Our Voice (Namma Dhwani) - India

"Namma Dhwani" (Our Voice) began with a quasi-community radio pilot project to assess the possibilities for local participation and programme content. Our Voices applied for two 30-minute slots daily on the Chitradurga AIR Local FM Radio Station. Prasar Bharathi granted a once-a-month time slot of 30 minutes of airtime. The pilot project was conducted in a predominantly agricultural area of Chitradurga district, Karnataka. Experimental broadcasts were begun using a portable briefcase-sized radio stations (for recording and broadcast) provided by UNESCO in 1999. In 2001, UNESCO supported the construction of a full-fledged professional audio analog studio.

Village women and men, farmers, rural entrepreneurs, children, and youth were identified to participate in the development of the programmes in various capacities. For instance, children provided suggestions and crafted their own educational programmes. Other themes include women's health, income-generating opportunities for rural management, watershed management, education for girls, and the impact of adult literacy programmes on rural life. Over 5 hours were recorded; 2 hours of air time were selected during an editing process.

In total, eight community workers run the Namma Dhwani audio production centre. They regularly produce and "narrowcast" programmes on a range of issues from organic farming, to rain water harvesting, HIV/AIDS, drip irrigation, and many other local development issues. ("Narrowcast" is a term coined by the producers to indicate the fact that they have, as yet, been denied the right "broadcast" their own programmes). In the absence of this right, the workers have designed a process where audio cassettes are played to relevant community groups at various village centres.

Every Tuesday evening for about an hour, the Namma Dhwani programme is transmitted over a loudspeaker as part of the village santhe/mandi (market) place just outside the production centre. Information about goods being sold and crop prices are included in the "narrowcasts", along with social messages and even birthday greetings.

Agriculture, Children, Youth, Environment, Health, Economic Development.

VOICES is a non-profit organisation that promotes the empowerment of people through the creation of an enabling environment. MYRADA is a rural development organisation working in the southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

There is no local radio in the area. A survey carried out by MYRADA in 2000 covering about 3000 families in the Boodikote sector found that nearly 65% of the families live below the poverty line. Most of their occupations come from agriculture and coolie labour. As Boodikote is on the Karnataka - Andhra Pradesh border, the community speaks a mix of Telegu - Kannada which does not even appear on the fringes of AIR Broadcasting. All India Radio Bangalore, which has agreed to broadcast programmes produced by the community, is nonetheless unable to regularly service the local information needs of the community. Differences in language, compounded by the reluctance of the local community to open up to mass media groups in the same way as they would to other members of the community, contribute to the need for Namma Dhwani.

One member of the team commented, "on seeing some of the school children participate in Namma Dhwani, some parents have begun to send their children to school." Other community members claim that the programmes have resulted in improvements in agriculture due to the initiation of organic farming methods.

India is still awaiting the passage of the Convergence Bill, which is as of this writing tabled before Parliament. This bill is, according to Voices organisers, thin on media democractisation and community radio.