IT revolution on three wheels
Indrajit Basu
On the streets of South Asia, the tuk-tuk, known for the peculiar
sound of its engine - basically a three-wheeled motorcycle modified to
carry passengers - is a familiar sight. Its popularity stems from the
fact that it is almost as affordable as a two-wheeler and it can squeeze
into the smallest of lanes and travel over the bumpiest of roads.
Three-wheelers: can become IT centres |
But up in the hilly region of Kothmale in central Sri Lanka, this
humble vehicle has evolved into something much more than just a mode of
cheap transport. It has become a full-fledged mobile telecenter,
literally taking the concept of Community Multimedia Centre (CMC) to
community doorsteps and empowering its people to bring about change and
improvements.
In fact, so innovative is this concept that it even won the Stockholm
Challenge award in December - under the Public Administration category -
as a project that not only tops the list of ICT (Information
Communication Technology) initiatives supporting development, but also
for taking ICT to communities that have been marginalized by remoteness,
lack of infrastructural facilities and poverty.
e-Tuk-tuks
With a laptop, battery-operated printer, camera, telephone, recorder
and scanner, and with Internet provided via a CDMA-enabled wireless
connection, a small radio broadcasting set that can narrowcast content
through the CDMA-internet connection, and everything powered by a 1000 W
generator, a dozen-odd Tuktuks (called e-Tuk-tuks) roam the 20 odd
villages in the 30 kilometres radius of Kothmale everyday to extend the
services of a traditional telecenter and radio station.
The e-Tuk-tuks roam these villages with three basic objectives. The
most important is encouragement of broader community participation in
the activities of an existing community, followed by increasing access
and awareness of ICTs, and providing training and support for the
delivery and creation of relevant localized content.
"But above all," says Benjamin Grubb, its project coordinator, "by
taking access (to ICT) directly to villages and presenting it to users
in a familiar environment, e-Tuk-tuk is making technology less
daunting."
In its true sense then, this project is just an extension of the good
old Community Multimedia Centre and Radio Station. In simple terms, by
making the equipment mobile, it facilitates first mile access to remote
communities. So what's the big deal? After all, isn't it being done all
over the world in some form or other?
The difference really lies in the circumstances under which this
concept operates. Its novelty lies not in making a telecenter or a radio
station mobile, but rather in the fact that it is bridging a digital
divide caused, to some extent, by the lack of infrastructure, even
transportation, and poverty.
"In most parts of Sri Lanka, mobility is almost always limited due to
the high cost of public transport, irregular services and associated
time involved in travel," says Ben. "Access is also restricted due to
communal reasons factors such as caste, gender and ethnicity."
The e-Tuk-tuk is also bridging the communal divides by increasing
community participation and inculcating a sense of common cause, he
adds.
The e-Tuk-tuk has taken community building to a level which even
government efforts could not achieve.
According to its project managers, the telecenter and radio is not
unknown in the Kothmale region, which had both ever since 1989. However,
since they were owned by the Government and were priority focused, both
of these tools were lying in a "state of neglect."
Community radio
By taking the radio station to the doorsteps, e-Tuktuk then has
bought renewed vitality to the radio and telecenter in the region.
Compared to the government-owned radio, the e-Tuk-tuk has also brought
in far more creative reporting formats that incorporate a variety of
media beyond basic radio programming, claims its operators.
As well, the scope of community participation has also increased as
the vehicle ventures out to more and more villages where it facilitates
workshops, training programs and cultural events. For instance, most of
the 20 villages it serves do not have electricity, something that makes
evenings absolutely unproductive for its residents.
Some of the e-Tuk-tuk's, that are specially equipped to carry
portable projection sets, screen educational content in the evenings and
"since the villagers have nothing better to do in the dark, it ensures a
high level of participation and dissemination of information," says Ben.
According to Stockholm Challenge, "the project places an emphasis on
appropriate technology that is both affordable and sustainable in a
local context." Indeed, run and operated by the a voluntary organisation
called Internet Listeners Club, e-Tuk-tuk, conceived in early 2006
required about US $20000 to set up.
The daily running costs, which is just about $200 a day is borne by a
local charity called the MJM Charitable Foundation, while many local
companies "lend various forms of support in kind," says Ben.
Digitisation
Even as its benefits unfold and its full potential realized, what is
clear is that e-Tuk-tuk has already started making a difference for many
Kothmale residents. "All through my life, I have always been a shy
person," says the 28-year old Prabha Kottegoda, one of the radio jockeys
in e-Tuk-tuk.
"I could hardly speak a word with a stranger. But ever since I became
a radio jockey my life has hanged for good and I see it full of
possibilities. Interacting with people and making programs have changed
me as a person. I can talk to anyone now."
This is why Ben believes that the concept of e-Tuk-tuk should not be
contained. "Its time has come and it should be replicated," he says. Yet
another similar project is under trial in an underdeveloped and remote
district in Jharkhand, India.
Meanwhile, the Hambantota project aims to familiarize school children
in the remote areas with the use of IT and simple broadcast equipment.
Here, the auto-rickshaw is sent from school to school with an instructor
and is supported by a local initiative called Plan Sri Lanka.
"All these projects are in trial stages but could be scaled-up to the
size of e-Tuk-tuk", says Ben. "The e-Tuk-tuk serves about two hundred
thousand people directly and about a hundred thousand indirectly. But
soon the concept could serve millions."
(Government Technology/e Republic) |