A girl using the Second Voice communications equipment, which enables her community to share information with other communities.
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Issue Date
30/01/2015 , 30/01/2015
Type
Language
en
Keywords
Technology
Alternative Title
Second Voice
Abstract
A cheap, but advanced piece of communications technology allows isolated communities to receive and share information simply and easily. Disseminating information amongst people in remote locations is a challenge in rural Africa. Modern communication devices such as televisions, radios and mobile phones require both power and a functioning signal, both of which are scarce and expensive. For isolated farming communities, solar panels are still usually too costly. Practical Action has been working with the developer of a new device called ‘SecondVoice’ to make communications both easier and cheaper. This small digital device carries voice recordings and podcasts and is intended for regions where there is little access either to the internet or to mobile phone networks. When two people with the devices are in close proximity, recordings are transferred automatically using Bluetooth technology. It can be used to circulate information on agricultural prices or give advice on the improvement of crop yields or ways of treating livestock disease. Thus a simple message can be spread to a large number of villages and individual farmers. The devices are solar powered but still only cost a few pounds to manufacture. During the last 12 months we have piloted the use of podcasts to deliver practical information about animal health using local voices. This work was written up by Parminder Bahra in the Times: “In a far northern region of Zimbabwe where there is no electricity, no radio signal or mobile phone coverage, you might come across Mrs Mashigaidze immunising her ox by following instructions . . . on a podcast. She is one of the 11,000 people who have benefited from a trial by Practical Action, a development charity, in which technology — MP3 players — is extending traditional methods of distributing information. David Grimshaw, head of international programme (new technologies) with Practical Action, explains that the traditional way of disseminating information was through agricultural extensionists — local people who visit communities offering advice and information — but this has become increasingly difficult given the political situation in Zimbabwe. “What we’ve done is to capture their knowledge and that of veterinary people and agricultural experts and put them on to MP3 devices using local languages,” Dr Grimshaw says. “They can record and replay any voice file. It might be a question-and-answer session, a five-minute explanation on how to dehorn or castrate cattle or how to remove ticks.” Dr Grimshaw adds that the Zimbabweans have taken to the technology easily, despite never having used computers or mobile phones — so much so they want to record their own files. He says: “There is a lot of indigenous knowledge that has a zero cost. Knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation.” The MP3 devices cost about £10, but the benefits will outweigh the costs.
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