Serving the Underserved through Technology

Telecentresin

Sri Lanka

Curious about computers (previous page):

Inquisitive, young monks and orphans take a peek

at the computers inside a Nenasala or RuralKnowledge Centre at the Samadhi Buddhist

Temple in Thambuthegama, Anuradhapura.

Articles and photographs by Celene TingLayout: Nathaniel Walters / Little-Red-Dots.com

THANKS TO

Mr. Johnny Wong for believing in me

Professor Javed Nazir for his kind encouragement

4-5 Editorial

Is Technology The Answer?

6-13 Rural Knowledge Centres

Window To A Warless World

14-19 Sarvodaya Telecentres

Bridging Today To A Brighter Tomorrow

20-25 Easy Seva Telecentres

Selfless Service? Not So Easy

26-31 Cyber Extension Units

Farm-iliar Connections

contents

ailed as a model

Commonwealth country in

the late 1940s, Sri Lanka was

regarded as a “classic model of gradual

evolution to independence” for

Singapore by Minister Mentor Lee

Kuan Yew when he first visited the

country in the 1950s.

Unfortunately, the very same coun-

try that overwhelmed Mr. Lee with awe

and admiration decades ago appears to

be on the verge of degenerating into a

failed state today.

Besieged by a long-drawn civil war

and inundated by years’ of bureaucratic

inefficiencies and political short-sight-

edness, the country is currently over-

burdened with several unresolved socio

- economic problems. Regrettably, the

impact of these problems is most pro-

nounced and acutely felt by the locals

living within the rural areas.

Amidst the climate of civil war

chaos and corruption, however, the

locals are witnessing the sporadic rise

of a variety of telecentre initiatives

within the rural terrains of the country,

including certain conflict areas within

the North-East Province that are still

under the control of international ter-

rorist organization and local rebel

group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil

Eelam (LTTE).

From different corners of the devel-

oping world, these rural establishments

are receiving considerable attention

and recognition for their role as

providers of affordable access to

Information and Communication

Technologies (ICTs) and, by extension,

opportunities for social advancement

for the rural poor.

Going by different brand names and

depending on their intended purpose

and target audience, these telecentres

operate along a combination of socio-

economic objectives, constantly having

to address overriding sustainability

issues as they undertake the Herculean

4

task of incorporating technology into

the lives of these elusive communities.

With the need to address long-term

sustainability issues, we look at how

the various types of telecentres - rang-

ing from the public and semi-private

sector to the NGO telecentre initiatives

– go about balancing economic objec-

tives with social priorities as they

endeavour to live up to their promise to

serve the underprivileged poor in rural

Sri Lanka.

Some of the most notable accom-

plishments are spearheaded by the

Information and Communication

Technology Agency (ICTA) - Sri

Lanka’s government apex body for

ICT - and Sarvodaya, the country’s

largest and oldest rural development

NGO that is well-respected for its

ICT-related humanitarian projects

across the country.

As the civil war rages on, civilians

are the ones who are paying the price

for the miscalculated political move

made in 1956 by the Colombo-based

government when it introduced the

Sinhala-Only Language Act that has left

the country divided ever since.

On a positive note, however, public

H

EDITORIAL

Is technologythe answer?

Shabby shelters: Should the country attain a predetermined level of eco-

nomic development before ICTs are introduced to the rural poor? Or, can the

gradual diffusion of ICTs into the rural sector today contribute towards the

economic progress of the country tomorrow?

Unfortunately, the very same countrywhich overwhelmed Mr. Lee with aweand admiration decades ago appearsto be on the verge of degeneratinginto a failed state today.

But, considering the uneven distri-

bution of IT infrastructure and the level

of political instability in the country

now, it is no wonder that there persists

an ongoing debate on whether rural

communities are ready to embrace ICT

adoption and integration into their lives

when their basic livelihood needs are

barely even met. And, with English

being the de facto language of the

Internet and the rate of functional

English literacy to be virtually nil

among the majority living in these rural

areas, do telecentres have a role to play

in bettering the lives of the rural poor at

all or are they just another inconvenient

innovation to the people?

To be sure, placing technology into

the quivering hands of these hesitant

yet promising members of the rural

sector will not transform the fortune of

this broken country overnight. But,

with the simultaneous implementation

of some much-needed reforms and

policies, telecentres will certainly be

able to realize their maximum poten-

tial as an indispensable nation-build-

ing tool especially for a country that

takes nothing and not a single day for

granted.

5

sector telecentres are making small but

significant contributions towards con-

flict resolution between the Sinhalese

majority and the other ethnic minorities

by providing equal access to informa-

tion and learning opportunities for all.

Does technology, then, have a role to

play in restoring peace and progress

back into this country again?

And, while one man’s trash is anoth-

er man’s treasure, rural youths in Sri

Lanka are making full use of their lim-

ited access to ICTs in a desperate

attempt to turn their impoverished fates

around even as their peers in first-

world, developed nations like

Singapore take the Internet for granted

by wasting their time away at gaming

parlours.

Also, apart from serving a social

function, how do private or semi-pri-

vate telecentres differ from their public

sector and NGO-run counterparts in

dealing with long-term sustainability

issues? We take a look at some of the

challenges that front-line service

providers belonging to a semi-private,

multi-partnership telecentre initiative

face in deciding under what circum-

stances should economic objectives

take precedence over social priorities

or, vice versa, and the opportunity costs

involved when such decisions are made.

Finally, we take a look at how indus-

try-specific state departments like the

Department of Agriculture have also

launched their own telecentre initiatives

to better cater to the precise needs of

one of the most important economic

sectors in Sri Lanka.

How can the introduction of telecen-

tres into an agriculture-reliant district in

the South help reverse the ailing per-

formance of the farming sector which

constitutes the backbone of the coun-

try's economy?

Despite all these efforts to incorpo-

rate ICTs into different aspects of the

rural sector, there remains a genuine

need for telecentre service providers to

be able to market their services more

effectively to their rural markets which

are still generally unfamiliar with and

disinclined towards the virtuous cycle

of savings and long-term financial plan-

ning. That said, if nobody knows about

these telecentres and their purpose, then

neither the telecentre operators nor the

intended end users for these facilities

will benefit from their establishment to

begin with.

Indeed, other than exploring alterna-

tive communication opportunities

through the relevant channels at the

grassroots level, telecentre providers

will also need to pay greater attention to

the way they communicate the appeal

and relevance of their services to the

rural poor for the fundamental purpose

of social advancement. For example,

unlike the educated and literate mem-

bers of traditional, developed markets,

will the employment of action rather

than words under certain circumstances

be more effective in communicating

with and to the rural, developing mar-

kets instead?

Only when rural communities

understand and witness the value of

ICTs with their own eyes will they be

motivated to set aside a portion of their

limited income to invest in services that

they genuinely believe to be essential

for extricating themselves from poverty.

In search of that signature smile: With Sri Lankans guarding against their fel-

low countrymen following a series of bomb blasts carried out by several plain-

clothed civilians, the heart-warming smiles of the locals appear to have gone into

hiding these days. Here, a group of gypsies seeks shelter from the blistering

heat under a tree by the roadside in Anagarika Dharmapala Mawatha, Kandy.

WINDOW TO A

t 17 years of age, he stands tall and vigilant with an

unflinching gaze that masks the thoughts and doubts

that arise each time he spots an unfamiliar feature on an

unknown face. His eyes big and bright belong to those of a

baby’s yet they betray no signs of emotion - no fear, no joy, no

anger, no pain - nothing.

Clutching a rifle in his right hand as though his dear life

depends on it, he holds up his left palm, as a passing vehicle

obediently stops a few metres before the security check-point.

With his fingers never once relaxing their grasp on the gun in

his right hand, he peers into the vehicle scanning every single

inch of room both in the front and back seat of the car. Both the

driver and his passengers know better than to deny the soldier’s

request to present their IDs to him immediately.

Upon returning the last ID to the passenger in the back of

the vehicle, the icy demeanour of the young soldier melts

almost instantly into uncertainty as an unmistakeable flicker of

fear flashes in those childlike eyes of his.

“Have you got news on what’s happening outside

Trincomalee?” asks the boy in Sinhala. He cocks his eyebrows

in anticipation with his gaze fixed on the vehicle, as the driver

pulls up at the checkpoint.

Nodding in acknowledgement, the driver obliges the boy

with news on the latest developments within Colombo and the

rest of the country. As both his brows pucker into a frown, the

driver goes on to describe the latest killings in a village in

Anuradhapura that the Colombo-based government has attrib-

uted to local rebel group and terrorist organization, the

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - yet again.

Since the eruption of the civil war between the Sri Lanka

Army (SLA) and the LTTE, in 1983, more than 70,000 people

have been killed. In 2007 alone, the total number of fatalities

was 4, 369, including 525 civilians, 499 from the security

forces and 3,345 terrorist affiliates.

And, with the collapse of the six-year 2002 Ceasefire

Agreement with the LTTE in January this year, the subsequent

intensification of the clashes between the SLA and the LTTE

has pushed many more young men from their schools into the

army. According to the SLA, more troops will also be deployed

into the north as the SLA hopes to recover all LTTE-controlled

territories in the area by the end of the year.

But, with virtually no access to the rest of the country and

given the lack of mobility, both civilians and military personnel

within the war zones lead a life of precarious unpredictability

and persistent social decline today. Therefore, many of these

soldiers rely either on hearsay or newspapers supplied to them

by passing vehicles crossing into the districts under their juris-

diction for updates on the situation in other parts of the country.

Many families have fled their Trincomalee hometown for

security reasons. Those who remain share similar sentiments

with members of the fishing community who are still residing

in the Tsunami-hit coastal areas today. Despite witnessing and

experiencing the massive scale of destruction caused by the

killer waves in 2004, many are still reluctant to abandon their

homes and businesses behind for safer grounds. Others who

stay simply have no other choice or no alternative place to turn

to for shelter.

Faced with daily news of devastation caused by bomb

blasts on buses and other horrific acts of butchery inflicted

upon innocent villagers, the staleness of suspicion in the air

today seems to have engulfed the signature smiles of the locals

in this country.

WARLESS WORLD

A

What lies ahead for the war-weary: Soldiers as young as

18 years of age wonder when the war that began way before

they were born would eventually end and what lies ahead for

them thereafter.

elief from Realities of War

Nenasalas, or Rural Knowledge Centres, do not serve civil-

ians only, says Dr. Basheerhamad Shadrach, a Senior Program

Officer at the International Development Research Centre.

Members of the military who guard territories within the North-

East Province also patronize these Nenasalas on a regular basis,

he says.

