In Papua New Guinea where irrigation facilities are insufficient, farmers can get their water for farming through pumping underground water by pedaling bicycles. In Cambodia whose citizens often suffer from waterborne diseases because the main sources of the water are rain or reservoir, domestic water purifier development technology has been developed.
Just like water pumping and water purifying technology, a technology that is designed and developed considering the cultural, social and economic background of a community, is called appropriate technology. These technologies are often said that they’re suitable for developing countries since the cost of design and maintenance of the technology is smaller than the high-tech technology.
A technology contest was held in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, on Dec. 18. The contest aimed at developing appropriate technology that is designed for better quality of life, and to achieve the goal, the contest shared some of the Korea’s intellectual property.
The contest titled “Innovative Solutions for Everyday Life” was jointly organized by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and a total 40 pieces were applied for the contest.
Creators of the three best pieces submitted to the 2015 KIPO-WIPO Appropriate Technology Competition received awards on Dec. 18 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
KIPO has collaborated with the world countries like Nepal and Cambodia in the development and commercialization of appropriate technology by sharing 270 million items of intellectual property since 2010, and, beginning in 2011, has organized ten Appropriate Technology competitions in eight different countries. 707 ideas and accompanying technologies have been evaluated in the competitions, and some of the winning technologies are now being produced commercially.
One example of this commercialization process is a wool-dyeing technology, which won a prize at the 2014 competition in Mongolia. The winning technology was based on a patented Korean dyeing technology. A new dyeing machine, which has been developed based on this award-winning technology, helps maintain the quality of every product that needs dyeing in Mongolia, where the machine is currently being used by businesses in Mongolia.
By Chang Iou-chung
Photo: Korean Intellectual Property Office
icchang@korea.kr
