What's new

News and additions to this website

The Small is... Festival August 2010
The Small is… Festival is a celebration and evolution of the ideas of Small is Beautiful, held at the start of September in the beautiful grounds of the international development charity Practical Action, in the Warwickshire countryside.

Sustainable energy in action August 2010
Practical Action is participating at the Vidulka exhibition organized by Sri Lanka's Sustainable Energy Authority and the Ministry of Power and Energy.

EF Schumacher centenary August 2010
2011 sees the 100th anniversary of the birth of economist E.F. Schumacher, founder of Practical Action. A new website celebrates his life and work, and visitors are invited to share stories, pictures and memories of Schumacher and discuss how and why he has influenced them.

Africa’s smallholder farmers July 2010
A new report from Practical Action and other NGOs emphasises the need to support and prioritise smallholder farmers in Africa, and to provide the right kind of support that enables them to strengthen agriculture and livelihoods over the long term.

Consensus Building with Participatory Action Plan Development July 2010
This guide, adapted and tested by Practical Action in Bangladesh and Sudan, sets out an approach to community planning that intends to build local consensus to help people manage and improve their livelihood options.

Community-Based Adaptation Workshop July 2010
This workshop in London offers an opportunity for practitioners new to community-based adaptation to build their capacity, and for those with experience to share findings and discuss emerging issues in this vital area of work.

Addressing Food Security in Sudan June 2010
From donkey ploughs and agricultural tools to dams and terraces to collect scarce rainwater, a new video provides an overview of Practical Action's food security project work in Sudan.

Towards Resilient Cities June 2010
A new booklet on engaging the urban poor from Practical Action South Asia, with case studies from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

New international director June 2010
Practical Action is pleased to welcome its new International Director, Paul Smith Lomas.

Video: access to energy May 2010
A life without energy condemns people to a life of poverty. Lives are devastated as ill health and poor education take their toll. A new animated video from Practical Action shows how simple energy solutions can change this ...

Building Back Better May 2010
A new book, Building Back Better, examines the context for reconstruction, and shows how developments in the fields of housing, participation and livelihoods have changed and enriched approaches to reconstruction. Download or buy hard copy »

Practical Action chosen for prestigious New York museum exhibition May 2010
Practical Action has been recognised for its work in Sudan as our innovative Improved Clay Stoves go on display at the Smithsonian Institution in New York – the world’s largest museum complex.

Making an impact in Nepal April 2010
A series of video reports from our project work in Nepal show how gravity ropeways and river crossings can make a vital difference to life in remote mountain villages.

Sudan Annual Report April 2010
Practical Action Sudan's annual report for 2008-2009, including highlights of our project work and financial reports, is available to download, in English or Arabic.

No Tech Day March 2010
No Tech Day, on Saturday 27 March, challenged tech addicts to go without their favourite technology for a day, to raise awareness of how what life is like for people in the developing world who do not have the same access to technology and energy. No Tech Day website | blogs

Latin America video diary March 2010
From organic coffee in the rainforests of the Amazon to renewable energy in the Andes, blogs and video diaries from our projects in Peru and Bolivia.

Food security warning March 2010
Regions of Zimbabwe supported by recent Practical Action projects on food security have been hit by dry weather and reduced yields.

Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis Toolkit March 2010
Eleven agencies have been collaborating in Haiti, using the new tool Emergency market Mapping and Analysis, which helped them to identify four critical market systems to the recovery phase.

Blog: climate change adaptation in East Africa February 2010
As the fourth international conference on climate change adaptation gets underway, Practical Action's experts report from Kenya and Tanzania on the impact that climate change is having on poor communities.

Energy and poverty February 2010
Energy is vital for poverty reduction. The Prince of Wales recently hosted a meeting for Practical Action to look at ways of getting modern energy to poor people in the developing world.

World Urban Campaign February 2010
Practical Action is among a coaltion of organisations designing the World Urban Campaign, which aims to promote policies, share practical tools and raise awareness for sustainable urbanisation. A competition has been launched to design a logo for this campaign.

Earthquake in Haiti January 2010
We offer our sympathy to those affected by the recent earthquake in Haiti. Although we are not an emergency relief organisation, we will be offering support to agencies who are involved in the relief effort, and have a range of technical information and on the ground experience to help the rebuilding.

Using the landscape to supply communities with water January 2010
A Multiple-use Water System uses gravity to provide families in Nepal with enough water to drink and feed their crops. Constructed with local materials, this simple technology solves the problem of water being out of reach - and helps families lift themselves out of poverty.

South Asia annual report January 2010
Practical Action South Asia's Annual Report for 2009, including case studies from our work in Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan, is now available to download.

News archive 2001-2009