Low Tech: The Example Of The Nomade Des Mers

I had never heard of low tech before watching the episodes of Nomade des Mers on Arte. This television program allowed me to discover useful, accessible, and above all, sustainable innovations. I invite you to explore what low-tech or low technologies are through the adventures of Corentin de Chatelperron around the world.

What is low tech?

If you have some knowledge of English, you have probably already understood that low-tech is the opposite of high-tech, those technologies that always push further the search for novelty and performance.

Conversely, low technologies are primarily defined as clean technologies, low in energy and natural resources. According to the official definition of the Low-tech Lab, a low tech is a technology that meets 3 criteria:
• being useful;
• being accessible to the greatest number;
• being durable.

Low technologies meet essential needs in the fields of energy, food, water, housing, transportation, and even hygiene and health.

They can be manufactured or repaired locally at low cost, which allows their adoption by the greatest number.

Finally, these objects, techniques, and know-how have a low ecological impact at all stages of their life cycle. Low techs are both functional, eco-designed, repairable, and recyclable.

Why watch Nomade des Mers on Arte?

If you want to get a clearer idea of the benefits of low technologies in meeting our essential needs, just watch the documentary series Nomade des Mers on Arte.

In this program, we follow the adventures of Corentin de Chatelperron, the young engineer who founded the Low-tech Lab. In 2016, he set off from Concarneau for a world tour aboard a catamaran transformed into an experimental laboratory.

He had a very specific goal: to search for the most promising ancestral low-tech techniques on the planet! Inspired by the discoveries he made during his journey, Corentin gradually transformed his vessel into a self-sufficient ecosystem in water, energy, and food, allowing him to live in self-sufficiency.

During his journey, the navigator engineer made stops in 17 countries. He brought back two seasons of the documentary series and 25 episodes. In each 26-minute episode, viewers can discover increasingly ingenious inventions.

What are examples of low tech?

During his low-tech world tour, Corentin de Chatelperron discovered and brought back to his catamaran, the Nomade des Mers, all sorts of innovative technical solutions with a low ecological footprint. At each stop, the focus is on inventions that are both ecological, simple, and inexpensive to implement.

Most of the technologies presented in this program are based on natural products or recycled industrial products, such as the rusty bicycle wheel that allows Corentin to operate a blender! You can find all these technologies on the official Low-tech Lab website (see the link below).

The young man, who is a vegetarian, grows his own edible plants using hydroponics, a soilless cultivation method that requires little space and water. He also feeds on spirulina and edible insects raised on board. On this point, not everyone is ready to follow his example yet...

Whether we are already convinced or not of the need to adopt sustainable development, the maritime adventures of the Nomade des Mers on Arte make us reflect on our true needs. An essential first step to adopting a more frugal and respectful way of life for the planet.

If you want to know more, we also recommend Corentin de Chatelperron's book, Nomade des mers - Le Tour du monde des innovations (Arte editions, €29.90).