“Sometimes, all they [the soldiers] see and hear about is the

fighting and the war,” says Mr. E. Nadarajah, a Nenasala opera-

tor in the town of Thillai Nagar within the Trincomalee district

located in the Northern

Province. “But, when they

are off-duty, they can and do

visit the Nenasalas to chat

with friends and relatives

online, play games, check

their emails or surf the

Internet for information that

need not be war-related,”

offers Mr. Nadarajah.

The Information and

Communication Technology

Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA)

has plans to expand its

Nenasala project into more

conflict areas. Indeed, the

ICTA’s move to extend its

reach into these troubled

spots reflects how situation of war and emergencies always

increases the demand for communication and information

among civilians as well as the military.

"We have Nenasalas which are operating in camps to serve

[members of] the armed forces who get trained on IT and use the

facility to gain knowledge as well," says Mr. Gavashkar

Subramanium, Project Manager of the Information

Infrastructure Department at the ICTA. At present, there are

Nenasalas located in Pallali Camp and the Command Head

Quarters in Jaffna, China Bay Air Force Base in Trincomalee and

the Command Headquarters in Vauvniya. Nenasalas are also

strategically located in border villages like those in Padavi

Parakramapura bordering the Eastern Province where military

personnel and the local villagers can have access to online news-

papers and make telephone calls to relatives in other parts or out

of the country.

Like lambs roaming among the lions, the frequent sight of

school children hitching a ride from military personnel on their

vehicles also reveals how even the most vulnerable group of

civilians has grown accustomed to the dangers lurking within the

war zones.

“Even though I am not fighting in the war, I get to see pic-

tures of the battlefield from the Internet,” exclaims Mr.

Nadarajah’s 10-year-old son, N. Jathushanan who says he start-

ed using the computer three years ago. Pouncing around the

Nenasala excitedly, the boy reveals that life goes on for him as

he still has to go to school every day even though

he says he tries to go straight home after class.

Despite the limitation on mobility, however,

one of his biggest joys that the intelligent boy

looks forward to are his webcam conversations

with his elder brother who is currently studying

in the United Kingdom. “Every time I get to see

my brother and talk to him, I am very happy,” he

chirps.

8

"Sometimes, all they[the soldiers] see andhear about is thefighting and the war"

Nenasalas or “Rural Knowledge Centres” provide

affordable access to Internet, telephones and other commu-

nication and information services to the public in rural com-

munities so as to equip them with quick methods of transfer-

ring documents and data either through fax or email. By pro-

viding IT training for rural communities at a minimal cost, the

Nenasalas aim to help improve the general IT literacy of the

country and bridge the digital divide between the urban

dwellers and rural villagers.

The Nenasala initiative, commenced via a concept of

Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa to provide ICT

access to the rural areas is implemented by the ICTA under the

e-Sri Lanka initiative. By advocating the use of ICTs, the e-Sri

Lanka initiative aims to help develop the country's economy,

alleviate poverty and enhance the quality of life of Sri Lankans.

In January this year, the Information and

Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA)

marked the launch of the 500th Nenasala at the Community

Services Development Society in Samanthurai within the

NENASALAS - RURAL KNOWLEDGE CENTRES

R

Call as you roam: A young man activates a new

phone card using his mobile phone outside a commu-

nications and book store that sells IDD and local call-

ing cards in Kanthale, Trincomalee.

No news is bad news: A soldier requests for

news updates from a passing vehicle on the

situation outside Trincomalee from where

he is stationed. He holds the day's newspa-

pers given to him by a driver entering

Trincomalee from the Anuradhapura district.

academic periods to basic computer lessons, he is glad for

the opportunity to put the IT skills that he learns in school

into practice at the Nenasala. “I am familiar with the

Microsoft Office application as I learn about it in school,”

says the student. “I come to the Nenasala to use the com-

puters especially for my school work or projects since I do

not have a computer at home.”

As such, establishments like the Nenasalas grant

access to information and opportunities for further learn-

ing even during wartime, thus, helping to cushion the neg-

ative impact of any disruption to the learning process at

formal learning and religious institutions caused by the

ongoing war. While English

is gradually being re-inte-

grated back into the local

educational syllabus,

Nenasalas also function as

informal learning centers

where patrons are able to

hone their language and IT

skills.

For Nifras who does

not always understand the

English texts reflected on

his computer screen each

time he clicks on a new link,

he says static and moving

visuals such as graphics and

video clips do help to enhance his overall

understanding of the contents in any given

website.

According to Mr. Subramanium,

Nenasalas have begun to use a combination of

online and offline information channels to

complement the developing IT infrastructure of the coun-

try while catering to the information needs of the locals.

“At present, we have started a pilot program in a few

Nenasalas to run English education but this is not online

and we are using CD-ROMS which include video formats

[to educate end users],” he says.

There are also instances of spill-over benefits that the

rest of the community stands to gain from the ease of

access to information by key opinion leaders. “Two of the

village doctors are come to the Nenasala very often. They

ccess to precious wartime commodities -

Information and education

Aggravating the brain drain from within the conflict

areas is the recent transfer of school teachers who have

served in the rural areas for over a decade to the urban

centers. Therefore, apart from the shortage of consumer

goods and services as a result of the migration of busi-

nessmen out of the war zones, the locals are also facing

severe shortages of educational manpower and resources.

So, how are Nenasalas helping students cope with this?

According to Mr. Nadarajah who is both a Nenasala

operator and the Police Citizen Committee Assistant

Secretary of Thillai Nagar

town, rural youths make up

the bulk of his customer

base. Many of the locals

from the town and nearby

villages do not have access

to a computer in their own

homes. As such, their first

contact with ICT-related

equipment like computers is

often made here at the

Nenasala.

The Nenasala which Mr.

Nadarajah operates provides

computer access to the pre-

dominantly Tamil-speaking

community with Internet

connectivity without charge.

As a means of ensuring the

long-term sustainability of

the Nenasala, patrons are

only charged for photocopy-

ing, faxing and telephone services.

When asked if there are any major challenges in edu-

cating the patrons on how to use the computers at the

Nenasala, Mr. Nadarajah says the sight of his customers

struggling to manoeuvre the mouse over a mouse pad on

their first visit to the Nenasala used to pose quite a chal-

lenge to him. “But, oftentimes, they are very eager to

learn. And, they learn fast, too,” he says.

For 18-year-old Nifras who is studying in Zahira

College, a Muslim school that devotes only a couple of

9

Ampara district in the Eastern Province. The President

announced that ICTA’s top priorities include completing the

1000-strong Nenasala network by the end of 2008.The

Nenasala program was launched in 2005 with the first of such

Rural Knowledge Centres being established at the Kirivehera

Temple in Kataragama.

Regardless of race, language or religion: Young

Buddhist and Muslim boys who do not always understand

each other's spoken language learn about computers in

harmony at a Nenasala in Nochchiyagama, Anuradhapura.

“Two of the village doctors... come to theNenasala very often.”

A

Limited credentials of a consultant: Even with an inadequate

command of the English language, Nenasala assistant, Ms.

Jeevitha Kalirajah is still required to help interpret and translate

chunks of English texts verbally into Tamil for her patrons at the

Nenasala situated along Seaview Road, Trincomalee.

10

usually come in at around 7.30 p.m. to use the

Internet and research on various diseases and

cures,” offers Mr. Nadarajah on the transfer of

knowledge by influential individuals to the rest

of the local community.

Interestingly, some Nenasalas operate dif-

ferently from one another and each Nenasala

operator is allowed to exercise certain degree

of flexibility in the way he promotes the tele-

centre services to the rural communities

depending on the unique conditions and char-

acteristics of any given area.

For one, the problem of personal space and

privacy experienced by patrons at other tele-

centres is not an issue in the Nenasala run by

Mr. Nadarajah. Here, computer terminals are

structured in a way that there is sufficient sit-

ting area for the patron who occupies the space

between the computer terminal and the wall. In

this way, customers are able to sit facing the

front of their computer screens with their

backs against the wall rather than the common

corridor where the human traffic flow is at.

In addition, some Nenasalas like the one in

Nochchiyagama Town in Anuradhapura run by

telecentre operator Mr. Asanka Bandara offer

the voucher programme which has been in

operation for the last two years. The voucher scheme enti-

tles a child or student to 35 hours of free

computer access and an adult to 5 hours

per annum. Each voucher is worth 50

Sri Lankan rupees and every Nenasala

can reimburse up to 500 vouchers issued

per month.

After securing a steady flow of cus-

tomers into the Nenasala, Mr. Bandara

then introduces the various education-

al courses conducted at the Nenasala to

the students. The IT courses are especial-

ly popular among students and adults who will receive a

certificate detailing their newly-acquired IT skills upon

completion of the courses. In this way, knowledge of the

Nenasala is quickly spread via word-of-mouth as patrons

encourage their peers and relatives to visit the establish-

ment for leisure, work or other self-enrichment purposes

even as the war goes on.

oftening the end of a double-edged sword

While the Internet can broaden the minds and perspec-

tives of its users, it also has the potential to mislead by

expanding the schism between truth and falsity.

A case in point is when readers of online news reports

expose themselves only to reports written and published in

their own mother tongue or in a language familiar to them.

These reports may not always offer a fair range of bal-

anced viewpoints or guarantee an accurate reflection of

reality.

Working alongside Mr.

Nadarajah’s wife as one of Mr.

Nadarajah’s valued assistants, the

attractive and astute Ms. Jeevitha

Kalirajah says her job scope requires

her to verbally translate fragments of

English phrases into Tamil to majority

of her customers who do not understand

English. She admits, however, that she

does not always recognize or understand

all the English texts that appear on the computer screen.

Acting as an important point-of-contact to facilitate the

process in which first-time users expose themselves to the

Internet, Ms. Kalirajah introduces popular Tamil news and

entertainment websites to her customers. Their initial reac-

tion to the Internet, she says, is often a combination of

confusion and amusement.

In some of these Tamil news websites, however, many

news reports tend to be skewed in favour of the LTTE.

This is possible in the way that a particular news event is

being framed or related to its audience. Unfortunately, this

serves to solidify rather than bridge the historic gulf

between the Tamil and Sinhalese populations that was cre-

ated ever since the infamous Sinhala Only Act was passed

in the Sri Lankan Parliament in 1956 which made Sinhala

the sole official language of the country.

Opportunities for one and all: A signboard introducing the different types of

ICT services available at the Nenasala inside the Public Library in Anuradhapura.

Written in the three major spoken languages - namely, Tamil, Sinhala and English

- it targets members from the various ethnic groups in Sri Lanka.

First enticements, then education (below): Free Internet User Voucher

scheme entitles students and adults to several hours of free computer

usage as a means of spreading awareness of the Nenasala first before

patrons are encouraged to take up IT courses at the Nenasala.

