About Geekcorps Mali

Our mission is to develop and implement information and communication technology (ICT) solutions that are sustainable and appropriate for the Malian environment.

Background

In Mali, a vast, rural, and largely illiterate country, the most effective communication technology is the humble radio. To facilitate access to information, Geekcorps designed and implemented ICT solutions enabling radio stations, Mali’s information brokers, to improve content creation and delivery. As its reputation grew, Geekcorps was also asked to provide technical assistance to a number of local NGOs and USAID partners, including the University of Mali and SchoolNet Mali.

Objectives of the Program

  • Facilitate access to high-quality information for rural communities, leveraging community radio stations’ established roles as information brokers.
  • Develop appropriate and sustainable technological solutions to support access to ICT.
  • Improve the quality of the computer systems at the University of Mali and empower staff to maintain and enhance the systems.
  • Enable access to ICT for school-age students and empower school staff to maintain the systems.

Action Plan

  • Provide a sustainable means for radio stations in rural Mali to connect to the Internet, enabling them to provide their isolated communities with greater access to information from the outside world, and conversely, share their own community news with others.
  • Train radio stations to improve the quality of their broadcasts, using modern digital editing software, and facilitate sharing of programs and information among stations.
  • Develop computing solutions able to withstand the extreme heat and dust of northern Mali; develop financially sustainable solutions for Internet access.
  • Facilitate development of income-generating technologies to help community radio stations become financially self-sufficient.
  • Rehabilitate the University of Mali network and systems, and empower staff to maintain and enhance these systems.
  • Refurbish and network SchoolNet computer labs and empower students and support staff to maintain and utilize the lab to its full potential.

Results

  • Installed twelve radio-content-optimized computers in ten radio stations, including Geekcorps-developed Kunnafonix, a simplified Linux distribution with powerful digital audio editing software. Trained more than 50 radio content producers in 2,700 hours of training on the use of these systems. XX programs aired that were prepared with these systems. Built Web sites for twelve radio stations and trained sixteen radio staff on Web site management. By the end of the project, 44 different radio content producers had published 238 articles online.
  • Built a low wattage “Desert PC” capable of withstanding the intense dust and heat of northern Mali. Paired RBGAN with Lo-Band text-only Internet to provide basic Internet access at a fraction of VSAT costs.
  • Developed economic model, and facilitated community agreements for sharing Internet access and cost, another inexpensive alternative to the popular VSAT Internet connection.
  • Worked alongside university staff daily for over five months. Audited network equipment and staff skills, revitalized and secured the campus network, connected all the main campuses via WiFi connections. Trained 26 staff on managing bandwidth and repairing networking equipment. Staff installed eleven servers, upgraded over 240 computers and connected them to the network, re-configured and secured ten wireless access points, and restored all network access throughout the campuses.
  • Assured greater access to ICT for an estimated 16,000 students. Upgraded and networked 150 dilapidated SchoolNet computers (Pentium 1s and 2s) into standard workstations, using a special school Linux distribution (Skole Linux), a central server for most of the processing, and a breadth of educational software including encyclopedias and science, math, and writing software. Gave some of these schools email access using a store-and-forward system. Trained a SchoolNet technician and a student in each school for five hours in the use of this system, for a total of 80 hours. The chief technician received over 80 hours of training and is now able to install and support these systems autonomously.

Volunteering

Geekcorps, a division of the International Executive Service Corps (IESC), promotes prosperity and stability in the developing world using ICT, which enables access to information, which is vital to individual empowerment, economic success, and the development of democracy and civil society. Geekcorps leverages the strong technical skills of its international volunteers, who work with local ICT experts to implement innovative and appropriate IT solutions to address tough developmental challenges.

Geekcorps Mali’s projects have been funded under USAID Mali’s Communication for Development Special Objective. The sole staff are a program manager and an administrative coordinator. The rest of the team consists of international volunteers, ICT experts from the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, and Belgium, and local Malian volunteers. Pairing the international volunteers with local experts creates teams that design and implement solutions together, and enables extensive transfer of skills.

Innovation

Geekcorps excels at developing innovative and appropriate technology solutions that are both replicable on the local market and sustainable.

  • Geekcorps designed a wireless Internet antenna, made from US$2 in local materials by Malians. The commercial equivalent, which costs about US$100, is not even available in Mali. This solution, BottleNet, is highlighted on the USAID Web site: http://www.usaid.gov/stories/mali/pc_ml_geekcorps.html
  • Geekcorps designed a computer able to operate in a high heat, high dust, low electricity environment, using off-the-shelf hardware components and free, open-source software. The system is resilient to heat and dust and operates on less than 30 Watts of power. While the low-power system purchase price is US$300 more than its retail equivalent, its total cost of ownership is lower because it consumes much less electricity. Additional information is available on the Geekcorps Mali Web site: http://mali.geekcorps.org/article.php3?id_article=100


USAID: From the American People