The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) is an eco-centre in Wales dedicated to demonstrating and teaching sustainable development. CAT, despite its name, does not concentrate its efforts on alternative technology, but focuses instead on general environmentalism. It is open to visitors, holds residential courses; and publishes information on organic farming, gardening, and ecologically-friendly living. CAT also runs several eco-businesses, including a consultancy service and mail-order catalogue. (Ecology is sometimes used incorrectly as a synonym for the natural environment or environmentalism. ... For an explanation of often confusing terms such as Great Britain, Britain, United Kingdom and England, see British Isles (terminology). ... Sustainable development is a process of developing (land, cities, business, communities, etc) that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs according to the Brundtland Report, a 1987 report from the United Nations. ... Alternative technology is a term sometimes used by environmental advocates to refer to technologies which are more environmentally friendly than the functionally equivalent technologies dominant in current practice. ... Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies on ecosystem management and attempts to reduce or eliminate external agricultural inputs, especially synthetic ones. ...

CAT was founded by businessman-turned-environmentalist Gerard Morgan-Grenville, and opened in 1974 in the disused Llwyngwern slate quarry in Machynlleth, where it occupies a seven-acre (28,000 m²) site. It is open all-year except Christmas, seven days a week. Slate Slate is a fine-grained, homogeneous, metamorphic rock which was derived from an original sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low grade regional metamorphism. ... A small cinder quarry A dimension stone quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. ... Machynlleth is a town in the traditional county of Montgomeryshire, north Powys in Wales. ...

The facilities and exhibits include:

• a water-balanced funicular railway
• solar, hydro and wind power
• a low-energy house
• a site-wide electricity grid powered by renewable energy
• displays of organic gardening methods
• a hydraulic ram pump
• strawbale and rammed earth buildings

The Centre is also home to a successful MSc course in Advanced and Environmental and Energy Studies (AEES). Although run by the University of East London, the course is based entirely at CAT and covers many areas of environmental science and its business applications. A new RIBA Part 2 Professional Diploma course in AEES is planned to start in 2006. Duquesne Incline, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with full length parallel tracks A funicular, also called funicular railway or inclined railway, inclined plane, or in England a cliff railway, consists of a system of transportation in which cables attach to a tram-like vehicle on rails to move it up and down a... Solar power describes a number of methods of harnessing energy from the light of the sun. ... Hydro is a blanket term that, in general, refers to water or water-related activities. ... Wind farm on South Point, Big Island of Hawaii Wind power refers to useful energy extracted from wind. ... A low-energy-house is any type of house that uses less energy than a regular house. ... A hydraulic ram is a water-powered cyclic pump. ... A field with round straw bales. ... Rammed Earth is an old building material that has seen a revival in recent years as people seek low-impact building materials and natural building methods. ... MSC can stand for: Marine Stewardship Council Masters of Science (usually MSc). ... The University of East London (UEL) is a university in London. ... Riba is the (Arabic: ربا ) term for intrest, the charging of which is forbidden by the Quran here, among other places: And that which you give in gift (loan) (to others), in order that it may increase (your wealth by expecting to get a better one in return) from other...

CAT originally relied on a collection of water, wind and solar power, but following power shortages it began to receive power from the National Grid. Shortly afterwards, in 2004, a large new wind turbine was built using funds generated by selling shares in the project to the community. CAT buys the electricity from the project, and is now a net exporter of energy back to the National Grid. The National Grid is the high-voltage electric power transmission network in Great Britain, connecting power stations and major substations and ensuring that electricity generated anywhere in Great Britain can be used to satisfy demand elsewhere. ... Wind turbines A wind turbine is a machine for converting the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy. ...

CAT gets its water from an existing man-made reservoir in the slate quarry on which it is based and processes its own sewage in its reedbeds. A reedbed in summer Reedbeds are basically ’temporary’ habitats. ...

The presence of the Centre in the Dyfi valley has brought an increased environmental emphasis to the area. At the nearest town, Machynlleth, there is an industrial estate started by ex-CAT employees, and a CAT shop. Machynlleth is a town in the traditional county of Montgomeryshire, north Powys in Wales. ...

External link

• CAT home page
• MSc: AEES home page