S

11

“Ethnic issue is at present keeping the

Sinhala and Tamil communities away from [developing]

deeper relationships [with each other]. This is mainly due

to a language problem where both cannot understand each

other’s language,” explains Mr. Subramanium.

As such, one of the ways to promote greater cohesion

among the various communities is for the non-Sinhalese

communities to have access to news reports published in

Sinhala and for the Sinhalese majority to have access to

non-Sinhala news media as well. “To solve this problem,

ICTA is testing out a transliteration

software which is able to translate

chunks of Sinhala words into Tamil and

vice versa for its usability and effec-

tiveness in the Anuradhapura and

Trincomalee Districts… where majori-

ty of the communities only can under-

stand their own language,” says Mr. Subramanium.

Developed by Microimage - a leading provider of

media and communication solutions in Sri Lanka, which

also developed the world’s first Sinhala and Tamil mobile

browsers in collaboration with Dialogue GSM - the

transliteration software is currently available at selected

Nenasalas like the ones in the Public Library and the

Samadhi Buddhist Temple in Thambuthegama,

Anuradhapura.

Even though softwares like

these serve only as a short-term solu-

tion to the long-standing language

divide in the country, the various

ethnic communities will be able to

benefit from news coverage that is

more balanced and accurate. Not

only will this pave the way for fewer

misunderstandings among the vari-

ous ethnic communities, it may also

create new opportunities and alterna-

tive avenues for open dialogue

among them in future.

“Online, ICTA has taken few

steps where all government websites

are developed in all three languages,

namely - Sinhala, Tamil and English

- which enables users who visit these

websites to get whatever information

they need in their own language,”

adds Mr. Subramanium.

Given the lack of mobility

caused by the ongoing civil war,

Understanding thy neighbour’s language: To

address the language barrier between the

Sinhalese majority and the Tamil community, the

ICTA is testing out the effectiveness of this

Sinhala-Tamil transliteration software that is able

to translate chunks of Sinhala text into Tamil at

selected Nenasalas across the country.

Religion makes room for technology (below):

Realizing the value and importance of technolo-

gy, Buddhist monks at this Nenasala established

within the Samadhi Buddhist Temple in

Thambuthegama, Anuradhapura, are slowly

devoting more lesson time for IT courses as well.

Stop and search: 18-year-old soldiers who show no mercy as they stop every

vehicle in their tracks for yet another round of security checks in Trincomalee.

“A Nenasalacan serve allkinds of users”

12

Nenasalas grant civilians valuable access to online infor-

mation that can be retrieved from government websites

easily and quickly. Without having to visit these govern-

ment departments personally, civilians living in the war

zones can save on precious time and resources since they

do not have to go

through the numer-

ous security check-

points just for the

purpose of, say,

h a n d - d e l i v e r i n g

official documents

to state departments.

Then again, clas-

sifying all the online information into various language

departments may only serve to highlight rather than elim-

inate the ethnic differences that have contributed to the

deadly divide between the Sinhalese majority and the

Tamils who make up the single, largest minority group in

the country today. Re-acquainting the entire population

with an ethnic-neutral, operational language like English

will certainly constitute one of the key components of a

viable, long-term conflict resolution strategy for the

restoration of peace and progress in Sri Lanka.

roviding a vision for the war-weary

But, the question remains, what awaits these returning

soldiers when the war ends, if it does end? Does a promis-

ing career or an

opportunity to

attain higher educa-

tion lie in store for

these young men?

Or, is unemploy-

ment and civil

unrest a better

reflection of the

post-war reality in Sri Lanka in the coming years?

With their promise to provide affordable access to ICTs

and other opportunities for social advancements, how and

to what extent can these informal, rural knowledge centres

help address the ballooning crisis of unemployment?

“A Nenasala can serve all kinds of users as long as it

has adoptable applications built into it for sustainable

services,” says Mr. Gavashkar as he attempts to put the

possibilty into better perspective. “It all depends on

demand and making available such services to the users

P

“Everyone is welcomed to the Nenasalas.Everyone... Sinhalese or Tamil, everyoneis welcomed here… Even if we are afraidto go to them, they can come to us.”

If looks could kill: No one is spared, not even this elderly couple who has been stopped at the security check-

point for further scrutiny. Security levels are at an all-time high after a polio-infected elderly lady who turned out

to be an LTTE affiliate blew herself up in a bus full of commuters in November 2007.

13

concerned.”

But even as the public sector is attempting to increase

rural access to the developing ICT infrastructure of the

country, many like 30-year-old Nuwan Yanaka

Wickremeratne from Mount Lavinia which is located

close to Colombo, are doubtful about the government’s

sensitivity towards the real needs of the people.

He goes on to describe the general perception of the

government in Colombo as lacking transparency and

accountability towards the poorest sector of society that is

so crucial for the progress of the country in the years

ahead. “Even if the LTTE is wiped out, the war will not be

over until the real enemies that are weighing this country

and its people down are dealt with once and for all,” says

Mr. Wickremeratne.

To eliminate the nation-wide civil unrest of this war

weary nation, he feels that the only way forward is for the

installation of a corruption-free government with a gen-

uine concern for the welfare of the people, especially the

rural poor. Armed with a concrete plan for the country’s

long-term development, the government will then be in a

more competent position to embark on winning the hearts

and minds of the people and motivate them towards

progress through action rather than rhetoric.

Against the disruptive backdrop of civil war chaos, Mr.

Nadarajah also takes it upon himself to assume the

parental role of the village disciplinarian by discouraging

the young patrons who visit his Nenasala from disintegrat-

ing into delinquency. Instead, he constantly advises them

to put what they have learnt about computers in school to

effective use at the Nenasalas. By making full use of his

position as the town’s Police Citizen Committee Assistant

Secretary, Mr. Nadarajah is also able to exploit his exten-

sive network of contacts to help promote the Nenasala to

the locals for their own long-term benefit.

According to Mr. Bandara, despite the differences that

may arise from their diverse ethnic backgrounds, the har-

mony demonstrated among the patrons at the Nenasala as

they learn about computers as a class reveals at least a

common desire for peace and stability. Commenting on

the role that Nenasalas can play in terms of peace restora-

tion and conflict resolution among the warring communi-

ties in the country, Mr. Bandara replies with a smile,

“Everyone is welcomed to the Nenasalas. Everyone...

Sinhalese or Tamil, everyone is welcomed here… Even if

we are afraid to go to them, they can come to us.”

Dead town: Life goes on for the young and old who remain in this small town that they call "home" in Trincomalee. Many

businesses have closed down while those that are still in operation serve mainly the military rather than the civilians.

14

ou could use the Internet for some-

thing like that?” exclaims 21-year-old

Dilani Madushanka. The doe-eyed young

lady is a student from Berrewarts College

in Kandy and she has recently graduated

and completed the equivalent of the ‘A’

levels examinations.

Her astonishment is in

response to my earlier descrip-

tion of e-channelling as the

process of using new electron-

ic media communication tech-

nologies like the Internet to

make appointments with doc-

tors especially from inaccessi-

ble locations to resolve med-

ical problems more efficiently.

Natuarlly, villagers living within

physically remote areas like the hill

country and conflict regions where com-

munication and transportation systems

are often inadequate will benefit most

from the widespread use of these tech-

nologies.

But, unknown to Dilani is the fact

that several e-channelling centres have

already been established in selected dis-

tricts in collaboration with hospitals and

specialists based in the towns and cities.

They are also acting as medical informa-

tion hubs for local communities.

Limited access to appropriate and

timely medical attention, together with

high medical costs, contribute to reduc-

tion in labour productivity in Sri Lanka

every year. This, in turn, exacerbates the

cycle of poverty especially for low-

income families that are often exclusively

reliant on a single breadwinner for their

livelihood requirements and expenditure.

Unfortunately for Dilani who lost her

father two years ago to cancer, her first

contact with the Internet was made only

about a year ago when she first visited the

Sarvodaya District Telecentre in Kandy.

“Had I known about the Internet ear-

lier, I would certainly have done all I

could to research on the disease that

killed my father,” she says, anchoring her

gloomy gaze to the grey tiles beneath her

feet.

“They [Sarvodaya telecentre assis-

tants] came to my village to tell us about

the computers,” says Dilani on how she

came to know about the

Sarvodaya telecentres. “They

also said we can learn how to

use computers over there for

our school work.”

The current rate of

computer literacy of Sri

Lanka stands at a low of 25

per cent, with majority of this

being concentrated in

Colombo and the major towns

and cities.

As such, it is no wonder that the

majority of the population living and

working outside of Colombo is generally

unaware of how and where to access

communications and healthcare-related

BRIDGING TODAYTO A BRIGHTERTOMORROW

SAVODAYA TELECENTERS

“

Y

"Had I known about theInternet earlier, I would cer-tainly have done all I couldto research on the diseasethat killed my father"

Yearning for a glimpse into the outside world: Making do with the lack of Internet

access at home, 16-year-old Dimani Jayatissa shows off her new desktop wallpaper

that she got her father to download for her from the Internet at his office in Colombo.

15

information and services for their own

benefit.

And, unlike the consistency and relia-

bility of the transportation system here in

Singapore, commuters in Sri Lanka have

to make do with poorly maintained road

systems and railway networks left behind

by their British colonial architects.

While these have contributed to the

high frequency of road accidents in the

country, students like Dilani are contend-

ed that they do not have to travel much

longer distances into Colombo to access

similar Information and

Communications Technologies (ICT)

offered at these rural establishments. As

a determined and dedicated student, she

travels by means of crowded buses

from her home in Maddegama village

every other day to the Sarvodaya tele-

centre for IT lessons.

While rural youths like Dilani are

starting to realize that poor-paying,

informal employment which their par-

ents depended on for survival will not be

sufficient to guarantee them a chance for

a better life, they are also facing numer-

ous difficulties securing a place within

Colombo universities.

As for Dilani who has been deprived

of any access to computers outside of her

school until recently, she now hopes her

recent registration for an advanced IT

course at the telecenter can help realize

her dreams of becoming an IT instructor

one day.

In addition, like all the other public

and privately-run telecentres

in the country, the lack of per-

sonal space and privacy is also

a common problem raised by

young patrons of the

Sarvodaya telecentre. For

growing up youths who may

be curious to know more

about taboo topics such as sex,

for instance, it is almost

impossible for them to openly

access websites containing sex-related

contents within the open-space concept

of these telecentres.

Nonetheless, Dilani says she is very

contended with the level of comfort that

she enjoys in her new learning environ-

ment because of the abundance of female

IT instructors working over there. “It

will be more difficult for me to attend

lessons here if there are no female

instructors around and if the majority of

the students at the telecentre are boys

rather than girls,” says Dilani sheepishly.

