The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) was established in 1976 at its headquarters in Butte, Montana. Growing out of the energy crisis of the early 1970s, NCAT is a nonprofit organization which helps government agencies, small businesses, companies, and other nonprofit organizations inform others about sustainable energy, sustainable agriculture and sustainable community development. NCAT's goal is to assist people and organizations to develop tools and strategies suited in cost and scale to a particular situation or project. The organization conducts trainings and grant programs, and generates a variety of publications and websites. NCAT's projects are national in scope, but they maintain regional offices throughout the country.

The collection (1976-1980) contains publications such as bibliographies, a booklet, newsletters, and papers of the Maine Farm Management and Technology Project. The collection only contains materials from the first four years of the organization's existence. Materials created by NCAT in the collection are all publications.

The bibliographies, published by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (Publication nos. B001-B006) cover the areas of alternative waste systems, building and energy, economic development, organizing community gardens, solar technology, and wind. The publications by NCAT include a special newsletter (ncat briefs) on solar technology and issues. Also included is a pamphlet on NCAT's grants program for 1979-1980 and a booklet on a solar survey conducted by NCAT about solar projects throughout the country.

The idea papers from the Maine Small Farm Management and Technology Project are brief papers meant to serve as the starting point and to help focus future research into Maine's small farm sector, including its problems and potential. Eleven papers are included and contain topics on organic farming in Maine, skills, management, feed grain production, cooperation among farmers, and farmers' markets.

The collection is organized alphabetically.