Abstract

Phase I of this project was an information needs and use assessment in specific rural areas of Botswana, Tanzania, and Malawi. The main purpose of the survey was to collect data which would provide a basis for designing a rural development information support program under the auspices of the Department of Library and Information Studies (DLIS), University of Gaborone and extension services in targeted countries. Phase II will experiment, test, and adopt participatory approaches and strategies to information delivery, storage, and management at the village level in the three countries. The project will establish on an experimental basis, village information centres (VICs) with the participation of the villagers themselves in the choice of development information and the management of these VICs. Furthermore, DLIS will be the focal point for the gathering and dissemination of information and studies undertaken in the region in the area of indigenous knowledge, utilization, and promotion through the establishment of a rural development information network and the dissemination of a specialized bulletin targeting scholars, policymakers as well as practitioners.

Post-Project Summary

The intervention consisted of setting up information centres staffed by information facilitators in selected communities in the three participating countries. The strategy involved making available documentation, newspapers and magazines, and organizing activities such as video shows, games, extension meetings, radio listening groups and literacy classes. It also involved an active community outreach program that included setting up group networks to implement ideas resulting from the rural development information strategy; organizing information exchanges between the community and the extension workers; producing a community newsletter; helping the community convert ideas into action; and collecting indigenous knowledge from the community and incorporating it into an overall rural development information strategy. Towards the end of the study, the impact of information on health, agriculture, education/literacy, income generation, and the expansion of the knowledge base was assessed. It was found that many of the respondents obtained health information as a result of the rural development information strategy, and practiced some of the ideas learned. Evidence from both the community and extension workers indicated a high awareness of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), family planning, and maternal and child healthcare. In agriculture, the impact was mainly on improved farming techniques, soil conservation, and, in one village, a program to revive coffee production by replacing old and diseased trees. In the education sector, the information received was reported to have made an impact on the learning process, English language mastery and leisure reading. The impact on income generation was very low, however, probably because there was little information received on the subject. It was concluded that the main impact of the project took place at the cognitive level, with respondents reporting general knowledge gains and changes in the knowledge base, and that it will take time for these cognitive changes to be translated into practical actions for rural development.

Recipient Institution(s)