My First Radio Play

This week I start a new role as an actor, Professor Arky the affable explorer who discovered a new species of monkeys called 'Marky' in Malaika Islands. It is part of radio shows series for Malaika case study at IISE. Marky was name of Martian from last years Asian talent show, it seems to have stuck a chord with the audience (arky from mars = marky). Prof.Marky's Indian accent is quite popular around here, it does add humour to otherwise serious case study.
You can listen to first show in the series right here or download it from archive.org.

Listen To Malaika Radio Show

Free software and the Blind: The IISE Experience

Abstract
The challenges and experiences of adopting GNU Linux at Braille Without Borders - International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs (IISE). Linux is non-commercial operating system developed by the world wide Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) community. Driven by the values of freedom and sharing of software, it is one of biggest volunteer effort to develop alternatives for commercial software. The easy to use Linux operating system is stable, secure, accessible, virus free and available in almost every language of the world.

The visually impaired participants of IISE are introduced to Linux and given laptops with Orca Screen reader. They are encouraged to participate and contribute by providing feedback on various accessibility and usability issues. Using Linux resulted in huge cost saving and it is used extensively in running campus Intranet and Internet connectivity. The benefits of adopting Linux were apparent despite some of the shortcoming of Linux assistive technologies. Working closely together the FLOSS developer community enabled us to resolve some of problems and helped make Linux better for blind everywhere.

What is FLOSS?

Linux operating system is developed by the world wide FLOSS (free/libre open source software) community. The FLOSS community of users and developers does collaborative development via the Internet. Anyone can contribute by finding and fixing software defects, suggest improvements, write documentation and translate software into different languages. The developers release an improved version of Linux every 6 months. Linux can be installed and configured by the visually impaired independently from sighted assistance.

What is IISE?

Braille Without Borders is a non-profit organization focuses on empowerment of the blind and partially sighted around the globe. Last year it has started International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs (IISE) in Kerala, India. The institute offers a one-year residential course for mainly blind and visually impaired participants from all over the world. The course imparts the necessary skills needed to initiate and run social projects to create opportunities for the disadvantaged. The FLOSS community is driven by values of freedom and sharing of software is apt choice for an organization that strives for social empowerment. The project uses Ubuntu Linux distribution as its main operating system and along with Orca screen reader.

The Challenges

Perhaps the biggest challenge was addressing the misconceptions about Linux. Being free in many people's opinions, means it cannot be stable and usable. Also people who used other operating systems and commercial screen readers would resist the change. After few weeks of training the participants started to open up and slowly became more comfortable using Linux with Orca screen reader. Given that Linux is virus free and wouldn't crash often also worked in its favor.

The Orca screen reader is slower and not as responsive as commercial screen readers. The voice quality of the FLOSS text to speech (TTS) leaves much to be desired. We are working closely with the developers to improve it and find workable solutions. The Orca screen reader is in active development, the new release supports Grade 2 Braille and uses a new speech system that improves its performance.

The Linux Advantage

There is huge saving of cost as there is no need to purchase licenses for an operating system and assistive technologies. Linux gives high performance on inexpensive hardware and there is no need for hardware upgrades to run newer software. Linux has a blind-friendly installation and most administration tasks can be done with a screen reader. It comes with large documentation and FLOSS community also offers online support.

Linux has a large number of software programs to choose from. It has everything you need from word processing software, spreadsheets, multimedia players and server software needed to run local Intranet. The IISE campus network runs various Linux servers for network management and Internet connectivity.

Bridging the Gap

The IISE encourages participants to engage with the FLOSS community in order to avoid becoming a passive consumer of software. This enables the visually impaired to influence and customize Linux to their needs. Apart from computer trainers, we had developers on campus who would ooeer a helping hand. The FLOSS developer community online provided quick fixes to various problems and gathers feedback about the needs of the visually impaired. By providing the users with the latest release of software, we found that they were quick to point out potential accessibility and usability issues. Thus we were able to do comprehensive testing of the operating system and improve it for every blind person around the world.

Conclusion

In all, Linux offers a win win situation being a sustainable alternative to commercial operating systems. Non-profits and institutions can benefit from its huge array of software. Problems do exist but can be addressed with the help of the FLOSS community. It is important to avoid being passive consumers of FLOSS software but be more proactive. We feel that the IISE experience can be a viable model that's worth emulating.

Paper published by Rakesh 'arky' Ambati in National Conference on ICTs for the differently- abled/under privileged communities in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship (NCIDEEE 2009)

Christmas Party 2009

Returned from workshop in Hyderabad on christmas eve. Took a long hot shower to recover from the 26 hour train journey and drove over to Thapovan for the christmas party.

