The go-anywhere cyber cafe in a shipping container May 22, 2010

Hi Alan

Thanks for sharing this information about the "clever idea to use shipping containers to house thin-client based, solar-powered cyber cafes, which can be used to bring connectivity to rural communities in Africa". Perhaps it is a clever idea (though, as you say, not a new one). Probably they can drop it literally "anywhere in the world, literally middle of the Sahara desert". But my heart sinks when I read this kind of scheme because I always hope that ideas will relate to "somewhere specific in the world" - one of the places that I know and care about (rather than the general  "anywhere in the world"). My hopes in that regard are seldom realised. In this instance I think particularly of Ago-Are and how the people I know there are struggling to get a connection to the Internet for their community.

I long to read one of these "good ideas" that is relevant to the needs to people I know. So in this case I ask myself - Is it possible that the people behind this initiative would have any interest in connecting with the Ago-Are community:

• What do the people behind this idea want to achieve?
• Do they want someone to try out their idea and see if it works?
• Do they want to help people to connect with the Internet?
• Do they want to find out the most cost-effective ways of making the internet available to rural communities who otherwise would not have access? 
• How much money is needed in order to get involved in one of their schemes?
• It says £20,000 - and presumably that does not cover actually delivering it  - never mind the other costs of "unwrapping it", then getting (and keeping) it all up and running.
• Who is going to fund this for the locations where it is going to be tried out?
  
• Would they be interested in helping the Ago-Are project?
• How do these containers arrive? (by road? by helicopter?) I don't think I've never seen anything bigger than a fuel tanker on the main road to Ago-Are  - I'm trying to think how much bigger a container is.  (fortunately Ago-Are is on a main road - but what of other rural locations)
• Are these really intended for rural or for universities  or similar institutions?
  
• Is there a business plan for running the container project sustainably?
• Are there any less expensive options?
  
• Are the people behind this project interested in supporting similar smaller solar powered schemes (perhaps half of the equipment, including the solar panels, and using local buildings) or are they just interested in trying to find "homes" (and funds) for this particular "solution"? 

I also wonder:  What of the other project you mentioned? Isn't it terribly hot inside a container? What lessons have been learned from the other project?

Pamela