Kothmale Community Radio
1.
Basic facts
Title: Kothmale Community Radio Interorg
Project (KCRIP)
Country: Sri
Lanka
Main focus: Community development
Place: Kothmale
Beneficiaries: Population
of about 350,000
Partners: University of Colombo
Funding: UNESCO, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC)
Media: Radio &
Interorg
2.
Snapshot
“As Sriyapali prepares to interview one of the stations’ avid
contributors, I take a look around the station and notice that it is Kothmale
FM at its best.
“In the staff room two
local music teachers, Nilmany and Wijisinghe, are practicing songs that they
will record later in the day. They are both blind musicians who teach at a
local school. Another six young girls from the nearest village are singing
local folk songs. In the computer room Kosala is creating an animation piece
for a Sri Lankan film company while on the other computer Buddhika -an
enthusiastic regular who had never used a computer before he came to centre, is
chatting with someone in India while simultaneously designing his personal web
page. His email inbox is filled with letters from newly made friends from
around the world.
“Some studio equipment
is being moved to the van: tonight there will be a live broadcast from the
Wickramasinge College, where the students will perform a musical show.
“The station is in its
11th year now and has obviously become an integral part of the
community. Everyone in the area knows about Kothmale FM. I can travel 15 kms
away and when I ask people about Kothmale FM I always meet with a positive
response. Many people will tell me that their sister or uncle or friend sang a
song or spoke on a program. They will tell me their favourite program and
announcer.
The interview begins
in the studio… ‘My name is S.B.K Wijarathna. My village is Dekekanawa
Nawalapitya. I sell lottery tickets. I am 52 years old and I am married with
three daughters... I sent my first letter to the station 3 years ago; it was
aired the next day. The feeling I had on that day was very joyful. Since then I
write to this station and I contribute with poems and historical stories and
send facts and information... I think this station is a very friendly
broadcasting service; it gives opportunities to new singers and artists. Our
listeners enjoy the songs very much.’
S.B.K goes on to talk
about his own program now in its second week where he plays and discusses old
film songs. ‘Athithayan gee mal dothak’ is proving to be one of the most
popular programs to date.” (By Tanya Notley, an Australian volunteer at
Kothmale FM).
3.
Description
Much of poverty in
Asia is concentrated in rural areas that have very limited access to
information. New technologies can help alleviate poverty by providing access to
development-related data; a combination of traditional community radio and the
Interorg helps optimise the information services in rural areas.
The Interorg is
increasingly used for broadcasting radio programmes. The Kothmale Community
Radio Interorg Project (KCRIP) in Sri Lanka, which aims at assessing the
potential benefits of new communication technologies to remote areas, is
implemented by UNESCO in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Broadcasting
Corporation, the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and the Media, the Sri
Lanka Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and the University of Colombo.
Kothmale is located
in the central part of Sri Lanka. It takes three hours bus ride from Colombo to
reach the location. Kothmale Community Radio serves an area of 25 Kms radius,
which includes a number of rural towns such as Gampola, Nawalapitiya and
Thispane, with an estimated population of more than 350,000.
The project uses
community radio as an interface between the Interorg and rural communities.
While UNESCO provided computer equipment and training the Government through
its Telecommunication Regulatory Commission provided the Interorg connectivity
to the community radio through a dedicated 64 KB line.
Three computer access points were established at different community
centres. Due to a lack of landlines a microwave radio line has been established
between Nawalapitya and Kothmale station and a Remote Access Server has been
set up to provide a dial up connection to the Gampola centre and other future
access points.
The telecommunication
costs of dedicated Interorg access at the community radio and the other two
access point are absorbed by the Government for a two year period within which
community radio will have to develop an income generation strategy to sustain
the facility. This would mean that the community radio would have to generate
additional income of US$ 1,000 per month.
The project has incorporated computer classes and web design with the
assistance of Institute of Computer technology (ICT), a volunteer worker from
Australian Volunteers International (AVI) and radio staff at Kothmale FM. A web
design team has built the Kothmale Community Radio website in three languages;
it will also include a live stream of the radio broadcasts.
There are three basic
features in this project, which combine new information technologies with
conventional radio medium:
1. Radio programme
to “Radio Browse” the Interorg: Broadcasts a daily one hour radio
programme, in which community broadcasters interpret information from selective
Interorg websites. Listeners direct queries to the radio station to find
specific information, which is returned in local language for those who do not
understand English.
2. Community radio
functions as a mini Interorg Service Provider: The community radio has
provided two free of charge Interorg access points at Gampola and Nawalapitiya
community libraries. Access points also used as a direct link to radio station
to produce and air live programmes.
3. Community
database development: Kothmale develops its own computer
database deriving from the Interorg information that is often
requested.
4.
