Technology in Amish Life

The epitome of Amish life is family.  The way that it is encouraged is by being disconnected from the world.  The Amish live in houses without a connection to power lines, gas lines, telephone lines, and the sewer system.  They are allowed to use electricity, gas, and water, and telephones, but they cannot be connected to the grid.  By staying unconnected, they connect with each other.  To an outsider, it appears that the Amish live two hundred years in the past.  However, Mrs. Weaver, the mother of the household I stayed in, made it clear that they do not live frozen in colonial times; just as modern technology changes, so does Amish technology.

When we first walked into the Amish grocery store I was surprised.  Right where I expected a candle to be, there was a light bulb.  Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was powered by gas.  I am scientifically curious, and I tried to figure out how it worked.  A large blue spot appeared in front of my eyes.  For the rest of the trip, every time I saw an Amish light bulb, I would end up staring at it.

I had never talked to an Amish person before we visited rug makers.  When I walked into the room, which was the size and shape of a garage, I attempted to take my coat off.  I assumed that they would not have adequate heating, and I was bundled in a coat and sweatshirt.  The wood burning heat system they used easily blanketed the room with heat.   An old husband and wife work together.  She sews used clothing into strips with an old foot powered sewing machine.  He   weaves the strips on an early 20^th century loom.  All day, they enjoy each other’s company.

Although I did not see this, the Amish feel that their most important connection is to the community.  Every other Sunday, church is held in a family’s house.  The church group goes to a different member’s house every other week.  All the children of the church group go to the same one roomed school house.  Additionally, all the rules of the community are decided by popular vote.  In the Weavers’ church group, there was going to be a vote about the usage of LED lights.  The LED lights could be powered by a car battery and they were much safer that the gas lights that they have used for the last century.  Mrs. Weaver also mentioned that they were beginning discussions on using electric freezers.  I asked about solar and wind energy.  They said that they would be very important for the Amish because it allowed them to use much more electricity while being unconnected from the grid.

Another business we visited was a woodworking shop operated by a father and son.  The son carves the wood and the father dyes it.  The son learned how to cut the wood from his father, and most of the stencils were designed by the father.  Everything the son knew about woodworking, he had learned from his father.  Every day, he would work with his father all day long.  The son used a saw that was powered by air that was compressed by a diesel engine.  Although it was less energy efficient that our electric powered saws, the son was proud because “electric saws only have one speed,” while he could set his saw at any speed.

The Amish community has to make more decisions about technology every year.  Modern technology is rapidly improving and the Amish will need to decide if they will embrace the new technology, or if they will keep their tradition.  With the rise of hydroponic farming, the Amish will need to decide what entails staying to their faith:  living unconnected from the world, or living in a community.