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LOW←TECH MAGAZINE

This is a solar-powered website, which means it sometimes goes offline Power

Thematic Book Series: How to Build a Low-tech Internet?

We have launched the first volume in a new series of books opening up Low-tech Magazine’s archive by theme.

Human Powered Air Compressor and Energy Storage System

Andy Lagzdins built and documented a pedal-powered air compressor to run the power tools in his motorcycle workshop.

Rebuilding a Solar Powered Website

You’re looking at a completely rebuilt version of the solar powered website, which now allows you to turn off the dithering compression and see the original images.

Low-tech Magazine: The Comic

Filmmaker Guillaume Lion visited Low-tech Magazine in Barcelona and turned his experience into a comic for the Belgian magazine Médor.

Can We Make Bicycles Sustainable Again?

Cycling is the most sustainable form of transportation, but the bicycle is becoming increasingly damaging to the environment. The energy and material used for its production go up while its life expectancy decreases.

What if We Replace Guns and Bullets with Bows and Arrows?

The bicycle and the bow are both highly efficient, human-powered technologies that could substitute for two very harmful alternatives: the car and the firearm. Why do we promote one but not the other?

When Lethal Weapons Grew on Trees

While manufacturing modern firearms and bullets depends on a global supply chain and fossil fuels, bows and arrows can be made anywhere out of anything, using only human power and simple hand tools.

How to Build a Practical Household Bike Generator

We built a pedal-powered generator and controller, which is practical to use as an energy source and exercise machine in a household – and which you can integrate into a solar PV system. We provide detailed plans to build your own, using basic skills and common hand tools.

The Revenge of the Hot Water Bottle

Imagine a personal heating system that works indoors as well as outdoors, can be taken anywhere, requires little energy, and is independent of any infrastructure. It exists – and is hundreds of years old.

The Printed Website: Volume III & The Comments

The printed archives of Low-tech Magazine now amount to four volumes with a total of 2,398 pages and 709 images.

Fascine Mattresses: Basketry Gone Wild

Around the 17th century, the Dutch started reinforcing their dykes and harbours with sturdy mats the size of football pitches – hand-woven from thousands of twigs grown on nearby coppice plantations. These “fascine mattresses” were weighted with rocks and sunk into canals, estuaries, and rivers.

How to Build a Low-tech Solar Panel?

George Cove, a forgotten solar power pioneer, may have built a highly efficient photovoltaic panel 40 years before Bell Labs engineers invented silicon cells. If proven to work, his design could lead to less complex and more sustainable solar panels.