Indeed, Ms. M. K. Iresha Shanti who

is a volunteer at the Sarvodaya telecen-

tre, says she derives great satisfaction

from mentoring inquisitive and fast

learners like Dilani. Ms. Shanti is one of

the many female instructors at the

Sarvodaya telecentre whom Dilani feels

most comfortable turning to with her

questions whenever she finds herself in

doubt after a particular lesson.

Even though Sarvodaya pays her

only a small fee to help cover her trans-

portation costs, the lady says it is all

worth her while each time she sees

Dilani becoming more adept at using the

computer and making progressing

towards her ambition to be an IT instruc-

tor some day.

“Many of these Sri Lankan girls,

they are so poor living in their village,

they have no choice but to go to the

towns and cities to look for work,” says

part-time translator Ms. Tilani

Thelnabadu on the plight of the poor in

rural Sri Lanka. “Some come to

Singapore to earn more money because

of the high costs of living

back home,” she continues.

“But, many of them

are very young and pretty,”

says Ms. Thelnabadu. She

adds, with sorrow in her eyes,

that many of these young Sri

Lankan women often end up

being abused by agents or

street thugs who take advan-

tage of their innocence and

unfamiliarity with the towns and cities.

To be sure, Ms. Thelnabadu has seen her

fair share of victims who can attest to

the truth of the tragic situation faced by

many, female rural youths.

Pandering to their left-over hopes

Providing shelter through technology: Not wanting to fall prey to dishonest

agents, rural female youths empower themselves with better job prospects by mak-

ing full use of their new-found access to ICTs at this Sarvodaya telecentre in Kandy.

“Many of these Sri Lankangirls, they are so poor living intheir village, they have nochoice but to go to the townsand cities to look for work”

Empowering Damsels to Extricate

Themselves from Distress

16

and exploiting their reluctance to go

home empty-handed, these dishonest

agents offer overseas job opportunities

for a fee in exchange for the promise of

better money-making opportunities

abroad. The “lucky ones,” according to

Ms. Thelnabadu, end up as domestic

helpers while the “not-so-lucky ones”

are forced into prostitution or other

illegal professions upon their arrival in

Singapore.

In March 2008, the Sri Lanka High

Commission in Singapore drew the

attention of the Sri Lankan public to a

number of scams carried out by

unscrupulous recruitment

agents who obtain large sums

of money from Sri Lankans

with the promise of education

and employment opportunities

in Singapore.

Aware of the dangers of

such ignorance, the bright-

eyed Dilani now pins all her

hopes on her newly-acquired

IT skills at the Sarvodaya tele-

centre in the hope of getting a job

someday – and, soon, too.

Like many of her peers her age,

Dilani wants to help lessen the finan-

cial burden on her family, especially

her brother who is currently the bread-

winner of her family. He currently

works as a technician at an electronics

shop.

The country’s official unemploy-

ment rate was estimated to be around

6.3% in 2007 even though unofficial

rates are less optimistic. Indeed, the

prospect of imminent displacement

has definitely shattered the illusion

that anyone with an education can

still be assured of a place in the local

workforce today.

This, coupled with the political

angst of a government that appears

more preoccupied with winning the

long-drawn civil war than implement-

ing much needed social and econom-

ic reforms, has worsened rather than

improved the lot of the rural poor.

Today, there is still the general

trend among rural youths to flock to

Colombo - if not overseas - to obtain

higher education as a means of get-

ting themselves out of the frustrating

poverty cycle.

But, for rural youths like Dilani,

they may not even be able to secure a

place at the local universities, nor are

they able to afford to travel abroad to

further their studies. For this reason,

many believe they stand a better

chance of finding a job if they under-

take personal enrichment courses

such as those on IT skills develop-

ment offered at informal training

institutions like the telecentres.

For 16-year-old student Dimani

Jayatissa, she considers herself more

fortunate than her peers to own a per-

sonal computer, thanks to her father

who bought it for her just over a year

ago.

The quick-witted teenager, whose

favourite subject in school is geogra-

phy, commutes to Methodist College

in Colombo from her village home

within the Gampaha District on a

daily basis.

“But, even though we have a

computer at home, we don’t have

access to the Internet,” says Dimani

with a slight pout of her lips.

According to Dimani, her family is

unable to afford the high costs of

electricity bills and Internet

broadband or dial-up pack-

age subscriptions. “Most

people here can’t afford any-

thing, really,” she states

grimly.

“Don’t you have access to

the computer labs in school?”

I ask.

“It’s really hard for us to get

permission to use the Internet

in school. There should be a purposefor it,” says Dimani, visibly exasper-

ated at the thought. Given the incon-

venience of having to bypass several

layers of approval procedures from

teachers who never seem convinced

of the validity of such a “purpose” to

SAVODAYA TELECENTERS

“Even though we have acomputer at home, wedon’t have access to theInternet... If I have access tothe Internet, I will find jobs”

Access to a Computer but notthe World Wide Web

Back to basics: Even without access to online dictionaries, 16-year-old student

Dimani uses the Madhura English-Sinhala Dictionary translator software to find

out the English definition for a Sinhala word synonymous with “exotic.”

17

use the Internet, many students like

Dimani are deterred from even trying

at all.

“So, I ask my father to bring all

the information... from his office, it’s

easier for me because otherwise it’s a

big price, cost a lot [for me to visit

cyber cafes],” explains Dimani on

how she typically obtains informa-

tion for her geography-related proj-

ects. Her father then transfers the

data, including texts and the relevant

images and graphics, into a flop-

py disc and brings it home for her

to access on her computer at

home.

But, even without access to

the Internet, Dimani constantly

seeks to improve her proficiency

in the default language of the

Internet with the help of the

Madhura English-Sinhala lan-

guage translator software that her

father helped install into her person-

al computer.

Dimani is also aware that many

youths use the Internet to check on

overseas employment opportunities.

“If I have access to the Internet, I

will find out some jobs that can give

me a happy and ejoyable time,” she

says.

“With the Internet, I know I can

check how much I can expect to get

from being a pilot and the type of

qualifications that I need to obtain

before I can actually become one,”

she says of her aspiration. “But, now

money is the only problem we have.”

The perceptive child goes on to

illustrate her point further by high-

lighting a few meaningful but

unprofitable professions in Sri

Lanka. “Sometimes they say you

have to be a doctor but even the doc-

tors won’t get that much of money in

Sri Lanka. Especially teachers...

teachers are really important for us,

they are the only people who teach

us but they won’t get that much

money,” says Dimani.

Therefore, she concedes that

there is “no point in doing a job” if

prospective applicants like herself

are aware that their expected salaries

are not enough to cover the costs of

their living expenses.

Indeed, one of the major issues

that the country is recently attempt-

ing to address is the severe shortage

of qualified teachers who are profi-

cient in the English language. As a

result of frequent disruption to for-

mal learning and limitation on

mobility caused by the ongoing civil

war, the demand for competent

English teachers to educate these

rural youths remains high but unmet.

At the NGO-run telecenter, IT

instructors are not highly-paid and

many of these Sarvodaya personnel

17

are actually volunteers with little for-

mal training before. They are only

paid a small fee by the NGO to cover

basic expenses for their transporta-

tion and meals.

As a means of overcoming their

language deficiencies, these telecen-

tre assistants attempt to complement

majority of the printed teaching

materials that are usually available

only in English with direct commu-

nication in Sinhala.

It is no surprise, then, that many

students have to grapple with the

frequent loss of meaning during

the translation and learning

processes as a result of the poor

standard of written and spoken

English of their instructors.

As students like Dimani struggle

to learn English from offline mul-

timedia softwares, their peers in

Singapore are already dispatching

countless electronic mails and com-

posing long-winded essays, taking

the flashing windows on their

taskbar containing pages from an

online dictionary for granted.

“The problem with major-ity of the uneducated pooris that they live each dayas it comes, without anyplans for the future.”

Idling away in ignorance: While telecentres like this in the Gampaha dis-

trict may be well-endowed with ICT facilities, they run the risk of defeating

their original purpose of bringing technology to the rural communities if

rural youths like Dimani are unaware of their existence.

“If nobody knows about [the telecen-

tres]... or if they don’t see the value of

ICTs, that’s pretty [much] the end of it,”

comments Mr. Eranda Ginige on the

importance of effective marketing of

these telecentres to their intended rural

audiences. Mr. Ginige is the Project

Director at Dreams

Incorporated, an established,

private-sector IT solutions

provider in Sri Lanka.

He believes in coming up

with a long-term strategy that

involves more concerted

efforts among industry players

and the government in reach-

ing out to and convincing the

rural markets of the relevance

and value of ICTs to their day-

to-day lives.

“The problem with major-

ity of the uneducated poor is

that they live each day as it

comes, without any plans for

the future,” he says. “What is needed is

for there to be a strong vision for these

people... either from the government or

from the people themselves, that they

deserve and can have more [than what

they have to make do with today].”

At the other end of the spectrum, how-

ever, is the argument that ICTs should

only be introduced to a developing coun-

try like Sri Lanka when the country has

attained a predetermined level of eco-

nomic development.

“But, if not now, then when?” asks

Mr. Ginige as he attempts to refute such

an assessment. Rather than wait for the

country’s economy to recover to its pre-

war levels, Mr. Ginige says ICTs can

gradually be diffused into various aspects

of Sri Lankan society now. In this way,

the potential for ICTs to make an impact

on the country’s economy and, by exten-

sion, the lives of the people, can be

realised tomorrow.

Acknowledging the ongoing civil war

which Mr. Ginige does not believe will

end anytime soon, the truth of the matter

is that change among the people needs to

begin now and within themselves first.

“Anything will be sustain[able] if

people see the value in it... IT companies

need to be able to offer working solutions

that are able to inform end users of the

existence and value of such programs

and, more importantly, to teach them how

to use them to their benefit,” explains Mr.

Ginige.

To generate effective

demand for any good

or service, two factors

should come into play,

offers Mr. Shantha

Jayasinghe, Research

Officer at the Institute

of Policy Studies in Sri

Lanka, on how telecen-

tres can go about

addressing long-term

sustainability issues.

“One, the ability to pay

and, two, the [per-

ceived] need of the good or service,” he

states.

Increasing the affordability of the

products and services at the telecentres is

only part of the solution. The other lies in

the need to convince the rural markets of

their relevance and value.

Regardless of which sector they come

from, telecentre service providers will

need to actively advocate the use of ICTs

and demonstrate to their rural

markets the benefits of incor-

porating ICTs into their lives.

But, given Sarvodaya’s

reputation as one of the oldest

and most respected NGOs in

the world, its credibility and

its religious affiliations, the

potential for Sarvodaya tele-

centres to be actively promot-

ed to its rural target audience

through its extensive grass-

roots networks remains large-

ly untapped.

