LOW←TECH MAGAZINE Polski

What is Low-tech Magazine?

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Technology has become the idol of our society, but technological progress is—more often than not—aimed at solving problems caused by earlier technical inventions. There is a lot of potential in past and often forgotten knowledge and technologies when it comes to designing a sustainable society. Interesting possibilities arise when we combine old technology with new knowledge and new materials, or when we apply old concepts and traditional knowledge to modern technology.

“Low-tech” is not a noun but an adjective. The dictionary defines it as “not using the latest technologies”, while high-tech is defined as “using the latest technologies”. Consequently, a low-tech mindset is simply one that is critical about new technologies. It refuses to assume that a new technology is inherently better than the one it replaces. A low-tech approach also questions the criteria which make us decide whether or not something is “better” than something else.

Low-tech Magazine was founded in November 2007. Since 2018, the magazine also runs on a solar powered server. The website is also available in Spanish, French, Dutch, German, and Polish. Since 2019, LTM also appears in print. Low-tech Magazine publishes at most 12 well-researched stories per year. Sister blog No Tech Magazine brings more regular updates.

Offline Reading

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Image: Low-tech Magazine: our books.

Our books are for sale through Lulu’s website: compressed edition and thematic collection. The e-book collection is available via Payhip’s website. Below is an overview of our complete book catalog, with links to the corresponding web pages. Patrons can download e-books (epubs) for free and get early access to new books at a discounted price.

Compared to the website, we have partly rewritten and improved some articles, updated all references, and added more and better images.

Chronological Series

Between 2019 and 2021, we launched a three-volume book series that chronologically ranks Low-tech Magazine’s archives from 2007 to 2021. In 2025, we published the Compressed Edition, which squeezes the entire series in just one book of 622 pages. We did this by switching to a smaller font size, by downsizing most images, and by opting for a two-column layout. The series also includes a volume of reader comments on all articles.

The original (“uncompressed”) series is being redesigned at the moment. We are also working on the publication of the next volume (2021-2025). For those who want to complete their original series, the old versions are still for sale on our Lulu page.

Thematic Collection

In 2023, we launched a thematic book series, with four volumes now available. These short books open up Low-tech Magazine’s archive by theme rather than chronologically.

Translated books

All books have been translated into French. One of our books is available in dutch.

Image: Low-tech Magazine: Original hardcover collection.

Team

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From left to right: Kris, Roel, Marie Otsuka, Marie Verdeil

Kris De Decker (Barcelona, Spain): founder, writer
Marie Verdeil (Brussels, Belgium): prototype design, graphic design, workshops, visual media, illustrations, management
Roel Roscam Abbing (Malmö, Sweden): solar powered server, solar web design
Marie Otsuka (New York, US): solar web design, graphic design, exhibition design
Lauren Traugott-Campbell (Portland, US): book design, graphic design
Kathy Vanhout (Antwerp, Belgium): content production & translations
Audrey Belliot (Barcelona, Spain): content production
Laia Comellas (Barcelona, Spain): typesetting
Melle Smets (Rotterdam, Netherlands): human power plant
Alice Essam (Bristol, UK): proofreading
Diego Marmolejo (Barcelona, Spain): illustrations