"Computers on wheels" for people centered development

Author : Pingali Rajeswari
Date added : 2003-09-26

Brief Project Background

"Computers on Wheels" for People Centered Development was started in October 2001 in Stanford University, USA under the Reuters Digital Vision Program by Pingali Rajeswari, founder and project leader of COW. Pingali Rajeswari was in the field of emotional crisis intervention and suicide prevention as a founder of a hotline service in Hyderabad, India for eight years. She then moved into rural development as a natural response to the farmer suicides that took place in the some of the remote and poorest villages of Andhra Pradesh, India. Subsequently, she founded Pragna Research and Consultancy Services (http://www.capitalfortunes.com/bussiness%20units/profile.htm) aimed at social research and worked extensively with Government of India's Rural Development Ministry. She traveled though some of the poorest parts of Andhra Pradesh and India in this position and accumulated broad domain knowledge pertaining to Indian village conditions. She promoted Greenstar Corporation's (www.greenstar.org ) Solar Community Center in one of the seven villages in which COW operates under the new technology initiatives. Parvathapur is one of the seven villages where COW operates. Learning acquired in the Greenstar Solar Community Center initiative led to adapting new approaches for making ICT a powerful tool for broad-based rural development. The idea behind COW was born as a means to take ICT to the doorstep of rural people in the fashion and package best suited for them. It started with the primary pretext of cutting across three critical Key I's that stand in the way of ICT for rural development in India namely, Investment, Infrastructure and Illiteracy. Further learning led to evolving an enterprise model to scale it in a short span of time to combat the pace of gloabalisation which otherwise can become a major impediment for the development of rural people in India. Reuters Foundation (www.foundation.reuters.org) initiated Digital Vision Program in the year 2001 in Stanford University aimed at midlife professionals using technology for development. Pingali Rajeswari is one of the chosen inaugural fellows, the only fellow fully funded for the entire academic base and prototype development for the year 2001-2002. Under the fellowship, Pingali Rajeswari looked at various solutions via technology in one of the premiere technology hubs of the world - the Stanford University and Silicon Valley. She managed to enthuse a group of about 30 academic experts, students and corporate partners from Industrial Design, Computer Science, Bio-Informatics, and Digital Design to develop a prototype. She acted as an anchor between the teams to allow their innovation to take root by providing domain knowledge relevant for the evolution of the COW prototype. After this stage she was able to collaborate with Digital Partners (www.digitalpartners.org ) and Global Catalyst Foundation (www.global-catalyst.org) for fund support for the pilot phase. Now COW is a reality in seven villages in Andhra Pradesh. By 2004, COW is aimed at creating a bankable enterprise model that will be able to go into several regions of Andhra Pradesh.

The ability to find useful information can save a crop, save a life or improve the economics of the family. Since rural constituents are often the poorest and the least organized in any elected official’s district, their voices are often unheard. In addition, rural areas are usually not well serviced by government infrastructure and services, if they fall in zones of lower GDP potential. In COW the above mentioned inadequacies become strengths since the model aims at information access through a human linked approach. The disadvantages of villagers living beyond the reach of the "information highway" are increasingly understood in terms of missed opportunities, including access to web-based government, health, agricultural, and commercial services. As globalization integrates the world economy, knowledge becomes an increasingly important factor of production. Many ICT-for-development initiatives have provided access to the “Last Mile”, the less-commercially-attractive locations within the country. ICT Kiosks, nodes in the national network, etc increasingly serve larger villages outside commercial centers in developing countries. Nevertheless, little has been done to serve the needs of villagers living beyond the reach of these nodes. The issue of the “Last Meter” is addressed by the initiative, "Computers on Wheels: for People-Centered Development"COW effort takes the leap by cutting across the three 'I's, namely investment, illiteracy and infrastructure and aims at process of delivery at the individual by assuring individual gain for bringing in development to the villages. The two essential features of COW lie in provision of topical information and the outreach of information technology for development. The issues of 'technology distance' owing to the vast differences of nature of land, availability of natural resources in agriculture and similar issues in health makes it imperative to offer tailor made solutions for development. COW addresses these issues by making technological tools available for creating forward and backward linkages from and to the disconnected villages for bringing in development. Computers on Wheels provides villages in Mahbubnagar District of Andhra Pradesh, India with remote Internet access and Web content customized to the needs of people through a simple and economic mobile model. The pilot project, currently in execution, is now throwing up important inputs for an enterprise model that can be replicated elsewhere. The project is attempting to provide timely, relevant information that responds to the direct needs of 10,000 people who live in seven villages and will eventually cover 227 villages and hamlets in a 25 km radius. COW is a motorcycle-based unit. An Information Retailer goes around several villages giving and collecting relevant and useful information and making a living by providing this service. Villagers and public and private organizations pay for such a service. The ‘Information Retailer’ moves on a motorcycle with a laptop, a digital camera, a mobile phone, solar powered battery charger with panel mounted on the motorcycle, and a foldable tent for temporary meetings. Computers on Wheels thus begins the process of development by employment creation for a single individual, the ‘Information Retailer’, recruited from the very environment that he/she would empower. The model encourages counter migration by bringing in urban skills to rural individuals. He maintains his schedule in a flexible fashion matching with the severity and urgency of the need of the people. An online portal sitting as an offline wear on the Information Retailer's hard-disc uploads information via a wireless backbone, and works as a virtual management platform for the delivery of services as well as for the management of the project. The Maavooru.net (maavooru - our village, in the Telugu language) web site works as a forward and backward channel for the services and content delivery in specific areas like agriculture, health, news, and education, among others. Several organizations direct their domain-specific expertise to providing specialized content to the villagers through Maavooru.net. The essential characteristic of the COW model is being people-led and sustains on their demand, which makes it imperative for the Information Provider to match his or her approach to the people’s needs, thus making the model bottoms up.

