This program entitled Technology features two major case studies. The first is set in Maningrida community on the coast in Northern Arnhem Land and explores the continued use of traditional technologies. We learn how a spear is made and see it being used to catch fish. The didgeridoo is produced from hollow trees and shaped into a unique instrument.
Women still use pandanus leaves to weave the most beautiful baskets or dilly bags as they are known.
These dilly bags are still in daily use at Maningrida. The second major case study takes us to the town of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory Central Desert, where we visit the Centre for Appropriate Technology or CAT as it is called locally. CAT is a Aboriginal owned enterprise that focuses on producing and adapting western technologies to make them suitable for the environment and lifestyle of Desert Aboriginal peoples. At the Centre we see how a wheel chair is produced that is more suitable for old or crippled Central Desert Aboriginal people and see camp ovens made from recycled materials that are simple and effective in a remote and harsh environment. The Technology episode reveals the dynamic nature of Aboriginal society.