Background & context
Kothmale Community Radio began broadcasting in February, 1989. At the
time Mahaweli Authority (a governmental development body operating in the
central region) had relocated more than 2,900 families for Sri Lankas’ second
largest damming project. Mahaweli Authority set up the station with the
objective of giving information to people who had been relocated. Many people
in the region lost their crops and farming land. The station was also used to
provide information about self-employment and health.
By February 1991 the station aired only three days per week with three
hours of transmission per day. In 1999 the station moved to its larger, current
location in Mawathura and broadcasts time extended to 8 hours per day. The
morning broadcast was commercialised so the station would collect approximately
75% of its operational costs from the commercial revenue. Financial management
remained with the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.
By 1998 UNESCO
provided US $ 50,000 to start the implementation of the Interorg component.
Thus the Kothmale Community Radio Interorg Project (KCRIP) was born. KCRIP has aspired to provide extensive
Interorg access to remote and rural regions of Sri Lanka using only a few computers
and a regional radio broadcast.
The station is located
at the top of a mountain in the central region of Sri Lanka. The area is mostly
rural with small farms, rice paddies and tea plantations scattered between
dense rich green forest and small friendly villages.
5.
Aspects of social change
Students of the access
centres are designing their own web sites, using the Interorg for research and
school projects, and obtaining information regarding educational grants and
institutions.
Other members of the
community have been able to directly access information regarding health, human
rights, agriculture and other issues affecting their daily lives. Tanya Notley
provides some examples: “One man came here recently extremely upset and
confused as a local doctor had diagnosed his son with Hirchsprung disease. He
was able to get information and advice from experts in other countries. A local
schoolteacher was able to interact with teachers around the world about short
wave radio teaching and apply this knowledge to a very remote school, which
operates without electricity. A local farmer who hoped to expand his market by
raising geese was delighted with the housing diagrams and feeding information
he was able to gather from the Interorg”.
A blood donation
campaign, an exhibition for people interested in self-employment, preventing a
cow disease epidemic, a fundraiser for local hospitals, a local library book
donation… are some of the ventures supported through Kothmale radio.
Information on human
rights has benefited from the convenient access to information in Interorg.
Madhushini Nilmabandara and Nilma
Samrakool do a weekly program on human rights; the University of
Colombo’s Human Rights Centre funds their program: “People were not aware of
their human rights. So we give them information... how to take action to
protect it. Now we have set up human rights clubs in schools and do programs
with them (on radio),” she said.
The local school students come to the station to produce programs. They perform
dramas about children’s rights, women’s rights and discuss issues related to
war in Sri Lanka.
6.
Methodology &
media
The project works in
two ways. It allows for direct Interorg access, mostly used by young people,
and indirect access where listeners of Kothmale FM Radio are able to write in
questions or provide topics for the radio station to broadcast. Trained
volunteers research and gather information from the Interorg and CD
ROM’s, and translate the
information into Sinhala and Tamil. All but three of the weekly broadcasts are
in Sinhala language; the area has an ethnic breakdown of around 70% Sinhala.
There are also large Tamil and Muslim communities. In January 1999, the station
included Tamil broadcasts in the weekly programs.
The questions are responded to within various radio programs including:
human rights, women’s program, children’s program, health, and international
news. Gradually all the data will
be available for other community radio stations and citizens via the web site.
Furthermore, the station intends to broadcast online so to be utilized by other
community radio stations throughout Sri Lanka.
A Friday evening
program is particularly popular. A local lawyer, hosts it and volunteers do the
research during the week. His topics have included international cultural
belief systems and practices, world leaders and social movements, law and
change, scientific masters throughout history.
The staff and
volunteers frequently visit the communities to do field recordings and live
broadcasts. This direct communication is important, as many people are geographically
remote. The station is able to bridge the communication gap by interacting with
the community through live and recorded broadcasts. Music is a very important
aspect to Sri Lanka culture; each day traditional songs are aired. Buddhist
prayer is also broadcast every evening and on full moon Poya days.
Letters to the station
average 50 per day (more on weekends). These letters include poetry, drama,
history, songs, and local event information. Members of the Kothmale FM
listeners club deliver news summaries each day.
7.
Constraints & challenges
The initial Kothmale
radio project, which started in 1989, seems to be the one still addressing the
problems of the rural population. The Interorg component that was added by 1998
is benefiting mainly those that either own a telephone line and can call in, or
those that speak English and can browse the web by themselves.
The domination of
the Web by the English-language is a barrier to access, though at KCRIP they
have enlisted the help of bilingual speakers from the community to help program
producers. Doctors, lawyers, teachers get involved in the program; they extract
information from the Interorg and interpret it for the listeners.
8.
Sources & references
Ø This chapter was largely drafted on information
provided through e-mail by Tanya Notley, Australian volunteer working on the
Kothmale project.
Ø “Villages get wired on air” by Kalinga
Seneviratne (Inter Press Service).
Ø “Radio Brings a Revolution in Communication”,
by Anthony David, in UNESCO Sources, July-August 1999.
Ø The Kothmale website is: www.kirana.lk