For example, Dimani

is unaware of the existence of

any Sarvodaya telecentre that

is well-equipped with Internet access and

other ICT-related facilities like a fax

machine, printers and scanners close to

her home. This is a real pity because the

Sarvodaya telecentre in question is actual-

ly situated only within a five-minute walk

from Dimani’s home.

Dimani is under the impression that

Sarvodaya is essentially a welfare organi-

zation that offers shelter and assistance to

the needy like the physically handi-

capped. Yet, it has never occurred to her

that the ICT-enabled establishment also

caters to rural youths like herself.

Indeed, Sarvodaya definitely has some

“awakening” to do as well, especially in

the way it is currently promoting its tele-

centre facilities to its intended audience.

Had Dimani known of the existence

of the ICT-enabled facility in her neigh-

bourhood, she would certainly not have

troubled her father or subjected herself

to unreasonable Internet charges at

cyber cafes. And, the best thing in life -

which is the ability to learn without such

undue constraints - would literally be

free for her.

18

SAVODAYA TELECENTERS

Not every girl needs sugar and spice, and all things nice:

Sarvodaya telecentre assistants ensure that the learning

needs of the previously isolated female population of the

rural poor are met. As part of Sarvodaya's "awakening" ini-

tiative, female youths can now reap the benefits of ICTs that

used to be associated primarily with their male counterparts.

“Anything will be sustain[able] ifpeople see the value in it... ITcompanies need to be able to offerworking solutions that are able toinform end users of the existenceand value of such programs and,more importantly, to teach themhow to use them to their benefit.”

No Bliss in Ignorance

19

Sarvodaya, which literally means "the awak-ening of us all," is a well-reputed NGO whichprides itself with over fifty years' of service tohumanity through Ghandian principles thatare essentially embedded in Buddhism. Theorganization has a reach covering 15,000 vil-lages which is close to half of all the villagesin the country and operates on the basis ofempowering the village community to"awaken" to its full potential.

“There is a much morehumane touch in [the run-ning of] Sarvodaya tele-centres than the publicor private sector[telecenter] initia-tives,” says Mr.Isura Silva who isthe ProjectManager for“Fusion” atS a r v o d a y a .“Fusion,” alsoreferred to as the“ICT forD e v e l o p m e n t ”(ICT4D) programof Sarvodaya, aimsto empower disad-vantaged communi-ties especially youthsand women in rural andurban settings by buildingcross-cutting ICT4D engage-ments in sectors of communityhealth, education, disaster management andthe environment.

Commenting on the unique structure of theSarvodaya telecenter model, Mr. Silvadescribes Sarvodaya’s strategy of introducingtechnology to the rural communities as onewith a “human touch” due to its distinctivereligious affiliations and emphasis on socialempowerment over either economic or politi-cal enrichment.

He believes that rural youths make up themost promising group that will continue toreap enormous educational and vocationalbenefits from the ICT facilities offered at theSarvodaya telecenters now and in the yearsahead. Regrettably, many of the rural youths

face many difficulties trying to secure a placefor themselves in institutions for higher learn-ing where ICT-enabled facilities can typicallybe found in the towns and cities.

Ironically, this section of the population –comprising mainly of rural youths – is most inneed of opportunities that will allow them toimprove their IT skills in order to enhance

their employment opportunities as one ofthe surest means of extricating

themselves from the cycle ofpoverty.

Adopting an inclusiverather than exclusive

approach by provid-ing IT facilities forcommunity devel-opment to therural poor,S a r v o d a y aD i s t r i c tTelecentres alsoserve as coordi-nating centres fora wide range ofsocial develop-

ment activities forvillage communi-

ties from the variousdistricts. Hence,

unlike other private orpublic telecenter estab-

lishments which may be lessconcerned with the unequal gen-

der distribution of their clientele,Sarvodaya telecentres function as people-ori-ented establishments that work alongside lessprivileged and marginalized communities byproviding them with self-help and collectivesupport.

“Being the premier charity NGO in SriLanka, Sarvodaya is respected by every gov-ernment worldwide and even the LTTE[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam].”Therefore, compared to either the public orprivate sectors, it is also relatively easy forSarvodaya to enter into the conflict regionsthat are not officially under the control of theColombo-based government to introduce andimplement social initiatives that benefit ruralyouths from the other ethnic minority groups.

Sarvodaya - the “awakening of us all”

20

was ‘chased’ back by customofficials because I did not havethe relevant visa with me... I

was not permitted to enter Singaporethen,” recalls a perplexed Mr. SujithChandana Silva. The quiet and gen-tle businessman is reminiscing howhis twist of fate led him tostep out of his bubble ofignorance to embark onthe quest for information.

According to Mr. Silva,he had needed to go toSingapore a few weeksago to purchase some partsfor an operating vehicle.Unfortunately, he had not preparedthe relevant visa documents, hence,was turned away at the customs.Hoping to find out all he could onvisa application procedures so he didnot have to make another wastedtrip, he decided to seek assistancefrom the Easy Seva telecentre that issituated less than three kilometresaway from his home.

Thus, what started off as a mun-dane search for basic information onvisa application led to the exhilarat-ing online exploration of greenerpastures for Mr. Silva. The business-man says he now visits the Easy Sevatelecentre three times a week onaverage mainly for business purpose.

In September 2007, the first EasySeva telecentre was established byprivate social investor companySynergy Strategies Group (SSG) inWennappuwa, a major town in thePuttalam district. The area is also

known affectionately by the localsas “Little Italy” because of the highnumber of Sri Lankan expatriatesworking and living in Italy.

“Also, people in theWennappuwa area are very rich,compared to many other areas inPuttalam,” explains Mr. Silva on thesignificance of the “Little Italy”label.

Not surprisingly, the first EasySeva telecentre that was launched inthe country was opened in part tosatisfy the huge demand for

telecommunication and electroniccommunication services in the area.With one in five rural Sri Lankanhaving a relative in the Gulf andrural Sri Lankans spending up to 20per cent of their income on mobilecommunications, even the poorestsector of Sri Lankan society isbeginning to appreciate the appealof high-quality communicationservices today.

Ever since his initial contact withthe Internet, Mr. Silva says he doesnot only wish to do business in othercountries. Through random clicks onflashing web links and chanceencounters upon surreal tourismadvertising banners, he now dreamsof migrating to either Australia orCanada with his family some day.

“The living expenses are veryhigh in Sri Lanka... I wantto go abroad, I try everytime to go abroad... so Icome here [Easy Seva tele-centre] to send emails andfind out more informationabout visas and othercountries,” says Mr. Silva.

With the help ofother Sri Lankan business associateswho continue to refer Mr. Silva toseveral foreign business contactseach time they return from abroad,the businessman who is bent onimproving his lot in life says he nowliaises regularly with businessprospects from Singapore, Thailand,India and China.

Fishing out a name card from hispocket containing the contact detailsof an independent distributor ofheavy machinery parts in Singapore,the businessman says he also visitsthe telecenter to check for overseasbusiness opportunities and otherbusiness-related news updates.

Smiling, he tells of how his firstcontact with the Internet severalmonths ago has since placed him ina more competent position to makemore well-informed business choic-es. Unlike before, he is now able toobtain information like pricing

EASY SEVA TELECENTRES - SELFLESS SERVICE? NOT SO EASY

EASY SEVA TELECENTRES

SSeellfflleessss sseerrvviiccee?? NNoott ssoo eeaassyy..

“

I

“I can save money [on commis-sion fees] by getting informationdirectly [from the Internet]rather than through an agent”

Promotional pamphlets: To pro-

mote the range of communications

services offered at the newly-estab-

lished Easy Seva telecentre, these

printed "hand bills" are distributed to

the locals in Wennappuwa, Puttalam.

Beyond Borders

21

details on the numerous types ofproducts and services offered byalternative overseas retailers andmanufacturers with a mere click ofthe mouse. “Also, I do not have to gothrough an agent so I can savemoney [on commission fees] by get-ting information directly [from theInternet] rather than through theagent,” adds Mr. Silva.

Echoing the thoughts of manyrural youths here, he thinks estab-lishments like the Easy Seva telecen-tre are “very valuable” for a devel-oping country like Sri Lanka

because many do not own computersat home. And, even if they did, theymay not be able to afford the highcosts of subscribing to the Internet.

In 2006, only seven per cent ofhouseholds in Sri Lanka owned per-sonal computers while just 5.5 percent of the households from the ruralsector owned personal computers.By contrast, the percentage ofhouseholds in Singapore with com-puters was 78 per cent in the sameyear, with 38 per cent owning two ormore computers at home.

Saving on precious time andresources withoutneeding to travelphysically fromprovince toprovince, Mr. Silvasays rural youths arenow sourcing forjobs online and theycan apply forprospective posi-tions by download-ing job applicationforms that are easilyaccessible from gov-ernment and corpo-rate websites.

Contented customer: Businessman, Mr. Sujith Chandana Silva, leaving the

Easy Seva telecentre after sending sales enquiry emails to a distributor of heavy

machinery parts in Singapore.

“Seva” is an ancient Sanskrit word

meaning "selfless service" but con-

trary to what the brand name “Easy

Seva” implies, serving the poor

without the intention to reap any

financial profit is no mean feat. This

is especially so if a private sector

company is to embark on this task

by itself without market or industrial

support.

To address the issue of long-

term sustainability, Easy Seva tele-

centres operate along private sec-

tor-driven lines through bulk pur-

chasing of equipment, software,

content, technology, technical

expertise and know-how from multi-

national firms like Qualcomm,

Dialog Telekom and Microsoft as

well as local companies like

InfoShare, the National

Development Bank, and Lanka Orix

Leasing Company. By standardizing

these offerings, this franchise model

aims to reduce barriers to entry by

simultaneously reducing consider-

able start-up and operating costs for

the individual franchisees.

EasySeva telecentres are

sprouting up across the country and

each of these telecentres is owned

and operated by local entrepre-

neurs who are assumed to possess

adequate knowledge of the local

market and are familiar with basic

business principles and debt.

According to U.S. Agency for

International Development (USAID)

/ Sri Lanka mission director,

Rebecca Cohn, “Broadband con-

nectivity and ICT technologies are

important tools for socio-economic

progress in developing countries."

USAID’s Last Mile Initiative is a

global program that seeks to

enhance the development and eco-

nomic prospects of farmers, small

businesses, new start-ups and

other organizations through the

establishment and expansion of

continued on page 23

Easy Seva Telecentres

Lost in translation: Telecentre operator assistants like Mr. Sywarna

Sri Athugala (left) do not have a good grasp of the English language

but are, nonetheless, required to help customers like Mr. Silva (right)

translate and type out their email correspondences in English. Due to

their language deficiencies, their middleman role in the communica-

tion process may unwittingly pave the way for miscommunication and

misunderstanding between the sender and receiver of a message.

