A complex global problem;
a simple global solution.

Five hundred million people around the world depend on the peanut as their primary source of protein. Hand-shelling nets a villager in Mali, West Africa ten pounds of nuts per day, producing little more than arthritis. A simple appropriate technology, the universal sheller, allows that same village to shell three-quarters of a ton in the same time, transforming the time spent chasing a daily meal into opportunities to address the educational, health and economic issues in their lives.

The Appropriate Genius tells the story of Jock Brandis and his efforts fighting hunger and extreme poverty. His trip to that village in Mali and a chance meeting with a village woman resulted in a breakthrough low-tech device that will change the lives of people in developing nations around the world. What began as a repair to a village irrigation system as a favor to a friend turned into a synergistic approach to an invention which leading agricultural experts consider the “holy grail” of sustainable agriculture in developing nations.

The Appropriate Genius chronicles Jock Brandis’ attempts and collaborations since the first prototype. It tells the story of a self-effacing and charismatic man whose mission is to introduce his appropriate technology and make such villages productive without depending on modern electric grids or fossil fuels. It brings his idea of what some may consider stone-age technologies to life. The Appropriate Genius follows Brandis in his quest and obvious delight in solving a major puzzle. His love of adventure, his determination to collaborate with the past and his child-like joy in the experiences leap out at the camera.