e-tuktuk

I love this idea: e-tuktuk takes the ubiquitous three-wheeled motorcycle of Southeast Asia and transforms it into a mobile internet/community radio station. Devised by Kothmale Community Radio (KCR) in Sri Lanka, e-tuktuk is both a mobile broadcast center and a training facility/community megaphone:

The E-Tuktuk contains a laptop computer, battery operated printer, camera, telephone and scanner. Internet access is provided via a CDMA-enabled wireless connection, and electricity is provided via a generator. A roof rack allows the vehicle to carry other equipment such as the KCR's mobile broadcasting unit.

Radio programmes are narrowcast via two loud speakers mounted to the roof rack. The speaker system is used to announce the telecentre's presence when it arrives in a village or designated location. The weekly route of the E-tuktuk is broadcast over the radio to inform listeners about the location and time that it will arrive in their community.

As UNESCO writes, e-tuktuk can reach geographically isolated areas of the Kothmale region, but its goal is to bridge more than geography: KCR seeks to engage those marginalized due to caste, race, gender, and, presumably, education and economics. And by bringing such technology to the people, it makes it less daunting.

“Lots of people in this area don’t even know what the internet is. I think the etuktuk is a really good way to introduce and improve our knowledge about information technology and the narrowcasting gives a voice to local people and all of us in the community,” says Buddhika Darshana of Kothmale CMC.

Via SmartMobs.