The concept of low-tech dates back to the 1970s, where it appeared under the pen of Ernst Friedrich Schumacher, pioneer of the introduction of ecological ideas in matters of economy and development policy.

It is therefore a question of viewing human activity from an innovative angle:

• taking into account nature as a capital to be preserved, and no longer as a simple source of income;

• concern for a sustainable economy, based on a rational exploitation of limited natural resources;

• integration of workers' well-being and preservation of the environment into economic decisions.

A major aspect of this philosophy of sustainability, low-tech embodies a radically contradictory path with that of the flight forward of high technology, considered to be subservient to the sole engine of profit and harmful to the environment (excessive exploitation of rare materials, obsolescence scheduled, overconsumption of energy, excessive generation of waste, etc.).