Trendspotting:  Nana Technology

I’m pretty sure I’ve spotted another trend: the increasing popularity of nana technology. Not nanotechnology, which according to Wikipedia is “the study of manipulating matter on an atomic or molecular scale” (which I assure you, I know nothing about). I mean nana technology, that is, reverting to doing things the way our grandmothers did.

I can’t claim to have invented the term “nana technology,”much as I would like to. I first heard it last year and it stuck with me as a great way to describe a return to a somewhat simpler way of life. Nana technologies are things like mending clothes, growing your own food, making your own cleaning and beauty products, and preserving seasonal food.

Remember the War?

Of course there are people who have always practiced nana technologies, whether by choice or financial necessity. But a large proportion of baby boomers and their children haven’t known economic hardship like their parents and grandparents did. Wartime rationing and food, fuel and clothing scarcity is something they are familiar with only from movies and seniors’ stories.

At the same time, the decades since World War II have been all about convenience and mass production.  The innovations in pre-packaged foods that enabled us to feed our wartime soldiers quickly trickled down to the mainstream population and became enormously popular as convenience food. Improvements in transport and refrigeration meant food could safely travel great distances. And technology advances and mass production made clothes and time-saving appliances far more affordable than ever before.

But I think the pendulum is swinging back as people strive to weave simplicity and a level of purity back into the established conveniences in their lives. I’m certainly not suggesting we should replicate times of scarcity and hunger, or put aside things like dishwashers or washing machines, which genuinely make life easier. But more and more, people are realising the benefits of paring down and cutting back.

Nana Knows Best

Some are reverting to nana technologies for health reasons. Increasingly, we are becoming aware of some of the risks associated with the overconsumption of processed foods, particularly as Australia has overtaken the US in the obesity stakes. Books like Additive Alert have exposed the hidden preservatives in many packaged and processed foods. And the explosion in the natural health, organic beauty, and “green” cleaning markets show consumers are looking for natural products as issues arise like possible endocrine inhibitors in common chemicals (like triclosan).

For others, sustainability issues are at the core of the nana technology evolution. Terms like “slow food,” “locavore,” and “food miles” have entered the mainstream lexicon. Chefs like Perth favourite Matt Stone of Greenhouse are lauded on popular shows like Masterchef for minimising food waste and growing their own veges. And the sustainability mantra “reduce, reuse, recycle” was just a way of life for most nanas.

The current economic climate has also thrown this growing trend into sharp relief. The global financial crisis has meant lots of families have had to cut back – repairing instead of buying new, using public transport, and eating out less frequently. Rapidly rising energy prices have played their part too, as luxuries like 24/7 air conditioning and heating are becoming less affordable. The fact is, living like nana is often very cost-effective.

Everything Old is New Again

I know my mother-in-law is amused as she listens to me expound on the virtues of vinegar and baking soda and on the wisdom of cutting up old t-shirts to use as cleaning rags. I’m certain she is wondering, “Why would you ever do anything else?” And memories of my own grandmother’s pantry, lined with rows and rows of gleaming jars of home-canned fruit and vegetables, spurred me to attempt some preserving. (As it turns out, not my cooking strength, but Sally Wise’s A Year in a Bottle has me hoping I’ll improve.)

I did an informal survey of friends and colleagues to find out what nana technologies they were using. Almost everyone said they were working hard to waste less food (by using carcasses for stock, veg for soup, fruit for smoothies, bread for breadcrumbs and croutons, and so on). And in at number two for popularity was bundling up in winter instead of turning on the heat. More than one person said their UGG boots were their most important winter possession!

In no particular order, here are some of the nana technologies in use:

  • Buying gifts at local handmade markets and fairs such as the Perth Upmarket – or making their own
  • Learning to knit and/or sew
  • Mending clothes and darning stockings
  • Wearing clothes longer and buying fewer new things
  • Growing as many veges and herbs at home as possible
  • Having chooks and composting
  • Buying seasonal, local food only
  • Giving the kids hot water bottles instead of heaters
  • Drying clothes on the line … always
  • Using the library and sharing books with friends
  • Swapping clothes with friends
  • Using cloth napkins (a few times before washing) instead of paper serviettes
  • Making natural cleaning products out of vinegar, bicarb, lemons and borax
  • Using olive oil as a skin moisturiser
  • Making spreadable butter by combining olive oil with butter

And my absolute favourite … making homemade yogurt by putting it under the duvet to keep it warm to encourage the bacteria to multiply! (Quite the bedtime surprise I thought.)

If you have other nana technologies you’d like to share, please email me (kirsten@onegreenstep.com.au) or post on my Facebook wall @One Green Step, or tweet me @onegreenstep … I’ll share them in a future post!