IISE Christmas Greetings

Its Christmas eve, the IISE campus is now a very lonely place. We miss our friends who returned to their countries to pursue the dream projects. I hope this audio greeting would bring joy and many warm memories.
Merry Christmas !!

Last Catch

Last catch of the season. We caught pearl spot 'Karimeen' and various types of fresh water prawn almost every other day in Vellayani lake. I'll be travelling most of the next two weeks. First to Bangalore for the Pycon India 2009 and then to Hyderabad to spend sometime working in Hyderabad university.

Watching the sunset

Sitting on the boat jetty, watching the sunset. Sunset photos of a beautiful evening on campus.

Trivandrum Hangouts :: Variety Fresh Juice

Traveling into Trivandrum city every few weeks for shopping is a chore. Leaving the serene and quiet lake side campus to go out into the bustling city is not a very attractive preposition. But there is one consolation, I get dig into delicious thick milkshakes at Variety Fresh Juice. Just walk down from Big Bazaar on East Fort main road. You'll find this shop tucked into the corner of a busy intersection. The milkshakes and juices priced at Rs.20/30 don't burn a hole in one's pocket.

Bagged A Tiger

Just bagged a Tiger Prawn (Penaeus monodon) in the lake. I had brought out the fishing rods on impulse while taking quick break for a cup of coffee. I did not expect to catch anything but life it seems to be full of surprises. The nasty bugger snipped at my fingers while I was trying to free him of the tiny fishing hook. I know why its called a Tiger Prawn now.

Ride On Theo

As I write this somewhere on the other side of the planet Theo M. Schlaghecken is making final preparations to head on the last leg of his motorbike trip around the globe. From the ageless land of Namibia he will now drive across Africa back into Europe two years after he started his journey.

When I heard that Theo would be coming down to India to spend few months working with us at IISE, I expected a weather beaten adventurer, a tough guy biker. Nothing had prepared me for this soft spoken former consultant who chucked it all to ride his motorbike around the world. 'It was a impulsive decision' he said almost apologetically 'I just had three days to decide'. Right away I could relate to the idea of leaving ones comfort zone and venturing out into uncertain future.

Over next few weeks I got to know Theo better. Whenever I saw him I would shout out 'Lets Swim!' and it almost became daily ritual. Over numerous conversations over coffee sharing our experiences, I realized that his journey was more than just criss-crossing continents. I know one day we all would read about your journey but for now you got to ride on, Theo!.

Holiday Mood

Theo captured my holiday mood this weekend at Varkala. We are sitting outside our hut in Bamboo Village overlooking the beautiful Arabian sea.

Documenting a Human Tragedy :: Documentary Review

The story of India's green revolution has a dark side. It is the shade of dark crimson, the color of blood. Between 1996 and 2006 100,000 farmers committed suicide in Vidarbha region in the north Indian state of Maharashtra. Since June of 2005 two to three farmers take their lives every day. The seeds of this problem were sown with the introduction of the green revolution in the mid 60's. Farming in India was largely organic, needing little investment. Farmers would use the seeds that they saved from the previous harvest. But the green revolution changed all that, now farmers had to buy seeds, fertilizers and pesticides by borrowing money at high interest rates from Sahukar's (private money lenders) and in the course of time farmers were trapped in huge debt. Such disasters don't go unnoticed--they rarely do. Headlines trumpeted, relief poured in before going to bed. One night during the and so did the politicians with their 'packages'.

Now just few years on, this issue is forgotten by the mainstream media. Suma Josson, a journalist turned filmmaker, documents the problem that took many years in the making. In her latest documentary film, "I Want my Father Back" she asks a few crucial questions. I managed to catch this documentary at the recent KAFISO Third National Short and Documentary Film Festival. The documentary managed to walk away with the first prize that it so richly deserves.

The film deals with the disastrous way in which India's green revolution pushed traditional farming practises aside in a mad dash to increase crop yield. New hybrid seeds were introduced with heavy subsidies. Fertilisers and pesticides were introduced at low prices, and attractive loans were offered for those who could not afford to buy them. Cash crops like cotton and soya soon replaced the food crops. Farmers went into debt to manage their homes and farms and were getting low prices for their crops largely due to corrupt and inefficient marketing practices of farmers co-operatives. Trapped in deep debt, the farmers resorted to taking their own lives.

