I am a 26 year old lawyer from South Africa. I have been following developments regarding your Project for some time and would like to volunteer as Outernet’s representative in South Africa. South Africa has made numerous strides in educating large parts of the population through various mean including the internet. However, there still remains a large number of South Africans who continue not to have access to the internet. According to various sources, the number of people who do not have access to the internet in South Africa is estimated at over 70% of the South African population.
As South Africa continues to develop and endeavour to integrate South Africans who were victims of Apartheid (and those who inherited the ills of Apartheid) in to the economy, the internet will soon play a crucial role in educating and providing the necessary skills to eradicate poverty, unemployment and inequality in South Africa.
I sincerely hope to hear from Outernet in the future.
I’m curious, what does that kind of representation entail? I’m sure the outernet team would be happy to have you bring the information that this information system exists to groups that could benefit from it. For instance there is a current DIY setup. Finding someone in your area with the skills and parts to do the DIY pillar reciever would be a very immediate step in connecting communities in south africa. I’m 90% sure that propriority would be given to putting immediately useful content onto the broadcast (not that there isn’t now, but there could be more immediate educational needs)
Small disclaimer, I’m not a member of th staff, just an avid participant…
Also, welcome to Outermet!
One possible model might be to tap into entrepreneurial activity by offering discounted lanterns to resellers.
This is the model used by solar aid: "we set-up a social enterprise, SunnyMoney, who are now the leading seller of solar lights in Africa. SunnyMoney are selling lights fast, they are helping build sustainable markets, they are creating jobs and they are ensuring money stays in the local economy. " http://www.solar-aid.org/how/
It’s a strategic decision for Outernet obviously, but I’d consider contacting Sunny money to see if they would carry the lantern as a product line.