22

ast week, robbery in my shophere... Seventh time already!”

exclaims Mr. J.K.N.C. Pereoa, theDirector and telecentre operator ofthe Easy Seva telecentre inWennappuwa. In fact, Mr. Pereoahas been doing exceedingly wellsince the establishment of theEasy Seva telecentre last year.“Actually, people here think Ihave a lot of money,” he offerssheepishly.

While public and NGO telecentreinitiatives are constantly under thepressure to address long-term eco-nomic sustainability issues for theirservices to the rural poor, Easy Sevatelecentre operators like Mr. Pereoaseem to be more concerned with howto cope with their overwhelmingfinancial success instead.

He attributes this to the telecen-tre’s offer of reasonably priced, high-speed broadband connection. Thereason behind Easy Seva’s ability toprovide economical and efficientcommunications services to the ruralcommunity is because they operatebased on a multi-partnership fran-chising model that utilizes low-cost,wireless broadband technology.

“Compared to other internet

cafes, download speed [at the EasySeva telecentre] is very high. Somepeople [customers] told me if theydownload at the internet cafe, it willtake three hours. Here [at the EasySeva telecentre], they can do it with-in half an hour,” he says.

“The rates here are very cheap...It’s good and also we can make callsvery easily to foreign countries...[Rates are] very fair,” agrees Mr.Silva. The businessman says it usual-ly costs about 20 rupees to make anoutgoing call every minute using hiscell phone. But, at the Easy Sevatelecentre, it costs about 12 rupeesper minute to make that same call.

But, in contrast to the other publicand NGO telecentre initiatives, morethan half of the patrons who show upon a typical day at the EasySeva tele-centre in Wennappuwa are malesrather than females. When askedabout the possible need to diversifyinto other underserved markets likethe rural female youths and students,both Mr. Pereoa and telecentre oper-ator assistant Mr. Sywarna Sri

Athugala stand united in their firmbelief that it is “not necessary fornow.”

They insist that they are earningmore than enough every month,thanks to their regular and predomi-nantly male customer base. The lack

of incentive to reach out to thefemale market in the village stemspartially from the presumptionthat the primary income earner ina family is typically a male ratherthan a female member of the fam-ily. This explains the noticeableinertia of the telecentre operatorsin making a purposeful attempt to

promote their telecentre services tothe rural female market.

Besides, Mr. Athugala feels that itwill require more than just extraeffort and resources to convince thefemale audience to overcome tradi-tional social inhibitions and startventuring into places where theirmale counterparts have roamed.“The girls are not coming in to thetelecentre because the boys arehere... Sri Lankan girls are very shy,”says Mr. Athugala on the prevailing,age-old gender divide in the country.“We can’t change that unless wechange the culture... that’s not possi-ble,” adds Mr. Athugala unsympa-thetically.

Another striking differencebetween the EasySeva telecentre andthat of either the public or NGO tele-

EASY SEVA TELECENTRES - SELFLESS SERVICE? NOT SO EASY

“I have no fear of learn-ing to use the computer.The main problem [Iface] is my English”

You one side, Me one side: Female students maintain a safe and respectable distance from their male peers, as an eld-

erly woman stands sandwiched between them within the gender gulf at a bus stop in a village in Kirimatiyana, Puttalam.

Serving the Profitablerather than the Poor?

“

L

23

centre initiatives is that students arealso not encouraged to show up at theEasy Seva telecenter especially intheir school uniforms during schoolhours. Students may exploit the rela-tively low-priced and high-speedInternet broadband connection at thetelecentre to visit “unsuitable sites,”says Mr. Pereoa. He is referring tothe viewing of pornographic materi-als which is still frownedupon in traditional, rural SriLankan society today.

The Easy Seva telecentreis a place that advocates theconstructive use ofInformation andCommunication Technol-ogies (ICTs), Mr. Pereoamaintains. As such, he insists that hewill not risk getting his reputationsoiled by allowing such online activ-ities even if such a move means los-ing profit-making opportunities. “Myonly son is studying in the publicschool right next to the Easy Sevatelecentre so it is not good for me and

bad for my son [if my reputation issoiled],” says Mr. Pereoa solemnly.

Ironically, Mr. Pereoa cheekilygestures to one of his “best cus-tomers” whose wife is working inSlovakia. The customer, who doesnot wish to be named, appears to behaving the time of his life engagingin lewd conversations with two dif-ferent women from two other coun-

tries. Yet, he is completely noncha-lant towards the fact that the two chatwindows that are flashing and pop-ping up on his computer screen everynow and then are clearly visible toanyone walking along the commonwalkway just behind him!

When asked if he is chatting with

continued from page 21

access for rural communities to

communications like voice and

data telecommunications net-

works.

“We are looking at a couple of

e-government and e-health initia-

tives in 2008. Our main priority in

2007 was to establish the telecen-

ters, get them operational and

demonstrate the efficacy of the

(entrepreneurial) model,” explains

Mr. Stephen Schmida, President of

Synergy Strategies Group on its

future plans for Easy Seva telecen-

tres. “EasySeva will launch its

financial services in 2008 with our

partner, National Development

Bank. If we are successful, these

services will substantially lower

fees and transaction costs for rural

consumers and entrepreneurs

alike,” he says. “Rural outreach will

be vastly improved because our

centres operate in communities

where banks lack branches,” con-

cludes Mr. Schmida.

his wife in Slovakia, he simply grinsand replies, “No, neither one is mywife.” It becomes clear then that notall adult patrons who visit the tele-centre are necessarily more sensiblethan the students. In fact, the lattergroup can only peer in from the glass

doors of the telecentre,intrigued by and eager for achance to explore the wondersof the World Wide Web.

That said, Mr. Pereoa is stillvery confident that his profitswill not be negatively affectedeven if he does not make aconscious attempt to target the

local student population in the area.“I’m earning money [every month],”he chuckles. “I can earn, I know howto earn the money... I have enoughcustomers, foreign customers, wealso have,” says a satisfied Mr.Pereoa.

Looking in from outside: A schoolboy is captivated by what he sees on the com-

puter screen from outside the Easy Seva telecentre as a patron browses the

Internet uneasily, conscious of all the attention that he is getting from around him.

“People here think I have alot of money... Last week,robbery in my shop here...Seventh time already!”

nlike cyber cafes that aredriven primarily by pri-

vate sector profit-makingobjectives, rural telecentrefranchisees and operators pridethemselves as reliableproviders of access to ICTs andother communication servicesto rural communities at muchlower rates.

But, as Mr. Steve Schmida,President of the Synergy StrategiesGroup (SSG) attempts to put thingsin better perspective, “EasySeva isvery much an entrepreneurial model[as the company sees] that as inte-gral to sustainability.”

This is particularly challengingfor EasySeva since the return oninvestment within the rural terrainsis also naturally lower compared tothe more profitable markets locatedin the towns and cities.

For the public sector and NGO-run telecentre initiatives, socialgoals such as providing support forgender empowerment through theoffer of equal learning opportunitiesto marginalized groups of females in

the villages may mean that the prof-it motive has to take a back seat withthe interests and needs of rural endusers foremost in mind.

On the other hand, for private orsemi-private telecentre providers

like Easy Seva, the need to ensurelong-term economic sustainabilitymay sometimes take greater prece-dence over the need to live up totheir promise of catering to lesslucrative markets.

“We use a variety of selection cri-teria, including tower proximity,street visibility and, most important-ly, the entrepreneur himself,”explains Mr. Schmida on the criteriaused to ascertain the degree of suit-ability for the establishment of anEasy Seva telecentre in a particularlocation. The key to success of atelecentre, says Mr. Schmida, isdetermined largely by the charismaof the individual entrepreneur. Byexploiting the network of trust and

familiarity built between the entre-preneur or telecentre operator andhis customers over the years, grass-roots level marketing aimed at con-vincing the locals of the value andrelevance of the services offered atthe telecentre is more effective.

Indeed, the absence of a standardset of business goals and guidingprinciples creates the conditions fortelecentre operators to exercisegreater autonomy in deciding whento allow the profit motive to super-sede the social goal of rural empow-erment through affordable access totechnology.

While this may allow the individ-ual telecentre operator or franchiseegreater freedom and creativity inpromoting his services, it also runsthe risk of giving rise to individualprejudices and preconceptions aboutcertain markets in favour of econom-ic bottom lines. In other words, busi-ness goals and objectives maybecome narrowly defined by the

telecentre operator or fran-chisee as he sees fitting to hisown business agenda.

In addition, the lack of per-sonal space and privacy is alsoa major concern for manypatrons as they access privateinformation or engage in pref-erential types of online enter-

tainment because of the open-spaceconcept adopted at the Easy Sevatelecenters.

“I have seen a woman webcamwith her husband who works in Italy.So, more space here [in the EasySeva telecentre] will be good...,”says Mr. Silva. He recalls being ableto hear bits of the conversation evenwithout the intention of eavesdrop-ping simply because “there is just noprivacy [at the telecentre].” But, Mr.Pereoa and his assistant, Mr.Athugala, however, insist on keep-ing a watchful eye on the computerscreens in front of their patrons so asto prevent any ‘monkey business’carried out either online or offline atthe Easy Seva telecentre.

24

EASY SEVA TELECENTRES - SELFLESS SERVICE? NOT SO EASY

No ‘monkey business’ here: Keeping a vigilant eye on the online activities of

all his patrons, Easy Seva telecentre operator, Mr. J.K.N.C. Pereoa maintains

that the telecentre remains off-limits to students especially during school hours.

“The girls are not comingin to the telecentre becausethe boys are here... SriLankan girls are very shy”

Easy Seva’s Not-So-Easy task

“

U

One of the main stumbling blocksthat first-time patrons of the Internetlike Mr. Silva face is their inabilityto understand every word they comeacross on their computer screens. “Ihave no fear of learning to use thecomputer. The main problem [I face]is my English,” concedes Mr.Silva with a sigh. “I understand50 per cent of what I read on theInternet, the other 50 per cent, Iask the telecentre operator assis-tant for translation,” explainsMr. Silva on how he usually getsaround the problem.

But, with a level of English profi-ciency that is nowhere near adequateto begin with, telecentre operatorassistants like Mr. Athugala are,nonetheless, required to understandand translate English text in websitesand email correspondences to theircustomers. Hence, there is alwaysthe risk of miscommunication andmisunderstanding especially duringelectronic communication since theessence of a message may get lostduring translation.

