In 1973, the radical, Oxford-educated economist, E. F. Schumacher, published his ground-breaking book, Small is Beautiful. His critique of our economic system challenged the fundamental principles underpinning it, namely: consumption, profit and growth. Although controversial at the time, the book attracted enormous interest from across the world, becoming highly influential for environmental and social equality movements.
Schumacher called for people-centred economics, where the needs of communities are placed above the needs of corporations, and livelihood choices are based on ethics and job satisfaction. His proposed approach for tackling poverty is both pragmatic and holistic, emphasising the sustainable use of our natural resources.
This year, we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of this seminal, groundbreaking book and its pivotal place in our founding story and ethos.
Who was Ernest Friedrich Schumacher?
In his lifetime Schumacher wore many hats, from well-established economist and progressive entrepreneur to farmer and journalist. After completing a scholarship at Oxford, he taught economics at Colombia University. He served as Economic Advisor to the National Coal Board for twenty years, and President of the Soil Association.
While working as an advisor to the government of Burma (now Myanmar), his interest in the challenges faced by people living in poverty grew. In 1965, his views on the inadequacies of the UK’s overseas aid policies were put into print when the Observer published his article, “How to help them help themselves”. He called for an end to the imposition of expensive, large-scale technologies and prescriptive approaches, and a shift towards what he termed “intermediate technologies” – measures that are relevant to the local environment and context and informed by the needs and skills of people in developing countries.
The greatest deprivation anyone can suffer is to have no chance of looking after himself and making a livelihood.
E. F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful
Rather than speaking for communities, Schumacher wanted to work with them, understand their day-to-day challenges and enable them to improve their own lives. To put this approach into practice, in 1966 along with his collaborators, Schumacher founded the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), known today as Practical Action. He was awarded a CBE in 1974.
How has Small is Beautiful influenced Practical Action’s approach?
Small is Beautiful encapsulated Schumacher’s views on what constitutes sound, sustainable economic progress. The ITDG took practical steps towards this vision. As well as a radically different approach to supporting people living in poverty, its mission moved towards building local economies that work for everyone, and function within the limits of the planet’s finite resources.
Although the ITDG changed its name to Practical Action in 2005, the ethos of Schumacher’s writing still strongly informs our work today. From our policies to our projects on the ground, we’ve continued to adhere to his guiding principles and pragmatic, holistic approach to tackling the complex issues surrounding poverty.
It is a book that was shaped to enable people in developing countries to move from poverty with confidence that the solutions are made by themselves and are sustainable.
Josiane Uwizeye – Community Mobilization and Inclusion Officer, Practical Action
For over 55 years, we’ve worked closely with people on the frontlines of poverty and climate change to understand their needs and the wider, systemic issues affecting them. Together with communities, we’re developing unexpected, real-world solutions that work for both people and planet. Combining traditional know-how, with cutting-edge technology, to create simple but effective solutions that last. We work to protect lives and livelihoods, so communities can thrive in the face of climate change.
We still put sustainability at the heart of everything we do, implementing simple technologies that only utilise locally available materials, where possible. But we also believe in the power of using new technology to transform lives where appropriate. Solar power is a great example of this, as seen in Rwanda, where we established a local market for solar-powered lighting for refugee camps, and the solar-powered irrigation pumps that have made clean drinking water a reality in Kenya’s arid regions.
The book has retained its relevance. It’s a great advocate for sustainability, and central to many of modern ideas, such as degrowth, circular economics and doughnut economies. For myself, the most poignant aspect is its relevance to the climate emergency.
Colin McQuistan – Head of Climate Resilience, Practical Action
Watch our event
On Wednesday 11 October, we were joined by supporters for a panel discussion that celebrated the 50th anniversary of Small is Beautiful. Sarah Roberts was joined on the panel by Akinyi Walender, David Nash and Gaia Vince.
The panel discussion reflected on Schumacher’s legacy. The panel discussed the impact of climate change and shared inspiring examples of practical solutions that enable people to adapt and become more resilience. They also explored the additional changes we need to make to create a future that works better for everyone.
John Chettleborough, our Agriculture and Markets Lead, took part in a Schumacher Centre event
In July 2023, John Chettleborough – Practical Action’s Agriculture and Markets lead – took part in the “Schumacher Conversations: Envisioning the Next 50 Years” by the Schumacher Centre for New Economics. This was an opportunity to highlight the 50th anniversary of Small is Beautiful, bringing together change-makers whose work is actively shaping a ‘small is beautiful’ future, organised around 12 key themes and fields of activism.
The July theme was called “Developing Convivial Technologies for Right Livelihood” which gave John the opportunity to talk about Schumacher’s principles and the ways technological solutions are helping the people who need it the most.
