Central Asian people, lacking the wealth and know-how to implement Western style high-tech solutions, often astound with their originality and improvisation. Time and again, enterprising drivers have repaired a broken-down vehicle with whatever is at hand - a tin can, some duct tape or a dashboard cover plate. In the harsh climate of this remote corner of the world, do-it-yourself is a way of life. Modern equipment supplied by well-meaning donors is discarded after the first breakdown due to lack of qualified technicians and spare parts. It is no wonder that local drivers leave their sleek new Land Cruisers at Murgab and switch to dowdy old Russian jeeps for the roughest tracks of Gorno Badakhshan.
Therein lies a lesson not only for those who would recommend high-tech solutions for low-tech nations, but also for Western society in general. Not so many years ago, our grandmothers mended our torn socks, our fathers repaired damaged furniture and we brought our worn-out shoes to the shoemaker. Today, our torn socks are thrown away, replaced by a new pair, usually produced half a world away. Never mind that more petroleum than cotton is required to make a pair of socks and transport them to market. Today our damaged furniture is dumped in the landfill and replaced by a new piece, often expected to last only until we move to our next apartment. Never mind that a cheap bookcase with vinyl veneer will not biodegrade for another thousand years. Today our worn-out shoes end up in the trash, replaced by a new pair imported from abroad. Never mind that the local shoemaker is now unemployed.
Not coincidentally, this wasteful culture of consumerism has already resulted in armed conflict over dwindling natural resources, health problems due to pollution and toxic wastes, and a new social hierarchy spurning craftsmanship in favor of high-tech. While advanced science and engineering have indeed produced products and processes which have made our lives easier, they have also vastly increased our use of finite natural resources. This in turn has required massive investments in extraction technology research, waste disposal facilities, global transport infrastructure and military capability in order to guarantee resource supplies and supply routes. In their never-ending quest for economic growth, governments conveniently declare these investments to be "public infrastructure," enabling them to pass on the costs to each and every person, regardless of their level of consumption. Given the logic "if I am paying for it I may as well use it," there is no incentive to act in a sustainable manner. Worse yet, the lock-in effects of a non-sustainable infrastructure inhibit the creation of alternative sustainable paths.
But most sadly of all, no-one trapped in the wasteful and ultimately unfulfilling spiral of consumerism would ever think of building an irrigation system run by old teapots.
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