Radio in Timbuktu

Geekcorps has setup radio stations in the remote areas of Mali which are stimulating communication and economic activities there. The radio stations are equipped with Desert PC systems, which use VIA Mini-ITX form factor as the base of a hardened, satellite Internet-connected PC. For radio programming they have digital audio broadcasting equipment and antennas made of plastic bottles and tin cans. Geekcoprs brought a wireless expert, who then developed the cheap antenna making technique. Bottlenet is the given name for this sort of cheap wireless networking. The locals have learned to make them and there is already a small company that makes these antennas for around $1.

Mali’s radio journalists used to ride for two days by bus to deliver cassettes of important recorded news to their radio stations. Same thing goes to anyone living in Mali’s remote. Geekcorps has changed this for good. Now, a villager could send a message to a friend in another part of the country via the radio stations. His message is emailed by a DJ, from a local radio station to another radio station closest to his friend. A DJ of that radio station then announces on the radio that he should come to the station to receive the message.

The stations are gaining revenue by selling ads and charging for the e-mail service. A number of them are also providing services to broadcast wedding ceremonies live. It seems a station created by the organization in the village of Boureem Inaly makes $50 a month. That’s quite a lot in terms of Mali’s standards and in the extreme remote. Plus, not so surprisingly, DJs at the radio stations have began to use their computers to answer listener questions using information found on Wikipedia or other Web sites.

This Geekcorps project has brought huge improvement in the way the people of Mali got informed and communicated.

Links:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/03/01/8370556/index.htm
http://news.com.com/2100-1008_3-6043635.html?part=rss&tag=6043635&subj=news
http://mali.geekcorps.org