We as humans are so accustomed to behaving in a certain way, that it is difficult for us to change our behavior, even when a change could be beneficial to us. We have trouble thinking what a particular change means and sometimes don't even want to try. Often, a particular behavior is rooted in a value system or tradition, and gives people collective meaning and a sense of group identity. While tradition affects people in very positive ways, it also makes people less open to change.
For example, in some Third World countries the lack of clean water for drinking and cooking means that people are consuming parasites, worms and bacteria in large quantities, which enter their bodies and make them very ill and unable to lead as meaningful and productive lives. If the temperature of the water could be raised enough, many of the things in it that make people sick would be destroyed. In many places, especially desert areas, there is not enough fuel to heat the water. Technologically, however, we have the capabilities to supply many of these people with cheap and efficient water heaters that rely on solar energy.
When reformers tried to introduce the cooking devices, the people who needed them were very unaccepting. Why? People did not want to use these devices because it went against tradition. People were used to food preparation taking a certain amount of time. The solar heaters take hours to effectively heat water to make it fit for human consumption and this took too much time for many people. In addition, many people who were already sick had little incentive to change their behavior if there was little chance their health would improve regardless.
This tradition stall is so powerful that the people introducing this technology have had the most success working with children, who have less of a sense of tradition ingrained in them. This does not mean that people are illogical or incapable of change. It means that we must be extremely sensitive to the fact that all humans have different values, thoughts, and beliefs. Implementing positive changes is a matter of respecting difference, fostering communication and effectively providing experience with our ideas and intentions.
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