Be Proud!

I was watching a public interest story on BBC this morning - Thought I might relay it here.

An NGO in Kenya called "Pride Africa" has started a division called "Drum Net". It really demonstrates how information really is power in the world today.

When you're a small farmer (anywhere in the world) your costs are higher. You're the only one transporting your crop, in a truck that may not be full, to a market where you may not get the best price, because you're selling so little. So what Drum Net does is distributes cell phones to rural farmers. When a particular farmer is ready to sell his, lets say, baby corn, he calls Drum Net, who gives him the numbers to contact other farmers ready to sell. They then hire a truck that is then filled to capacity (as opposed to each farmer hiring a truck) and pool their crops so they can get the best price. Drum Net also provides them with the information they need to get the best price, so that they don't get ripped off. Neat hey? It was really neat to see these rural farmers talking on cell phones, planning babycorn car pools.

Best of all? Rural farmers profits have gone up 40%. And their crops are getting better because of all the info provided by Drum Net on new farming practices.

Now, your chance to be proud to be a Canadian - This project is funded in part by IDRC, (International Development Research Centre) which is Canadian!