[The author is director of Nabanna, an information and communication technology (ICT) project being undertaken by Change Initiatives, a Kolkata-based NGO. This article reports on Telecentre on Wheels (ToW), an effort by Change Initiatives at information dissemination in rural communities through the usage of ICT tools. Change Initiatives was initiated in collaboration with University of Manchester with funding from DFID, and has been working with rural communities in the field of ICT for development in the Indian state of West Bengal for the past five years. It started its journey with the Nabanna Information Network that was initially supported by UNESCO with the objective of developing a knowledge network amongst rural women to share information that can bring change in the quality of their life.]

Change Initiatives has once again come up with an innovative solution for reaching out to the remote areas of West Bengal. It has successfully powered a laptop with solar energy to get going its Telecentre on Wheel project[i] which is a manually run rickshaw van fitted with a laptop and solar panels to power the laptop. With the support of UNESCO, New Delhi and the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA), the Telecentre on Wheel (TOW) initiative was launched on November 6, 2007 at Ghoragacha in West Bengal’s Nadia district. This concept was jointly developed by the WBREDA and Change Initiatives.

The solar panel embedded on the top allows energy generation from the sun. In rural India, several places have never experienced the benefits of electricity. In such a situation, use of ICTs becomes impossible unless an alternative source of energy is used. TOW serves the purpose very well as the two 75 watt solar panels allow the generation of enough energy to power a laptop and an ink jet printer for more than four hours. The TOW is environment friendly in more than one way: the vehicle does not use any fuel to move across villages.

The device covers four villages: Ghoragacha, Madandanga, Kantabelia and Teligacha. Youth are given training on basic computing so that they can access information in the local language, Bengali, from the computer in the areas of health, education, agriculture, human right and law. This training has enabled the creation of a group of e-literate volunteers in each village. The project aims to resolve certain problems like:

• Easier access to information, particularly for women

• Lack of electricity which is now available through solar panels

• Upliftment of women and youth in terms of awareness to social issues, health, education and better opportunities at their doorsteps

The TOW also aims to develop a financially sustainable model from the very beginning of its operation by providing a few IT-enabled services such as digital photography, printing of forms, and basic DTP work. It also plans to sell produce of women self-help groups.

The intervention aims to develop a self-content, low-cost mobile telecentre that would allow communities from remote rural areas to access information at their doorstep. This is just a beginning. Change Initiatives is now looking for an internet solution as well as a low-cost alternative to the laptop computer. In different parts of South Asia, to take information to the doorstep of communities, several experiments have been implemented in different places such as Computer on Wheels[ii] where a motorbike is used to carry IT devices; eTUKTUK where a three-wheel auto-rickshaw is used to take community radio station inside villages. The Telecentre on Wheel is the latest addition in the field.