Yet another tension is the duality that faces man as opposed to technology and
machinery. The premise behind this duality is that technology can get out of control and be dehumanizing. There is a fear of technology taking over, instead of the other way
around. This duality is related to the tension around time and incursion into the future. The way humanity is presented in the stories is through the defense of values, of rescuing that which is characteristically human: will, feelings, sentiments, thoughts, dreams, and identities. These elements are contrasted with the coldness of machinery. The video introduces first those technologies which have helped farmers improve substantially everyday life, like for example, technologies that improved their communications. A recounting of their initial history is introduced: knowledge was shared with the spoken word;handmade signs were used to call a meeting. That was as close as they were. Cell phones, emails, wireless internet have changed the
communication habits of farmers, improving greatly their quality of life, as it almost conquered their physical isolation.
The testimony of the wife of one of the interviewees (who was present during the interview) describes difficulties they endured in the past:
There was a train that left at 1 am, and for us, 40 kms in dirt roads at night, it was impossible to travel…We used to come to Buenos Aires twice a year, till I moved there permanently. Enrique [her husband] did not have telephone in the farm, it did not exist yet. He had to go to Daireaux to speak, and he had to wait for hours. So, instead, we would ask the waiter of the train…to take our letters back and forth from the farm to the city... (Wife of one of CREA founders).
This openness to communication technologies does not mean that farmers quickly embrace any innovation. The duality of man versus machine is caused mainly by a tension endured between farmers and their asesores, the rural technicians, who were many times guides in the process of technology adoption. The following quote was made by a technician; you worked for many years as an asesor:
We tried to make progress without creating any financial disturbance to the farmer, because normally the producer has always been short of money…So the technician had to have in mind what we called empathy with the farmer. The asesores…with great initiative, they tried to get the information out of the farmers, which was not an easy thing to do… (Former CREA Asesor).
The story is told as if asesoresshepherd farmers into the adoption of new and
way around. Nevertheless the distinction between farmer/asesorexisted subtly and surely affected the groups’ interactions.
A reflection made by Orr (2006, p.1809) on technology seemed most appropriate to illustrate the depths of this duality:
My point is to emphasize how much care is needed to socialize technology, to suggest that it is an ongoing process, and further to suggest that one cannot yield to the urge to forget –to believe that because something is in the field, the problem it was intended to solve is now taken care of for all time. Nor is it just about technology.
It is not important that Orr was talking about photocopier technicians, or that I talk about farmers, the reflection on technology use and adoption is valid whatever the setting.
Technology is also introduced in the “way” the narration is presented, by using a chat conversation or a live search in Wikipedia. Further, AACREA is redefined with novel, “futuristic” terms; we are an agriculturalWikipedia. The interpretation behind this is “we found a novel term to define what we have been doing for decades”. Open doors,
almost an axiom of the CREA philosophy, can be almost considered synonyms with “open source” knowledge development. The video bluntly reaches the duality’s climax by expressing an important “BUT”:But people are ANALOG. There is a difference from the digital virtual world. People are concrete, flesh and blood and feelings, and cannot be reduced to numbers or bits. There is a close up in the video to the face of a CREA member. Each individual matters. “You matter to us”. Technology should not be about erasing individuality. The balancing negotiation between technology and
humanity, between progress and past, works effectively as a rhythmic tune in the general narration of the video.
The story on technology is told carefully and shows that not all farmers are on the same level of innovation adoption: Can we still share knowledge with those that do not have cell phones? Yes we can!in flies an animated cartoon of Don Pablo, agreeing,
promoting the inclusion of the marginal member. The institution presents itself as prepared to reach out to everyone, including those who have not adopted basic technology.
Technology and the future in the narration of the video follow a rhythm, negotiating constantly with reassuring messages that go back to the history and values of AACREA.
KM is introduced cautiously in the beginning and explained through a series of associations with things that members feel already comfortable with such as cell phones, Internet, or GPS.