The only difference in our approach since Schumacher’s time, is the scope and scale of our work.
We still believe that small is beautiful, but due to the complexity of issues like the climate emergency, we needed to scale up. Rather than only addressing the symptoms, we work to transform the systems that underpin our global challenges. Today, our work begins at the community level, where lifechanging shifts happen. Then we work with our global network of partners, supporters, communities, and governments to take solutions to a national, regional and global level. And we share what works with others, so answers that start small can create big change.
Take our waste management project in Bangladesh, for example. Emptying toilet pits and septic tanks used to be a dangerous, undignified job. It was poorly paid and workers suffered discrimination. At the community-level, we provided protective equipment and technology that enabled workers to empty the latrines without climbing inside. Then we took it a step further and collaborated with workers to establish cooperatives that would ensure fair wages and foster more respect from the public. But we didn’t stop there: we went beyond the city-level and presented these solutions to the government of Bangladesh, who are now building them into national policies. Just like our founder, we believe in the power of small to change the big picture.
Now is the perfect moment to revisit Schumacher’s ideas; they are as relevant now as they have ever been.
Join us in celebrating our milestones over the years
1971
Pedal power saves lives in remote Nigerian hospitals
Our engineering workshop in Zaria trained young people to make and maintain hospital equipment using locally available materials. This bicycle ambulance was one of their products.
1971
Ingenuity shines a light on child health
Other equipment made in Zaria included a baby incubator, hospital beds and lighting stands. We trained people to repair, maintain and calibrate the new equipment.
1973
Small is Beautiful
Schumacher’s book Small is Beautiful was published. Coinciding with the oil crisis, the book became a best seller and created worldwide interest in alternative technologies and economics.
1977
Our influence builds with a ministerial visit
We showed Dame Judith Hart, then UK Minister of Overseas Development, how we make stabilised soil bricks. We still train people to make these bricks today – they were used to rebuild houses after the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
1978
Big change starts with small boats in Juba
Boat building in Sudan was one of our earliest projects. In Juba, heavy rain can make roads impassable. Our small ferro-cement cargo boats were both flexible and manoeuvrable for transporting crops.
1987
Innovation = better health in Sri Lankan homes
Support from our donors allowed us to work with communities to develop a new stove with an insulating ceramic layer. It uses 30% less wood and produces less smoke. Our stoves remain popular – thousands have been made around the world.
1993
Clay pipes water crops on remote farms
We worked with smallholder farmers in the arid Chivi district in Zimbabwe to develop clay irrigation pipes to increase food security. By strengthening existing farmers’ clubs and women’s groups and working alongside the government, we ensured the project’s longevity.
1994
Training unlocks profits for Kenyan livestock farmers
Training in animal healthcare and the provision of a basic veterinary kit helped improve the health and value of farmers’ livestock. Trainees also increased their income by providing animal healthcare services to their community.
1997
Healthier alpacas mean more prosperous farmers
In the Peruvian Andes, our training for farmer to farmer extension workers, locally called Kamayoq, helped develop the skills needed to improve the health and productivity of the alpaca herds on which their livelihoods depend.
1998
Training and tech ease the load on arid farmland
Our innovative donkey plough proved a great time saver for women in North Darfur, Sudan. It was manufactured by local blacksmiths using easily obtainable materials. More than 1,364 ploughs were distributed here in the 1990s thanks to the generous support of our donors.
2002
Flourishing markets for flavoursome flowers
In Sudan, young women farmers saw their income grow when we helped them sell their hibiscus products more profitably by linking them with buyers and helping them access financial assistance to improve their businesses.
2006
The ingenious idea tackling a kitchen killer
Our improved cook stoves and smoke hoods have been used around the world, reducing toxic fumes in the home and the need to cut down wood for fuel. Our 2006 campaign helped put these life-saving products into even more homes.
2006
Smoke hoods hold the key to prosperity
Caleb, a metal worker from Kisumu in Kenya, makes a smoke hood to channel smoke from cooking fires. Our special design will help to alleviate the burden of ill health caused by smoke inhalation in the region, as well as earning him a good living.
2006
Water is life in the face of the climate crisis
A Maasai herdsman leads his animals to water in the Magadi district of Kenya. We supported these pastoral communities in adapting to climate change, which threatens their survival and way of life.
2007
Sustainable energy gives families brighter futures
Through a revolving fund, we helped install 47 micro-hydro stations in Peru between 1992 and 2007, producing enough electricity for more than 30,000 people. An example of what can be achieved through philanthropy and ingenuity.
2007
Coffee changes lives in the Amazon cloud forest
By improving forestry management and developing access to new markets for coffee, we enabled over 1,000 farming families in the Amazon cloud forest to increase their incomes as well as protect the fragile eco-system.
