the etuktuk project

etuktuk featured in i4d magazine

Writing by admin on Friday, 4 of August , 2006 at 7:38 pm

eTukTuk– the Sri Lankan experience
Up in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, near Kandy, I came across an amazing experiment in taking the fruits of ICT directly to the poor. The eTukTuk project is part of the Kothmale Community Radio station and Multi-media Centre. A cursory look at the eTukTuk and one would be tempted to dismiss it as just another Bajaj autorickshaw that’s as common in Sri Lanka as coconut palms. But this is no ordinary three-wheeler: inside the tuktuk is a complete radio-station and telecentre – with computer, printer, scanner, digital camera and Internet connection.

The eTukTuk is the most accessible of telecentres – it putters along the dirt roads of Kothmale, travelling to distant villages, bringing the benefits of ICTs to the homes of the people.

(Read more…)

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About

The eTUKTUK is a community building initiative that aims to converge the technological benefits of digital communications and new media with community radio. The eTUKTUK is a self-contained mobile telecentre and radio broadcasting unit housed within a three wheeled motorcycle. By taking access directly to the villages and presenting it to users in a familiar environment, trained intermediaries can help overcome the barriers of language and illiteracy and the benefits can be focused on the most disadvantaged in the community.