Vision: Improved living standard in PNG

Our Mission: Research, Development, Application and Dissemination of Appropriate Technologies.

History

 ATCDI was established in 1978 by the South Pacific Appropriate Technology Foundation, The Melanesian Churches Council and The PNG University of Technology. ATCDI fulfills the third mandate of the PNGUOT, providing community service development to improve living standard in rural communities.

The Idea for establishing such an Institute was in line with the 8 point plan policy of the independent Government of PNG. These plans include the following statements:

1. A Rapid increase in the proportion of the economy under the control of Papua New Guineans.
2. More equal distribution of the economic benefits including a move towards equalizing incomes.
3.  Decentralized economic activity, planning and government spending with emphasis on agriculture development and village industry.
4. An emphasis on small-scale artisan, service and business activity.
5. A more self reliant economy, less dependent for its needs on imported goods and services.
6. An increasing capacity for meeting government spending needs from locally raised revenue.
7. A rapid increase in the equal and active participation of women in both the economy and social activity.
8. Government control and involvement in those sectors of the economy where control is necessary to achieve the desired kind of development.

 The trend during independence was that there was a need for and local development organisation that could assist in improving the livelihood of the majority of people in the people in rural communities. Addressing the basic needs of  excess to clean and safe water, lighting and cooking apparatus, food preparation and preservation and access to small technologies and appropriate tools and implements.

ATCDI Established Programs

1. Small Industries – This program aims to assist people in making small, appropriate technologies tools and implements for using in agriculture, small industries and related activity. Some examples of things produced are brick molds, Charcoal stove and rice thresher. This program has assisted the other programs very well by fabrication and installing project of water, micro hydro or water supply projects.

Display of fabricated products- ATCDI Small industries

2. Energy program – Researches and adapts technologies on harnessing energy from the sun, water or wind and converting into use-full sources for use as lighting and other power requirements.  This program is heavily involved with hydro-power projects around the country. Current project is focused on training of small biogas plant installation.

Laying pipes. Fasue Micro Hydro 2015

Solar Power Harnessing Training 2014

3. Water supply program – This program assist communities with feasibility studies and installations of appropriate water supply systems to provide clean and safe water to communities.

Bulolo Forestry College water supply project install by ATCDI Water Supply Program

Water Supply Training Using a Ram Pump

4. Food Technology program – The aim of this program is to research and adapt suitable processing methods and techniques to produce safe and marketable food items from locally grown produce to increase food supply and add value to marketable produce and increase shelf-life. Training in food processing covers food safety, HACCP, and GMP are part and partial of food processing technology. 

Pathfinders Baking Class – Unitech 2014

Magazezu Community Ube LLG Finchafen Displaying soap made from marita oil. Soap Training was conducted by ATCDI Food Program. 2015

5. Liklik Buk Publication – This section is involved with sourcing appropriate development information through journals, magazine and books which is disseminated to the community. The Liklik Buk is a resource information book collated and published ATCDI with support from AusAID funding. The Liklik Buk is a famous resource buk useful for community development workers.  It contains a wealth of information. The Save Na Mekim is the tok pisin version.

Our Strengths – Qualified and experienced Engineers, Scientist and Community Development officers are employed by the university’s administration to work for ATCDI’s development programs.  Our office facilities including work stations and communication network is fairly organized and connected with other departments as well as with other development organizations in the country and abroad which are easily accessed via internet. Our utilities like water and lightings are absorbed by the university budget. We have a supportive culture and a learning organisation which applies and disseminate impact development information and technologies.

Weakness – Sourcing project funds is a challenge. Since 1997, government support grants to ATCDI were cut and the user pay policy was created. Customers or funders have to provide for all the cost for project feasibility studies, installation or training activities.

Sourcing funds to pay for our casual workers is also a challenge. Currently they are being catered for by the University’s non recurrent budget which with be phased out due to shortage of funds. We need to recruit people who have passion especially with community development programs

Opportunities: We are exploring other ways to generate income for ATCDI.  We would like to increase training activities and upscale sales of books, food products and fabricated products. The water program would like to take up water drilling activities in communities once a portable drill is purchased. This is in addition to water project installation activities. The Energy program is also looking at building a biogas plant which will be used for producing cooking gas and training programs at ATCDI.

The food program is building its capacities to conduct cooking classes and plans  conduct regional food processing training for small scale entrepreneurs, focusing on creating small - scale food processing businesses

There has been a rapid growth of faith and community based organization whose activities are overlapping our programs. This is one reason why our programs have been challenged though we still maintain the upper hand in all our program activities.

Our future:  To be competitive with in our core functions - providing the basic necessities to the unprivileged rural communities in PNG.

We would like to explore selling our resource book “the Liklik Buk” on line, as well as other products. Installing a friendly – people oriented website for ATCDI and networking with our international development organisation

We will explore ways to increase the capacity of ATCDI to be the South Pacific Technology Transfer Center in partnership with willing international governments. 

ATCDI had been around for 38years (1978-2016). It has survived like a boat sailing through the PESTEL storm, (Effects of politics, economic, social and technological, ecological and legal requirements). It exits to make a difference in the lives of people in rural communities. A paradigm shift now is that ATCDIs vision is drawing towards urban peripheries (Settlements) where basic needs are just as great as those in the rural areas.