect rather than degrade the environment; sustain rather than deplete our natural resources; and create meaningful and fulfilling lifestyles rather than empty, materialistic, self-defeating searches for happiness.
In his own words, here's a description of one of his formative experiences in a remote Mexican village, 1967:
"It was the summer of 1967. I was working in a Mexican Peace Corp-type community development project (CIASP) and walking down a dirt road talking to my friend Pablo. His dream was moving to Los Angeles and I couldn't understand why. His small village didn't have any kind of indoor plumbing or telephones and only a minimal amount of electricity but I felt it had so many more important qualities. He lived in a beautiful valley where almost anything would grow. The people had a simple, close relationship with their land and each other – wholesome family values and a sense of genuine goodness and caring.
I don't know if Pablo took my advice and stayed in his village but more likely he followed the trend of the millions worldwide who have left their remote villages and crammed into crowded, squalid cities filled with crime and every imaginable form of degradation.
The cities in developing countries attract villagers with the allure of higher paying jobs, exotic entertainment, and the various excitements of our materialistic world. The cost of these enticements in human and environmental terms is often horrifying.
I realized that appropriate technology offers a choice. It is possible to create higher paying and more meaningful jobs in the most remote region. It is possible to improve health care and general living conditions on a low budget with locally available materials. It is possible to inspire exciting projects that benefit the entire community and provide a deep sense of accomplishment and self-sufficiency."