Results

COW is all about information empowerment at an individual level leading to economic and social empowerment. The key areas for service delivery are in three streams, commercial like web related independent services, governance related - government certification, bill payments etc., and developmental services in fields like health, education, agriculture. In terms of establishing the service streams, the order had been commercial, developmental and governance related. COW has been utilized most actively in addressing health-related problems via electronic medium, followed by agriculture and livestock-related issues. As the growing databank of queries and the proposed solutions shows health and agricultural issues are quite topical, and have a definite pattern that is region specific, and can be traced. Once the knowledge niche is identified through information archives that reside in the database, specific policy can be recommended for specific villages. In its operational villages, COW has gained steady and growing confidence in its ability to quickly diagnose the problem and bring to the aid of the patient the right advice from an accessible doctor. In other cases, it has also helped to quickly inform the patient the approach to reach a doctor for a personal examination, and sometimes even secured an appointment towards the same. COW has also seen the steady and incrementing income for the ‘Information Retailer’, especially for commercial services like rendering exam results, giving digital images and for medical services rendered. Another area where COW is seeing increasing effectiveness is in the linking up of new, hitherto unknown, sources of products and services, in the aid of the villagers. Disease identification is greatly facilitated by the digital camera; close-up pictures are taken of the infected crops and sent to the experts, presently at the District Agricultural Technology Transfer Centre and Regional Agricultural University. Wherever there is ICT, it seems, there is learning. This is no different in the operative setting of COW. The multimedia laptop computer has been instrumental in presenting new ideas and concepts to a variety of individuals here, especially among children. The Information Retailer has made it a practice to bring people together in-groups to screen self-running and interactive content for purposes of learning and information. Multimedia presentations have helped rural children and teachers help seeing for believing especially difficult concepts like eclipse etc., where imagery helps greatly. The young become acquainted with the dynamics of complex information presented in an interactive format, making them more ready, and willing, technology users.

COW being operative between seven remotes villages scattered around a radius of a few miles, has begun to operate as a cross-pollinator of information across the area. As a result of this cross-pollination, not only has there been exchange of information on pest control, agricultural practices and livestock problems, but also commercial information likes market prices. As a result, COW seems to have linked these villages in an informal information network, with interesting benefits to all. COW, as a roving information source, has helped raise awareness about government and developmental programs effective in the area. At times, the Information Retailer is able to point the people of the area towards already existing, but unknown, sources of solutions. Apart from taking information of the status and problems of the rural world to the developed communities, COW has also acted as a channel for external agencies and individuals to penetrate the remotest of areas to gain insights, and to offer new solutions.

Lessons

Major outcomes to date under COW project can be capped under the following heads:

1. Learning about spending patterns of these communities: The majority of personal spending goes towards remaining in an occupation. Though health related problems have been a recurring problem in every household amongst all age groups, the pattern so far has been not to respond to any but the most pressing and critical; the others are not shown attention, or spent upon. With regard to agriculture, though this is the mainstay of the majority in the region, and the top revenue and livelihood earner, most of the people are not willing to spend towards this stream. Services that are connected with the outside world, not within the powers and experience of the villagers, record high positive responses for payment. When the state-conducted school and college level examination results are out, most people are willing to pay the stated price to get these results via an information medium like the Internet.

Another product that has had many keen takers so far is the photograph. The Information Retailer provides a personal and group photography service to the villagers. Apparently, the pleasure value of these personal and group images is so high that the people are willing to pay the not too cheap prices they accrue.

