Category: Communication

CavTV – TV over wi-fi in rural Mali

GeekCorps has a story about a Mali radio station that is using wifi to stream video content to TVs run on car batteries in the village of Bourem Inaly in Mali. What is particularly cool about this project is that the wi-fi antennae are all made locally by recycling local materials including cans. The only imported part is the audio/video receiver that is imported from Canada. The radio station currently has 15 subscriptions to the service that make it $45 a month.

For DIYer’s who may want to try this project, here is a copy of the project guide.

You can watch the video on the making of one the antennae here on YouTube

via GeekCorps

Wheel Chair/Mobile Phone Booth

*Ruud Elmendoorp reports from Nairobi:

I need not add more to this, do watch the video, it speaks volumes. (Ruud speaks in Dutch with English subtitles, though some interaction between Ruud, Duncan and John is in English)

Nowadays in Nairobi, and lately also Kampala, people living with a handicap are converting their wheelchairs into mobile phone booths. Instead of begging they are now making a living.

Kudos to Duncan and John for reminding us that we can triumph over difficult circumstances with ingenuity.

A Make philosophy for Africa indeed.

*Thank you Ruud for providing the video and giving us permission to include it on this post. Ruud has been making documentaries around Africa for awhile. He is headed to southern Sudan, you can keep up with his reports by visiting his site

Podcast via FM Radio

(via Timbuktu Chronicles and KenyanPundit)

Broadcast Your Podcast (BYP) could allow Africans the ability to broacast their messages on a local FM channel. This technology allows podcasters the ability to reach the millions of listeners that don’t have access to the web. The BYP can broadcast up to 100 meters, is made to be rugged and portable, and takes easy-to-find 9 volt batteries.

Inside a BYP
Broadcast your podcast on FM radio

Want to make your own? See Adam Hyde’s tutorial.