Information for international bodies and governments
Practical Action
Practical Action is an international NGO, working directly in four regions of the developing world – Latin America, East Africa, Southern Africa and South Asia, with particular concentration on Peru, Kenya, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.
In these countries, Practical Action works with poor communities to develop appropriate technologies under four international programmes - Reducing Vulnerability, Markets & Livelihoods, Access to Services and New Technologies. We have over 100 active projects, and in 2009-10 worked with 943,000 direct beneficiaries.
Our approach
Practical Action works alongside communities to find practical solutions to the poverty they face. We see technology as a vital contributor to people’s livelihoods.
We actively seek to work with communities and adopt a collaborative approach, sharing knowledge and experience. We increase our impact by scaling up success and pushing for policy change that directly benefits poor communities.
We help identify and implement practical, sustainable technologies that people can use to improve their lives. We research, test and demonstrate how they can have a significant impact on poverty.
But we also go further than this. We adapt existing technologies, making sure that success in one country can form a template for success in another. Consequently, our projects make an impact far beyond the communities that initially benefit. We build on successful pilot projects and proven technologies by encouraging communities, governments or other development agencies to adopt them so that more people can benefit.
To maximise the life-changing potential of ideas, we publish books, journals, newsletters and web pages. We offer a technical enquiry service, communicate with the print and broadcast media, provide consultancy services, and influence the content of learning materials to educate and inspire young people.
Annual report
Practical Action's annual report and accounts for 2009-10 are available to download as a PDF file. They include a review of our international programmes against strategic objectives, the report of the independent auditors and a detailed financial statement.
Annual Report & Accounts 2009-10 (PDF, 1.3Mb)
Related documents
1st Place - Poster
Download the summary poster for the "Making Markets Work for Small Holder Farmers and Rural Producers in Bangladesh" project below, which includes details on the problem, what was done about it, and the lessons learnt.
Read more2nd Place - Meet the Winner
Learn more about Patience Samhutsa, the project manager of the "Agro-Dealership Voucher Scheme" project.
Read more3rd Place - Meet the Winner
Learn more about Paca Villanueva, the project manager for "Young Rural Entrepreneurs in Peru".
Read moreAbout Practical Answers
Practical Answers is the Technical Information Service of Practical Action. It aims to provide a resource on small-scale technologies or intermediate technologies that can be used to improve the lives of people living in poverty.
Read moreAbout the Impact Awards
Find out more about the Impact Awards, what they aim to achieve, and the principles they're based on.
Read moreAccess to energy transforms lives
In this video, Practical Action's East Africa Regional Director Grace Mukasa explains how energy can help people come out of poverty.
Read moreAccess to infrastructure services
To improve access to the basic services for rural and urban poor in Nepal, Practical Action works in the renewable energy sector, complementary transport services, water and sanitation, waste management, and in promoting generally healthier living environments.
Read moreAdaptation
As floods, droughts and food crises occur more often, communities find they have less time and resources to recover. These poor communities, often living on the edge of disaster, need to be able to access new technologies and simple methods to adapt to the changing climate, to fight their way out...
Read moreAddressing climate change
Practical Action has implemented pilot adaptation in seven regions of Peru, which have been validated methodologies, management tools and technologies according to each situation
Read moreAerial ropeways
A road in the sky improves access for people living in isolated and mountainous areas, as well as lighting up the village by night
Read moreAn overview of our community-based extension work
Community based extension involves training community representatives to support farmers with advice, services and inputs on an on-going basis.
Read moreAnnual report and accounts 2010-11
Practical Action's annual report and accounts for 2010-11 are available to download. They include a review of our international programmes against strategic objectives, the report of the independent auditors and a detailed financial statement.
Read moreBenefits of smoke hoods in Nepal
Video: Lekh Maya has seen improvements in her and her children's health after the installation of smokehood by Practical Action in Devisthan village of rural Nepal.
Read moreCase studies
Case studies illustrating the results of some of Practical Action's work in east Africa.
Read moreCatalysing modern energy service delivery to marginal communities in Southern Africa (regional hydro)
This five-year project, funded by the European Commission, will rehabilitate six existing micro hydro schemes and establish nine new ones, targeting the mountainous regions of Manica in Mozambique,...
Read moreClimate change document library
Documents on climate change, from policy reports and briefing documents to case studies and research papers.
Read more
Practical Action
The Schumacher Centre for Technology & Development
Bourton on Dunsmore
RUGBY
CV23 9QZ
United Kingdom
telephone: +44 (0) 1926 634400
fax: +44 (0) 1926 634401
e-mail: practicalaction@practicalaction.org.uk