2. Successful collection of revenue for rendering certain services : In a sphere where a range of governmental and developmental efforts have failed to accrue even first level revenues in order to sustain their efforts, COW has received encouragement in the form of the steady adoption of paid services in the streams of health and education, with a adoption pattern emerging in agriculture. The main reason for this success has been the 'outreach' element of the COW model, which above all, it provides a valid human element, in the form of the information retailer who appears at the same spot every week with solutions to problems.

3. COW is providing a gradual understanding of the processes to deliver specific services. The key result of this understanding is the enterprise model that is being developed to make COW a feasible enterprise for unemployed youth and women. This model is expected to be ready by early 2004.

Apart from the above socio-economic patterns observed, the following socio-psychological aspects have been noted among the people of the region:

1. The rural individual, of all ages, is no less capable than the individual of the city: Despite the majority of these people being almost totally uneducated, with skills honed often only in one field, they have a high propensity to help themselves and their community to improve.

2. The learning curve for ICT, and its accompanying inherent interest and retention, is exceptionally high among children, when compared to adults: This has been observed in several spheres - in the recall of the role of the Information Retailer, in understanding the method in which queries are processed, in the ways in which a computer can be used - in all these children are faster and keener learners, as compared to adults. As a result, the desire to learn to operate computers, and later pursue careers in a connected stream is surfacing.

From conceptualization to inception COW is aimed at being a practical, workable, and self sustaining model. To ensure this becomes reality, the following steps must be followed to achieve success:

Step 1: Evaluate the current technological solution being deployed to ensure it is the most useful combination at the community level to make a sustainable proposition for an enterprise

Step 2: Diversify the product from pure information to include training, telemedicine and other services. In addition, explore the sale of solar powered mobile kits for other organizations’ urban and rural projects

Step 3: Make the project website 'www.maavooru.net' a virtual platform for project management to increase the efficiency and productivity that is measurable.

Step 4: Keep constant dialogue with the community to adapt, alter, add or remove features and services of the model. In addition, to keep the content line open ended to allow enough freedom to suit various community needs.

Step 5: Constantly build a group of believers of COW from public, private and academic circles who are willing to donate knowledge for COW to realize its vision.

Development Impacts

COW seeks to develop a franchise model whereby the educated but underemployed will serve territories of critical population mass to assure economic viability of the individual enterprise. Sustainability is reached if each individual taking a motorcycle out to a rural area--takes ownership over the areas that they are serving. This can be accomplished by developing COW as a franchise, where licenses are sold to individuals that give them the right to service a specific geographic area. Revenue is generated via service charges, such as agriculture, trade, family communication, telemedicine, applications for government programs, and via commissions for facilitating sales transactions such as seed supplies, crop sales, and the sale of spoiled crop. Other commissions and service charges will be determined by adapting to market demands.

Once COW becomes a viable economic model, the main goal of the enterprise model being developed currently is to link the commercial, governmental and developmental sectors in a larger environment of interaction. Some typical profiles of individuals who can take up the role of Information Retailer are:

- Unemployed youth
- Government line departments
- NGOs and developmental agencies
- Priavte sectors like agricultural input suppliers and manufacturers
- Media and other information agencies

The COW idea is easily replicable nearly anywhere in the world due to its limited infrastructure requirements, beyond access to laptop computers and cell-phone based telecommunications, and the development of appropriate custom content designed to address the specific needs of the community delivered in local language. The needs that it addresses, especially agriculture- and health-related issues and access to governmental services, are common themes across regions. Finally, the franchise model allows for scale to be achieved efficiently and effectively with limited centrally provided capital expenditures.

Project Information

Organisation : "Computers on Wheels" for people centered development project
URL : http://www.maavooru.net
Total budget in US$ : Approx 40 K$ for two riders for one year.
Country of activity: India [IN]

Are there any partners involved : Villages in Partnership - field level NGO; CARE Heart Foundation - corporate hospital group; Regional Agricultural Research Centre, District Agricultural Technology Transfer Centre in the District, Some seed manufacturing companies; Digital Partners and Global Catalyst Foundation - funding agencies; Reuters Foundation (www.foundation.reuters.com), UK and Digital Vision Program, Stanford University (www.reuters.stanford.edu), USA - Design of the idea, Stanford Computer Science Department - software development; and several individuals with specific expertise in management, finance, agriculture and health,
What is partners role?: Funding agency- networking and fund support
Technology centres and individuals - technical support, field level NGO - community consultations and needs assessment

Contact Information

Pingali Rajeswari
raj@maavooru.net
3-6-185, Flat 303, Hyderguda, 500 029, Hyderabad, +91 40 2322 3873

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