A Brief History
CCAT is a live-in demonstration home and educational center for appropriate technology and resource conservation. We are located on the Cal Poly Humboldt Campus in Arcata, California. Motivated by an ethic of “education by example,” CCAT offers tours, workshops, and opportunities for hands-on involvement to university students and the general public.
CCAT began in 1978 when a group of students, with the support of faculty and community members, renovated a dilapidated house on the university campus and initiated an experiment that continues today. CCAT works with fifteen Humboldt classes a year to incorporate new appropriate technologies into this living laboratory in sustainability.
The impressive result of these students’ work: CCAT uses less than five percent of the energy consumed by the average U.S. house, produces almost no waste, and serves as a national model for appropriate technology.
Just as important as what CCAT does, is how it is done. Three students live in the house and direct the program for one-year periods. Eighteen student employees keep operations going. Being directed, staffed, and funded by students makes CCAT a place where young adults become leaders; it nurtures creativity and hones professional and technical skills. CCAT helps to infuse Humboldt with a practical idealism and a desire to serve the global community.