2008
Cheese is a game changer in rural Peru
Our partnership with local suppliers provides information for farmers and dairy farmers in Peru through a website, training programme and rural information system. This training session in Cajamarca is demonstrating good cheesemaking practice.
2010
Learning to cope with pests… and disasters
Pramila from Chitwan in Nepal learns to make organic pesticide from our special recipe of stinging nettle, cattle urine, dung, chilli, onion, garlic, and papaya. The pesticide improves productivity of her land and increases her income.
2011
The new skills unlocking brighter futures
Our Pathways from Poverty project, supported by UK donors, lifted more than 50,000 extreme poor out of poverty over five years. In flood-prone Bangladesh, a skill such as bicycle maintenance improves earnings and helps manage the impact of disasters and seasonal food shortages.
2011
A breath of fresh air in Sudan
These cook stoves don’t just mean clean lungs and good health to the women of Darfur. They represent freedom and financial independence. As well as helping them learn how to make the stoves, we showed them how to sell them at market for the best price.
2012
Nutritious pumpkins flourish on barren land
By sharing innovative techniques such as sandbar cropping, we’re helping communities living on embankments in Bangladesh, where land is regularly flooded, to keep producing healthy food for their families.
2012
The call centre helping remote farms thrive
The Krishi Call Centre offers real-time advice on farming issues in Bangladesh. Calls are free and experts provide immediate answers to callers’ agricultural problems.
2013
Vital information and advice – by podcast
Thanks to donor support and our training, podcasts are being recorded by extension agents. They’re played on mp3 devices to give isolated communities in Zimbabwe vital information about crop and livestock production and health and hygiene issues.
2013
Clean water – powered by the sun
The solar-powered pumps we helped install provide clean drinking water for drought-stricken communities in Turkana, Kenya. This saves the time spent collecting water and reduces the incidence of water-borne disease in the community.
2014
The children on the front line against floods
These kids in Peru are helping their communities cope with floods and landslides. We helped them set up a radio show that’s broadcast to schools across the country giving valuable information to teachers and pupils about weather patterns and evacuation procedures.
2014
Sudan’s women mean business
These women in North Darfur are heading up thriving businesses selling everything from food crops and hand-made baskets to perfumes and toiletries. Our work has unleashed their entrepreneurial spirits and helped them learn basic business and marketing skills.
2015
Health and dignity in the slums
In Bangladesh’s city slums, sewerage infrastructure isn’t keeping pace with city growth. Supported by gifts from our donors in the UK, we helped pit emptiers get specialist clothing and equipment like this ‘gulper’, as well as better pay and a voice in society.
2015
Reuniting families in Bangladesh
Jui has been seeing more of her dad since we trained him to make a living through pumpkin farming. Before, he spent hours travelling to the city of Rangpur for work. We’ve worked with rural families across Bangladesh to help them make a living from their land.
2016
Building back better after disaster
With our help, communities in Nepal are rebuilding their lives after the devastating earthquake in 2015. We’re helping people like this newly-trained stonemason develop the skills they need to build back their homes and help others do the same.
2016
Electrifying villages. Powering futures.
In isolated areas of Peru, the lack of electricity holds back individuals, businesses and whole communities from achieving their potential. We harnesses the power of the sun to connect eight of the country’s most remote districts. It’s powering progress and transforming lives.
2017
Seeds of change for remote farms
The climate crisis means that droughts are getting worse in Sudan. Millet farmers like Aisha struggle to earn a living. We’re helping them develop more robust seed varieties and form co-operatives, so they can get better prices for their products.
2018
Prosperity for growers that doesn’t cost the earth
Our work with coffee farmers in the cloud forests of Peru and Bolivia is protecting livelihoods and the environment. We’re helping to introduce planet-friendly agroecology techniques that increase yields while protecting the fragile ecosystem.
2018
Not too cool for school
These schoolchildren in Peru have internet access for the first time and it’s connecting them to a whole world of opportunity. Our project in Peru’s schools is also providing better toilets and clean water. The increased attendance rates speak for themselves.
2019
Mum and baby are doing well
Bondo Health Clinic sees up to 300 patients every week and two or three babies are born every day here. Since we helped connect the clinic to electricity supplied by our mini-grid, giving birth has been safer for new mothers and their babies.
2019
Building brighter futures around the world
In the 2018/19 financial year we delivered 84 projects on the ground in 10 countries. This year alone, we helped 1.8 million people directly and 2.8 million people indirectly. People like these schoolchildren in Nepal, whose school building doubles as an earthquake shelter.
Thank you
While our approaches have changed over the years, our founding principles remain intact. Equipping people to change their situations. Development solutions suited to context. Economic systems that benefit all. Our duty to live within the planet’s means. The combined power of knowledge, innovation and collaboration.
