An example of two-way developmental education in design technology: some preliminary findings of the benefits to eco-tourists from the west and villagers from central and eastern Indonesia of building simple solar ovens

This paper describes some of the educational outcomes of making solar ovens and promoting solar cooking in Indonesia between 1995 and 1998 in an Earthwatch project. The project's core objectives are about conservation, sustainable development, the economy and public health; however, during the time of the ovens' manufacture, there are formal and informal educational implications which involve the transfer of technology, skills and cultural awareness between Earthwatch 'Volunteers', mostly from the West, and the ovens' recipients, the Indonesian villagers, who work together for two weeks. The findings in this paper are based on an analysis of interviews and questionnaires with 44 recipients of ovens in Lombok and a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews and Final Reports from 10 British Volunteers. The evidence provides valuable insights into the two-way developmental education processes and outcomes for the Indonesian recipients and the Earthwatch Volunteers in both cognitive and affective terms. Light is also thrown, more generally, onto two other areas. First, the similarities and differences in attitudes towards construction skills, sometimes measured in gender values in a Muslim society; and second, the educational potential for what is likely to become one of the growth industries of the new century - eco-tourism.