The Contribution of Ellul and Illich's Thought to the Design of Appropriate Machines for Communities in Socio-ecological Transition

Ellul and Illich are two of the most prominent radical critics of technology of 20th century. Nevertheless, their fame in the academia is limited to small circles of technology sociologists and philosophers. Their thought could help technologists, on the one hand to become aware of the dynamics between technology and society and, on the other hand to develop new appropriate solutions that can improve the efficiency of production by limiting individual, collective and environmental negative effects in small communities in socio-ecological transition. In this contribution, a brief summary of Ellul and Illich's studies is presented, aimed in particular at technologists. Some features of the appropriate technologies that can be traced back to Illich and Ellul are discussed: low-tech, low-power, intermediate productivity, manual operated. Finally, by way of example, an intermediate machine designed at the Politecnico di Torino for threshing and cleaning wheat grown by farmers in mountain areas is presented.