Folks from other countries are more creative then we tend to be!
I lived in China for 2 years and fortunately met a young man who was very smart. We were in the big TechCity of Shenzhen but I traveled several times to stay on his Grandparents farm 200 miles inland in PingJiang (County). I was often amazed (really) at the inventiveness in making everyday needs work.
Here's a hammer mill made entirely of wood and stone that I saw in operation, along with 4 other similar ones in a small river valley as we hiked down a mountain. The village has made a living for hundreds of years, selling a special incense. Bark and roots are collected and dried on the flat river rocks. Then they are pounded into dust, which coats the inside of the shed. Later bamboo fibers are coated with the mixed incense dust. BAMBOO is used to do many things.
The one improvement on that water wheel was a round metal bearing running on a wood base. Notice the water lubrication coming from the long bamboo stick on the left.
***OK, Old Guys are Dangerous. They have SO many stories... *** Feedback welcome. I guess.