Requiring language rather thantechnical support, Mr. Silva firstscribbles his message on a piece ofpaper in Sinhala for Mr. Athugalawho then types out the contents inEnglish in his emails to his foreignbusiness contacts. Often, patronslike Mr. Silva who have difficultyputting their thoughts down inEnglish, will have to make do withthe lack of privacy and the limitednumber of expressions that can beexchanged during electronic com-munication.

Clearly, telecenter operator assis-tants like Mr. Athugala play a crucialfacilitator role in the informationtransfer process and, by extension, intheir potential to help integrate first-time patrons into the world of ICTs.The nature of such a role is essential-ly a supervisory one, but one withthe ability to influence customersinto adopting either a ‘take part’ or‘take cover’ stance towards ICTs.

To overcome the initial language

and technical barriers, front-lineservice providers like the telecentreoperator assistants will not only needto be IT-trained but will also need tobe adequately equipped with thenecessary language competenciesfirst. Only when front-line telecentre

operators and assistants appreciatethe importance of their role as ‘mid-dlemen’ in the information-gatheringand transfer process will they be ableto inspire inquisitive yet hesitantfirst-time users into taking addition-al, baby steps intothe world of ICTs.

As for Mr.Pereoa, he believesthat even withoutprior knowledge ofthe computer, “it iseasier to learn”about computersdespite the lan-guage barrier. Oneshould not under-estimate the will-ingness and capac-ity of first-timeusers to absorbnew informationlike a sponge, saysMr. Pereoa with agrin. Oftentimes,they may be morereceptive to gettingin touch with noveltechnologies likethe Internet and doso with a moreopen mind thanexperienced com-puter users.

To illustrate hispoint, Mr. Pereoasays the new onlinechat programsoften pique the

interest of and motivate the locals toput their language skills to the testeach time they attempt to constructsentences in English. Also, within theinformal environment of conversingwith their friends and relatives, theymay be more pro-active in resorting

to the Internet in search of newwords and phrases that enablethem to convey their messagesmore coherently.

Every icon acts like a door-way to a whole new world ofknowledge and wisdom for us,

says Mr. Pereoa optimistically. Withevery click of the mouse, he isdelighted each time he sees hispatrons make “step by step,” piece-meal progress with the way newtechnologies work.

25

“I have seen a womanwebcam with her husbandwho works in Italy. ”

Gateway to greener pastures: With the Internet, Mr.

Silva is now constantly on the look-out for better over-

seas living and working prospects.

26

hether it is the good com-pany of jovial AgriculturalInstructor (A.I.), Mr. PiAi

Jayasena or his perceptive agricultur-al advice that farmers like Mr. B.T.Ariyadasa seek, the sight of villagersvisiting the Cyber Extension Unit(CEU) at the Labaduwa AgrarianService Centre is a heartening one.

Addressing each other affection-ately like old friends, the hale andhearty Mr. Ariyadasa calls on Mr.Jayasena every other morning toshare his agricultural woes and toexchange views on general farmingissues with the latter. As an agricul-tural advisor to the local subsistencefarmers, Mr. Jayasena is respectedand trusted by the farming communi-ty both as a close confidant as well asan expert on agricultural matters.

With his passion in agricultureand the bond that he has establishedwith the local famers over the years,Mr. Jayasena constantly encouragesthe farmers to seek his assistancewhenever they stumble upon any dis-eased crop in their fields or backyardfarms that they are unfamiliar with.From time to time, Mr. Ariyadasasays farmers in the village also sharetheir knowledge on and experienceswith new crops and farming tech-niques when they meet one another.

Today, the agriculture sector inSri Lanka employs about 33 per cent

of the working population. Yet, itonly accounted for around 17.3 percent of the country’s Gross DomesticProduct GDP in 2006. Due to declin-ing agricultural success in recentdecades, this particular sector hasbeen losing its relative importance tothe country’s economy even thoughrice continues to be cultivated exten-sively across the country.

To address the problems associat-

ed with failing crop productivity, 45CEUs were incorporated into 45Agrarian Service Centres in 2004 bythe Department of Agriculture (DoA)of Sri Lanka. Equipped with basicInformation and CommunicationTechnologies (ICTs) such as comput-ers, scanners, digital cameras andmultimedia CD-ROMs, these CEUsaim to improve agricultural efficien-cy of the various districts by provid-ing rural farmers with and expandingaccess to agriculture-related toolsand information.

With the aim of creating a moreconducive environment for regularinformation-sharing between thelocal farming community and thespecially trained A.I.s to take place,the CEUs function as a common‘touch point’ of contact for engage-ment and interaction between thefarmers and agriculture researchers.And, through constructive problem-sharing and continuous research, theDoA seeks to enhance the generallevel of agricultural efficiency in thecountry gradually as well as to openup new income-generating opportu-nities for the local farming communi-ty.

“Many of us [farmers] buy newseeds from the CEU to farm in ourbackyard farms from time to time,”says Mr. Ariyadasa. When asked ifhe is earning enough as a paddyfarmer, he gestures to his family ofeight before replying, “I do earnenough... but I can earn more to feedmy family now that I am able to buythe seeds of new types of fruits andvegetables and sell my produce at theopen markets.”

As residents living within thesame community, A.I.s are notregarded as foreign agents of change,bent on introducing irrelevant andcomplicated ICT-related productsand services to a predominantly ITilliterate farming comcommunity. As

W

FARM-ILIARCONNECTIONS

“I have a diploma inagricultural studies,but I still need to getmore informationfrom the Web

27

A.I. Ms. Kusalani Deepika from theAmbalanthota district points out, it iscrucial for A.I.s to first establish agood relationship with the localfarming community and to be gen-uinely concerned about their farmingneeds and welfare before attemptingto incorporate ICTs into their way oflives.

Bringing a laptop into the vil-lages, extension officers conducteducational presentations and, withthe help of the relevant visual aids,they are able to illustrate and educatetheir target audience on best farmingpractices. On “Field Days,” forexample, A.I.s and extension officersoperate multimedia CD-ROMs pro-vided by the DoA and project agri-culture-related information to a largehall of farmers in the villagesthrough Power Point Presentations.Such special occasions allow farmersto congregate and share informationand engage in bonding and interac-tive sessions with A.I.s and extensionofficers. Bringing a laptop into thevillages, extension officers conducteducational presentations and, withthe help of the relevant visual aids,they are able to illustrate and educatetheir target audience on best farmingpractices.

During field inspections, exten-sion officers may also stumble uponnew agricultural infections in one

family’s backyardfarm. They will theninform the other vil-lagers about the dis-ease that they haveidentified. This isbecause the same dis-ease that has infectedthe farmer’s cropsmay have the potentialto spread and infectother crops fromanother farm if leftignored. Extensionofficers will also feed-back to the A.I.s back

at the district Agrarian ServiceCentres on their discoveries so thatthe necessary remedial actions canbe implemented accordingly andquickly.

Farmers like Mr. Ariyadasa arealso encouraged to be pro-active inbringing any infected crops to theA.I.s who will attempt to identifythe problem and dish out the rele-vant advice to the distressed farm-ers. “I have a diploma in agricul-tural studies, but I still need to getmore information from theInternet, like the DoA websites,”says A.I. Mr. Jayasena on how heusually deals with the agriculturalproblems that farmers present tohim every now and then.

As a strong advocate of organicrather than chemical-based fertilis-ers, Mr. Jayasena has successfullyconvinced several farmers in theLabaduwa area to use cattle dungor pre-packed organic fertilizerswhich can be purchased at theCEU instead of the chemical-based types. Swayed by Mr.Jayasena’s charisma and credibili-ty, the local farmers believe thatthe application of organic fertiliz-ers can not only enhance their cropyield but also help protect the envi-ronment from harmful pollution inthe long run. This is especiallyideal for farmers whose families

usually consume the rice, vegetablesand fruits that they cultivate.

Hence, the cyber extension mech-anism demonstrates the beneficialspill-over effects of transferringknowledge from a few selected offi-cers to the rest of the village commu-nity even if individual farmers do notcome into direct contact with ICTs.The success of technological integra-tion and information transfer is fur-ther reinforced by the dedication ofindividual A.I.s in their attempts todemonstrate to their fellow villagersthe relevance and value of incorpo-rating new technologies into theirfarming routines as well as the con-tinuous agricultural research con-ducted at the CEU.

Sowing Seeds of KnowledgeAccording to Mr. Jayasena, over

600 farmers have received someform of IT training at the CEU inLabaduwa through the use of multi-media softwares. He also adds thatthe people who come to use the com-puters and the multimedia CD-ROMs at the CEU range from 18 to75 years of age. So far, it has beenobserved that the younger or inexpe-rienced farmers are most keen to getinformation on specific agriculturaltopics from the easy-to-use multime-dia CD-ROMs.

As for adoption issues, Mr.Jayasena maintains that first-timeusers usually encounter little or nodifficulty at all in manoeuvring thecontents of these multimedia CD-ROMs that are easily accessible likean analogue book, with basic page-turn functions in the form of twoicons. The “Next” icon allows theend user to proceed on to the next‘page’ while the “Previous” iconenables the user to revisit the con-tents reflected on the previous‘page.’

Another category of multimediaCD-ROMs are those that run auto-matically like a self-timed slide show

Getting to the root of the problem: Agricultural Instructor, Mr. PiAi

Jayasena (shown) inspects a diseased vegetable in the backyard

farm of Mr. B.T. Ariyadasa, a subsistence farmer in Labaduwa, Galle.

28

once activated. While this may beideal for first-time users, there is lit-tle interactivity between the end userand the self-run program. Confusionmay arise initially if the end userwishes to pause or go back to previ-ous sections but does not know howor when to do so.

However, if A.I.s arenot sufficiently taught onhow to fully exploit theICT equipment availableat these CEUs, they canalways exercise their owncreativity and utilise thesetools for specific purposesto the extent that theyfacilitate rather than revo-lutionize existing workingand lifestyle routines.

As a means of facilitating themanual examination of, say,an infected paddy, Mr.Jayasena sometimes placesthe diseased plant inside thescanner and scans the por-tion of the diseased plant intothe computer. After that, heopens the image file of thediseased plant and magnifiesit on the computer screenand this helps the A.I. as heexplains the root cause of theproblem to the farmer is ableto appreciate his advice andact on it with a better per-spective. Alternatively, if thefarmer encounters any prob-lem identifying a pest or dis-ease condition, either the A.I.or the farmer may send thevisual attachment of thespecimen using a cameraphone to the experts at theDoA for further assistance.

Regardless of howadvanced these ICT tools areor how sophisticated theiroriginal design purpose is,they run the risk of beingused primitively such thattheir potential or intendedpurpose is not fully exploitedto the benefit of the individ-

ual farmer or the farming communityat large. Also, it must be acknowl-edged that a tool is just a tool withoutany value especially if the end usersdo not recognize any relevance orvalue of these tools to them.

