Learning to Live with Low-tech: User Experience of Self-Built Low-Tech Systems in the Home

Sustainability discourse increasingly promotes simple, repairable, useful “low‑tech” alternatives, yet little is known about how such systems are experienced over time in everyday life. We investigated how user experience evolves during early use of low-tech systems through a two‑month participatory citizen program. Twenty‑six participants built and used 5 systems at home. We retrospectively analyzed their experience with the UX Curve method. Findings reveal recurring practical challenges, mismatches between expected and perceived utility, and material or aesthetic limitations that often undermine engagement. Participants also reported experiences grounded in eudaimonic qualities—autonomy, competence, alignment with personal values—and friction that made effort feel meaningful rather than burdensome. We argue that scaling low‑tech alternatives depends less on optimizing systems than on designing resources for action that support appropriation, learning, and distributed innovation. Based on these insights, we derive implications for HCI to support low‑tech as empowering, ecological experiences that challenge technocratic framings of sustainability.