The Social Life of Biogas Understanding the Demescation of Biogas Technology From Users Perspective
ALAM, Meredian , Suharko
2013 | Tesis | SosiologiAbstract The arrival of renewable energy-‐based cooking technology as a novel artifact in the family requires the users to take specific social and cultural attitudes in order to make it well domesticated and integrated to their routines. By taking the case of biogas technology, this thesis primarily seeks to investigate the ways biogas as appropriate technology is adopted by the rural family and to identifies what transformation of life the user households perceive after the arrival of the technology. In undertaking this investigation, the study is aided with social-‐construction of technology-‐derived approach, namely Domestication of Technology, which is considered suitable to closely look at the stages of ‘taming’ technology performed by the households. This alternative approach is chosen, as it provides a flexibility to observe the co-‐shaping between technology and the users from cultural and social perspectives, which technological artifacts and the users could not simply be viewed as linear relationships. Phenomenological analysis concentrating on the 19 household’s experiences aided with semi-‐structured interviews and observation is employed to this study. The stage of domestication of technology itself is sub-‐divided into two parts—1) appropriation and objectification, and 2) incorporation and conversion. Concerning first part, from the study it is discovered, the exposure to biogas technology is much influenced by the dissemination of knowledge and technical information initiated through long established interaction with the construction partner organization since the aftermath of post disaster reconstruction activities in Bantul, but it is also shaped by the users’ previous experience dealing with biogas. Societal dimensions in such neighborhood assistance and support of kinships are incredibly helpful in facing technical difficulties, as the users had no solid knowledge about the technology. Innovative efforts related to physically altering the physical model of the cow shed was performed to make the biogas use convenient to the user’s routines. New habituation as well as adept to the ‘taste’ are things to be negotiated accordingly. From this study, under the framework of incorporating and biogas technology, it is also figured out, the emergence of biogas technology also transformed the everyday life of the users symbolized with the reorganized family space and time arrangement. Improved well-‐being is also observed in this study such as feeling of safety, family saving for education fund, and the shift of gender role in family. The use of biogas may not be isolated from the societal practices that possibly affect its sustainability—proved that in some particular occasions users must turn back to using fossil fuel based energy sources (i.e LPG) to meet consumption demand. In sum, this study concludes that the domestication of biogas technology involves inexorable dynamic social and cultural entities. (keywords: biogas, domestication of technology).
Kata Kunci : Perberdayaan MAsyarakat
