Paper-based technology
Practical Action
Using paste also means that work has to be done in stages, so it can dry in between. The
construction of an APT item is a protracted process, but pasting brings advantages that far
outweigh any problems. It makes everything flexible and easy to manipulate. Surfaces can be
worked smooth with the hand. Pieces of card can be cut and manipulated or moulded into a
desired shape. Thin pasted card can be rolled tight to make a hard strong tube. While still soft,
tubes can be flattened to make bars or bent into any shape. Moist paper tubes are even more
flexible.
They can be pressed like putty along the angle between two boards to strengthen the join, or they
can be flattened, to make belts for pulling and holding things together. Pasted paper can be
moulded into any shape, and the pasted material will always dry hard and strong. Thus the overall
effect of using paste as the adhesive is to give the APTer the freedom to manipulate the material
just as he wishes. It facilitates almost every operation of the technology.
Few technologies can be more friendly to the environment. APT consumes waste and it recycles
paper and card to make articles that would often have been made of wood. It makes solar devices
that cook without fuel and pollution. It saves human resources by making equipment that helps in
the rehabilitation of people with disabilities, and by providing them and many unemployed people
with the opportunity to earn a living, and APT waste is biodegradable!
Essential technology
The freedom enjoyed by the experienced APTer has to be earned. It can be disastrous for the
novice to innovate. APT is technically very disciplined, and its skills and techniques have to be
learned. These can be considered under two heads:
The Basic knowledge and techniques applicable in most constructional processes, and the
Standard approaches, designs and special techniques for using paper in its different forms to
make different categories of articles.
Figure 1: APT tools and accessories – basic kit for most jobs, and some other accessories
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