Once upon a time there was a disc that had 16 color slides in it. When it was put in the hard-plastic, binocular viewfinder a person could see eight “3-D” renditions of anything from dinosaurs to galaxies. It was one of many ways to get a glimpse at other worlds. Later in high school, my first movie was filmed in 8mm camera and edited by splicing.

Today, I am working with Paraguayans to put together a digital, video production enterprise. The camcorder has a viewfinder, but the LCD screen provides a superior image. Our first videos were edited by connecting two camcorders. The title pages were handwritten and recorded with the “foto” button. Later, the main office in Asuncion donated a computer that had a “motherboard” sufficient for editing. Then the search began for needed additions: hard drives, video card, memory expansion, software, etc. Here items sold as new can be used or pirated. It took a trip to the U.S. to get basic things. However, it turned out that some of the software required an internet connection to complete the activation (it either didn't work or it lost functionality over time.) The community radio station that is doing all of this lacks a connection (the world wide web has some big holes in the net.) Even so, the Paraguayans have learned basic techniques of “filming” and editing. They are producing Guarani language videos - their dream is in the making. They show their videos on the community TV channel that a local entrepreneur granted them (six months ago.). Like the radio station, it is 100% Guarani. Both are one-of-a-kind.

Video of family events is one source for production. During the recent Easter holiday (here it is a full week,) the family gathered at the patriarch's farm for a traditional celebration. About 40 persons were there. The soccer game was officiated by one of the cousins - it was held in the pasture grazed by cows, horses and sheep. Lunch is the main meal every day in Paraguay, that day it was chicken noodle soup. After dusk it was time to sing Catholic prayers in front of the shrine that was set up. The artefacts included a crucifixion statuette, a candle, and a picture of the Virgin Mary, Baby Jesus, and Old Man God in the clouds with angels.

Cesar is a father of four, his smile is ever-present and wise-cracks emerge anytime, anywhere. (I can tell from the laughter of others, as Guarani is beyond my grasp.) Cesar asked me to video the family as they sang their prayers. The problem was that he hadn't brought all of the needed stuff. When this occurred before, we had talked about how to do better the next time.

The family's been concerned that they could lose the TV channel as a result of inadequate resources. We had been working on this topic from the start. I have been invited to provide education and training about the different tasks needed to form a viable business. So far, ineffective habits persist. The team members are intelligent, capable and motivated. What is going on?

At our most recent meeting, everyone was there except the brother that lives 150 miles away in Asuncion. The family sat in a semi-circle and I was on the outside in the middle of the arc. Initially, the silence was broken only by social chit-chat. Silvina's expression was as stern as her husband Cesar's was impish. Arnulfo (Silvina's brother) does the lion's share of editing, he listened more than he spoke. Cesar's brother Ceveriano is a leader in the extended family system. (For example, the family asked his approval when a cow needed to be sold to pay for medical care for his father-in-law.) He spoke at length when the talk shifted from Spanish to Guarani. His wife, Maria, runs an education program for the children that live in the City's garbage dump. She bantered occasionally with Silvina.

When it was my turn I commented, “My role is to be your helper.” Cesar immediately replied, “No, you are the manager.” Smiling I asked, “O.K., what do you want the manager to do?” “We haven't defined ourselves,” Cesar said. The family switched from Spanish to Guarani for about 20 minutes, then Ceveriano summarized for me in Spanish: “When you're not around, we aren't in agreement that your advice is this or that.” We concluded the meeting with an agreed upon list. I assigned to myself the task of buying a notebook for the business ledger. Everyone assigned to Arnulfo the task of putting together the equipment bag. Cesar will write the program schedule and Silvina will start the expense/income ledger. (All of these tasks had been assigned before.)

Ceveriano and Maria gathered their two kids who had been playing with their cousins under the watchful eye of Silvina's sister Roseann. During the drive to take me home, Ceveriano said that one reason that ledger has yet to be done is that Cesar and Silvina are in an economic crisis, money is a touchy subject. Maria said that I had been used as a convenient excuse to avoid the issue of who controls the business; there is an intra-familial power struggle going on. Accountability would drastically change the rules of the game. The stakes are high when a family of six cannot make ends meet. The development challenge remains to promote the minimum behavioural changes that are needed to attract investment capital.

Things are clearer. The improved viewfinder is encountered through trusting relationships.