Is Technology partly responsible for the poverty of the people in Baucau and Huancavelica?
The poverty of the people in Baucau and Huancavelica has been affected by technology over the years, but it is not entirely responsible for their poverty.
In Huancavelica, the mercury mining industry has been a major cause of their poverty. Another cause is that approximately a quarter of the population is indigenous and they aren't treated with the respect they deserve.

In Baucau, the absence of technology has impacted their poverty greatly. Timor Leste is known as ‘The world’s youngest country’. According to the InfoTimor website, this means they have not developed as we have, and their technology is practically non-existent. The technology they do have is way behind what we have today. As we develop, we get even better technology, and unless we keep updating their technology, they fall behind.



Technology has impacted Huancavelica and Baucau in both positive and negative ways.
Positive effects
  • Technology is helping Baucau develop after zooming ahead of it.
  • Technology is being brought into Baucau, like the Mesh Potato phone service, it’s a cheap, easy to maintain, easy to use phone service for villagers to call each other.
  • Technologies being brought into Huancavelica include laptops. These are cheap and easy to use models for children to learn with. They include; books, maths and language software, games, music, a camera, and an introduction for teachers who are new to this learning style.
Negative effects
  • As we get more and more advanced technology, these third world countries get left more and more behind.
  • Technology widens the gap between those who have it, like us, and those who don’t.
  • In Huancavelica, there is a history of mercury mining. It was used for extracting the precious metals form ore in mines in Peru. Mercury spills are extremely dangerous, especially when they get into the water supplies.


For more information please have a look at my display board and the research printouts in my journal.