Rural Communities In Developing Countries Research Articles

Converging free and open source software tools for knowledge sharing in smallholder agricultural communities in Sri Lanka

In a world where the notion of ‘sharing of knowledge’ has been gained much prominence in the recent past, the importance of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to promote sustainable agriculture, especially when combined with mobile and open source software technologies is discussed critically. On this rationale, this study was carried out to explore the applicability of the concept of converging ‘Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)’ to promote sustainable knowledge sharing amongst the agricultural communities in Sri Lanka. A multi-stage community consultative process with a set of designated officials (“Sponsors”) and a series of semi-structured questionnaire survey with a cross section of smallholder agriculture farmers (n=246), were carried out in the Batticaloa, Kurunegala and Puttalam districts to gather the baseline data. This was followed by a number of field experiments (“Campaigns”) with the farmers (n=340) from same geographical areas. The two FOSS, namely: (1) “FrontlineSMS” for ‘Text Messaging’ and (2) “FreedomFone” for ‘Interactive Voice Responses’, were applied to evaluate the effectiveness of knowledge sharing within the farming communities. It was found that FOSS intervention increases the ‘Text messaging’ and ‘Voice Call’ usage in day-to-day agricultural communication by 26 and 8 percent, respectively. The demographic factors like age and income level of the farmers has positively influence on the knowledge sharing process. And also the ‘Mobile Telephony’ was the most extensive mode of communication within the communities. The outcome of analysis, as a whole, implies that, with a fitting mechanism in place, this approach can be promoted as a “drive for positive changes” in agriculture-based rural communities in developing countries like Sri Lanka, and those in South and East Asia with similar socio-economic and cultural perspectives.

Gender differentiated climate change discourse in rural communities in developing countries

The discourse on climate change should provide adequate attention to gender differentiated roles and vunerability, either at the local community level and international climate change negotiations because the impact of climate change affects women and men differently. There is a missing link to scientific assessment of climate change and responses to climate through a gender dimension and the policies enacted to mitigate and adapt to its impacts. Currently, there is insufficient knowledge regarding gender differentiated impacts of climate change worldover. However, there has been a consensus that in trying to understand climate change in general, we need to appreciate gender and gender relations. The discussion explores the gender dimension of climate change and the policies enacted to mitigate and adapt to its impacts with the aim of developing gender sensitive approaches with regards to mitigation measures and adaptation strategies in rural communities in developing countrie. Women and men in most developing countries are especially vulnerable to climate when they are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood. It is important to remember, however, that both men and women are not only vulnerable to climate change but they are also effective actors or agents of change in relation to both mitigation and adaptation. The relationship between women and the environment revolves around their concerns for providing family food security, fuel, water, and health care. As climate change research knowledge is accumulating at a remarkable pace, it is intersecting with disasters regarding developing nations in fascinating ways. Yet, there remains a significant gap in integrated quantitative and qualitative methods for studying climate change perception and policy support in rural communities. Men and women extensive theoretical and practical knowledge of the environment and resource conservation should be given due consideration. Their potential contribution to climate mitigation by being part of the intervention strategy should be sufficiently exploited.

Solar photovoltaic water pumping system using a new linear actuator

In this paper a photovoltaic solar pumping system using a new linear actuator is presented. This linear actuator is a double-sided flat two-phase variable-reluctance linear stepper motor that moves a piston-type water pump with the help of a rope, a pulley and a counterweight. The entire actuator pump ensemble is controlled by a simple electronic unit that manages the electric power generated by a photovoltaic array. The proposed system is suitable for rural communities in developing countries because it is reliable, affordable and easy to maintain.