For A.I. Ms. Deepika, she man-ages both online and offline data that

she gathers on her own or with thehelp of the agricultural extension

officers during regular field inspec-tions. She uses ICTs for the purposeof information-sharing on agricultur-al products and related topics specif-ic and relevant to the villages in theAmbalanthota district.

According to the DoA, farmers’knowledge of paddy field cultivation

was extremely poor priorto the introduction of thecyber extension mecha-nism in this particularregion. For example, theemployment of latestfarming innovations suchas the use of straw andpaddy husk charcoal wasnever adopted.

To address this, dis-trict A.I.s like Ms. Deepika seek toconstantly educate local farmers by

making up-to-date contribu-tions to location-specificagricultural publications.These are quarterly or yearlyvillage magazines that aredisseminated to the numer-ous farmers’ societies orinformal farmers’ networksat the village levels.Also, as visuals play animportant function for thelargely illiterate farmingcommunity who may notalways understand everySinhala word, the inclusionof photographs is often muchappreciated. With a digitalcamera, Ms. Deepika takespictures of diseased plantsand common pests and doesan accompanying write-up oranalysis on the topic as a wayof educating the local farm-ing community on commonagricultural issues. In addi-tion, each time a solution to acommon agricultural prob-lem is derived through thecontinuous informationexchange and sharingprocess between the agrarianresearchers at the AgrarianService Centre and the DoA,

Relying mainly on word-of-mouth publicity, promo-

tional materials such as this poster depicting the range of

ICT services available at the Cyber Extension Unit can

only be found within the Labaduwa Agrarian Service

Centre and not distributed anywhere else in the village.

CYBER EXTENSION UNITS

“with the Internet, informationgets updated and you canretrieve information especiallyon new agricultural diseasesthat have yet to be documented”

29

A.I.s will upload the relevant infor-mation onto the DoA websites.

In this way, both farmers and A.I.sare able to gain insights into dealingwith common types of diseasesaffecting the fields in the villages ofa particular area more effectively andefficiently. In 2007, telecom-

munication facili-ties and internetconnection wereprovided at select-ed CEUs toenhance nationala g r i c u l t u r eresearch andextension systemby improving thegeneration andcollaborative useof agricultureknowledge andinformation sys-tem.

“The CD-ROMS are indeed use-ful, but the contents in them arefixed. You use it once, and you can’tre-use it anymore because the con-tent is not updated,” says Mr.Ratnasiri Edirimannex who is anAgricultural Monitoring Officer atthe Weerawila Agricultural Office.“But, with the Internet, informationgets updated and you can retrieveinformation especially on new agri-cultural diseases that have yet to bedocumented,” comments Mr.Edirimannex on the benefits of incor-porating Internet technology as anintegral aspect of modern, subsis-tence farming in Sri Lanka.

Still, it is hard to refute the valueof providing basic, offline, ICT facil-ities like computers, scanners, print-ers and fax machines.

According to Dr. RohanWijekoon, Assistant Director ofAgriculture from the Audio VisualCentre of the DoA, the DoA has pro-duced and distributed over 33 multi-media CD-ROMs to CEUs to date.“These multimedia CD-ROMs weredeveloped in local languages, name-

ly, in Sinhala and Tamil, with simpleuser interface and graphics.”

He also adds that this is typicallyaccomplished with the help of ateam of multimedia designers andsenior researchers on any given agri-cultural topic - say, on chilli cultiva-tion - at the Audio Visual Centre of

the DoA.For those who actually own a

computer at home, they can alsochoose to purchase the multimediaCD-ROMs on a particular topic ofinterest to them at just R25 each.Using the computer at the CEU, Mr.Jayasena duplicates these CD-ROMs

CYBER EXTENSION UNITSCyber extension is an agri-

cultural information exchange

mechanism over cyber space,

“the imaginary space behind

the interconnected computer

networks through telecommuni-

cation means.” It utilizes the

power of networks, computer

communications and interactive

multimedia to facilitate and act

as an information-sharing

mechanism. Each CEU com-

prises of a computer, digital

camera, printer, scanner and an

uninterruptible power supply

(UPS) unit.

The grassroots level cyber

extension A.I. offices are strate-

gically located within the indi-

vidual district Agrarian Service

Centres. These are centres

where farmers get their agricul-

ture input needs.

At present, there are 51

CEUs across the country with

seven within the Eastern

Province and one within the

Northern Province. The loca-

tions of these CEUs are select-

ed to represent almost all the

districts of the island including

the Northern and Eastern

provinces.

As such, these agricultural

units are also open to and

accessible by the Tamil-speak-

ing community in the conflict

areas. But the DoA says it is

still not in the position to

increase the number of CEUs in

the Northern Province due to

security reasons.

Location of Cyber Extension Units in

Sri Lanka. Source: Dept. Of Agriculture,

Sri Lanka, 2008

Digital tools for the future farmer: Mr. Jayasena demon-

strates the ease of accessing agricultural information con-

tained within the multimedia CD-ROMs designed specially

for a predominantly IT-illiterate farming community and dis-

tributed by the Department of Agriculture in Sri Lanka.

in the hope of expanding the CEU’slibrary of agricultural data in order tomeet the information needs of thelocal farming community.

Promoting the Future of Farming Living to see the day when he will

have the opportunity to learn aboutadvanced farming tech-niques through the use ofsophisticated digital tech-nologies like the Internetis like an impossibledream for Mr. D.A.D.Nilantha Rohan-Kumara.

As a subsistencefarmer in WestWaliweriya within theGampaha district, Mr.Rohan-Kumara has never heard ofthe existence or the role of CEUs inproviding poor farmers like him withaccess to better agricultural informa-tion and decision support.

“I am a traditional farmer. Myfather is also a farmer,” says Mr.Rohan-Kumara. “So, I know every-thing about farming through my fam-ily, from generation to generation,”

adds Mr. Rohan-Kumaru on hisabsolute faith in his family’s time-honoured farming traditions.

Given that he has to toil in thefields from dawn to dusk each day,he is often deterred from travelling tothe DoA to seek agricultural assis-tance, considering the amount of

travelling time that is required. Yet,he says, the state department is hisonly alternative source of agricultur-al information and support.

For Mr. Rohan-Kumara who hasnever heard of the Internet, his expo-sure to new media technologies isalso extremely limited. There is notelevision or fixed-line telephone inhis home, though he has owned a few

mobile phones before but stoppedacquiring another after losing severalon the buses and in the fields.

“But, with computers, I will cer-tainly like to learn more about newmethods of cultivation, how to har-vest especially at the lowest cost pos-sible,” says Mr. Rohan-Kumara on

what he will like to usecomputers for if he hasthe chance to do so infuture. “My only fear,”says a tired Mr. Rohan-Kumara, “is not towardsthe computer, but myinability to afford thecosts of learning how touse it and owning onemyself.”

Indeed, the importance of agricul-tural marketing is not to be underes-timated as all farmers deserve equalaccess to ICTs, up-to-date informa-tion and guidance on efficient cropcultivation as a means of betteringtheir quality of life.

At the Labaduwa AgrarianService Centre, for instance, the onlypublicity material is a poster placed

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CYBER EXTENSION UNITS

“My only fear,” says a tired Mr.Rohan-Kumara, “is not towardsthe computer, but my inability toafford the costs of learning how touse it and owning one myself.”

Getting connected through communication first: Rather than imposing the use of ICTs on IT-illiterate farmers like

Mr. Ariyadasa (left), Agricultural Instructors like Mr. Jayasena (right) need to first understand their needs before they

can demonstrate the real value and benefits of ICTs to the farming community.

at the entrance of the CEUinforming the public on thetypes of ICT facilities avail-able at the CEU. Similar pro-motional materials are noteven available at the nearbybus-stops or at other strategiclocations where farmers arelikely to congregate at, suchas the open markets or fruitstalls located inside the near-by villages. So far, the onlymarketing opportunities are inthe form of word-of-mouthpublicity and informal net-working sessions organizedby the district A.I.s.

Through these face-to-facepoints of interaction with thelocals, these farmers aretaught and shown how theycan get involved in and con-tribute to the benefits of thecontinuous agricultural researchactivities at the CEUs.

“We plan to conduct FarmersDay, a day to hold agricultural clinicsand exhibitions at all the units toincrease public awareness [of theseCEUs],” says Dr.Wijekoon. The DoAalso intends toestablish farmers’organizations basedon the cyber exten-sion mechanism tohelp promote bestfarming practiceswithin the farmingcommunity.

Above all, Dr. Wijekoon foreseesthat CEUs will continue to impactthe future of farming in Sri Lanka inmore ways than one, such as in thereduction of middlemen tradingbetween buyers and sellers of agri-cultural products.

According to Mr. Rohan-Kumara,the person - or the middleman - whobuys the harvest from him is usuallythe one with the final say on the priceof the harvest to be sold to other buy-ers. “The village leader is the onewho usually fixes the price. ‘This is

the price… You give it to me at thisprice,’ he says,” explains Mr. Rohan-Kumara.

To address this problem, the DoAhas implemented two web-basedservices to enable buyers and sellers

to retrieve and co-ordinate priceswith each other directly on a dailybasis. Farmers can also update anyother relevant information onto theonline database so interested buyerscan contact them directly. This alsoprevents any price-undercuttingamong farmers who might over-charge their produce to prospectivebuyers.

Asked if he is contented with theamount of income that he gets fromhis only job as a farmer, he laughsmirthlessly before replying, “With

my income, we [his family members]only get food, clothes, that’s all… Iam OK but I can’t say I am reallyhappy.”

“Actually, I really want to enrolmy children into top schools with

computers in thetowns and cities likeColombo. But,because of my edu-cation, and my placeof living, I can’tafford to do that,”says Mr. Rohan-Kumara on his plansfor his three toddles.

Ironically,being deprived of access to suchlearning opportunities and facilitiesreinforces the vicious cycle of pover-ty as majority of the poor needs to tryeven harder to fight for limitedopportunities in order to extricatethemselves from a lifetime of pover-ty.

On a positive note, however, Mr.Rohan-Kumara is hoping that hischildren will at least be given thechance to learn about computers inthe village schools when they growup one day.

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“Actually, I really want to enrol mychildren into top schools with comput-ers in the towns and cities like Colombo.But, because of my education, and myplace of living, I can’t afford to do that”

Knowledge is power – and profit: With increased yield as a result of improved

knowledge on best farming practices, farmers can either sell their produce at the

open markets or this Agricultural Produce Selling Centre located in front of the

Cyber Extension Unit in Labaduwa, Galle.