I had submitted this write-up as a suggestion document to Bineet-Ji back in February 2008, but I feel it’s probably better to have it in a public forum to invite general feedback:
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Since 2001, Mahabir Pun from Myagdi district of Nepal has been on a quest to network rural villages in Nepal via WiFi network, and provide basic community services that leverage the network such as VoIP phone calls, tele-medicine, tele-teaching, and local e-commerce.
Most of Mr. Pun’s work is done by support of volunteers, some funding from individuals and small organizations living abroad, and using used or donated home networking equipments and computers. With these meager resources, as of January 2008, his team of volunteers has been able to network 20 rural villages, working with 7 schools in the area, and serving a population of 22,000.
The 2007, Mr. Pun was presented the Ramon Magasaysay Award, considered by some to be the Nobel prize of Asia, in recognition of his community service. CAN-USA, in conjunction with Department of South East Asian Studies at UC-Berkeley, organized a talk by Mr. Pun in December 2007, which has generated a lot of interest in the bay area tech community to get involved in ICT sector development in Nepal.
This is a great opportunity for CAN-USA to take a lead role in channeling this momentum into specific WiFi networking projects that showcase CAN-USA’s ability to make meaningful impact in ICT sector, specifically in rural areas. Additionally, given Mr. Pun’s recognition, it also provides high-level visibility to CAN-USA both in Nepal and the US.
Here’s an overview of the scope of work where CAN-USA can partner with Mr. Pun:
- Become a collection point of donated network and computing equipment in US, and sending these equipments to Mr. Pun’s organization in Nepal
- Review the existing infrastructure of the Myagdi region network, and develop a plan to turn it into a scalable and self-sustainable network. This network should become a reference or model network infrastructure that provides a blueprint for building new networks in other rural areas
- Raise funds and resources to manage the Myagdi network until it becomes completely self-sustainable. This may involve hiring a local staff in Myagdi region that is accountable to CAN-USA
- Assist in running a volunteer program that enables volunteers to provide their technical expertise, either working directly in Myagdi area, or by working remotely to manage/troubleshoot the network
- Document and publish case studies based on this project and leverage them to evangelize CAN-USA’s vision and also call attention to funding new ICT development projects
- Assist in building new networks based on this blueprint that expand this concept to beyond Myagdi area and apply across other rural areas in Nepal (for example, Mr. Pun has proposed new networks for Kathmandu-to-Pokhara, Palpa, and Karnali region, considered to be the most remote and under-developed area of Nepal)
Overall, this is an immediate opportunity for CAN-USA to lead by taking action and also to attract new members (as well as energize existing members) by focusing our energies around a high-visibility project. Of course, CAN-USA can and should limit its scope of involvement to set realistic expectations on Mr. Pun’s part, but since a lot of the help is in terms of providing technical expertise and helping Mr. Pun put together an optimal organizational structure to implement these networks, a lot can be accomplished by just making the time of CAN-USA members available to work on these projects.
Tags: local development, mahabir pun, rural wifi, rural wireless
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