Josson's film deals in detail with every facet of this problem, effects of globalization, economic policies of successive governments that helped create new markets for large multinational corporations. The menace of costly Bt cotton seeds with their false claims of high yield, its adverse effects on environment and the health of cotton industry workers. Lack of measures to protect and promote the indigenous seed variates that are resistant to pests and well adapted to local conditions. Also the erosion of traditional farming method of cultivating heterogenous crops which provided a safe net in case of single crop failure. Perhaps it is the director's early training as a journalist that played a large role in her investigative approach. The documentary provides a revealing mix of scientific evidence, farmers' insights and experiences, along with the voices of activists.

The mass suicides of farmers is not the problem of Vidarbha alone. In the other Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab farmers are commiting suicide in large numbers. Every day we hear similar stories from other parts of the world. This documentary forces the audience to think and to ask itself: Is this the state of the world to come?

Recently published in film review section of IISE Journal. You can watch the documentary online in an older post I Want My Father Back

Tansalesian Radio Show

Tansalesia is fictional country created as part of curriculum at IISE. In this wonderful radio show participants and catalysts share their experiences and story behind this idea. Enjoy!

Titan Braille Watch Review :: Video

Yoshimi interviews Victor about his new Titan's Braille watch in this video. This well crafted tactile watch for blind is both affordable and sturdy. Braille watches have definite advantages over talking watches, which can be really annoying sometimes. Yoshmini and Victor are the participants of International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs (IISE) and they are both blind.

Titan Braille watch is designed by the Titan Design Studio and is manufactured in India by Tata. The watch come with a special instruction manual in Braille, which has been developed in consultation with the National Association for the Blind. The watch is priced at Rs.995 ($20 US) which is cheaper than other braille watches produced worldwide.

Update: Not surpisingly the ACM article A blind person's interactions with technology reflects the Victor and Yoshimi's ideas in the video

Louis The Cat Strikes Back

Louis the cat caught on camera for the first time. Louis named in honour of Louis Braille, he showed up at the IISE campus one day and adopted us.

Accessible Portable Media Players

There aren't many accessible portable media players for blind. In a group discussion on this topic at IISE, Robbie mentioned about Rockbox project. Rockbox provides firmware for some audio player from Apple, Archos, Cowon, Iriver, Olympus, SanDisk, and Toshiba. This project features voiced menu's. I have yet to get hold of a compatible player and try this out.

Meanwhile fourth generation (4G) iPods introduced voice menu too. I don't think its targeted for blind per se (correct me) but aims for different non-visual functionality as explained in this technology Review article published few years ago.

Fart Face

Simon turned 20 this week. Here is something to remind you of jolly good times you had in India.
Rajesh captured this video of Simon and me bored to death at Trivandrum Airport.

Earth Hour 2009 at IISE

Karin (Norway), Kienzen (Tibet/China), Khom (Nepal) , Julius (Ghana) , Louis The Cat and me from India organized the Earth Hour 2009 at 8:30 to 9:30 p.m local time today in the IISE campus in Kerala, India.

Earth Hour Patrol

After turning off my laptop, cellphone and desktop in the office I walked around the campus to find and turn off non-essential lights and electrical devices. At the guard house, I saw two lights one outside and other inside the guard house, I requested to turn off one of the lights. Later in the kitchen I found a blender and couple of mobile chargers plugged in. How strange, I don't even notice these things in other days. Perhaps events like Earth Hour does really make you ponder about things that we often take for granted.

Meanwhile Kienzen and Khom joined me after going through the dorm and requesting participants to observe the earth hour. Most of them were away at the party in Kovallam. Julius came out of his room and seeing us standing outside the dorm shouted at the top of his voice 'Turned off those damn computers'. I don't think anyone was running their laptops, they got the message loud and clear.

We moved to the open air amphitheatre and discussed for a while about earth hour, environment and power issues back home in our countries. It was great to see you out there in open braving the mosquitoes and united in a common cause.
Thank you, you are the best! .

About Earth Hour 2009

Earth Hour is an international event organised by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature/World Wildlife Fund), and held on the last Saturday of March each year, which asks households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.

Notify-OSD Now Works with Orca

The message came in last night as I was leaving office. It was response to bug #333134, it was a request to enable notifications from the new Notify-osd system work with Orca screen reader.

Hi Arky,
I would like to believe that this is resolved in recent updates. Please make sure you are using the most recent version of gnome-orca and notify-osd.

Thank you guys! You really made a difference to all the blind users around the world. Now there is one more good reason to grab the jaunty.

Floating on bottles :: Boat Jetty made with waste PET bottles

The blind and partially sighted students at the International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs (IISE) at Vellayani were an excited lot. The focus of their excitement was a floating platform, a miniature boat jetty that was developed by the Mechanical Engineering Department of the College of Engineering, Trivandrum (CET). What makes this jetty unique is the fact that it was made out of used empty PET bottles.

A one-of-its-kind platform in the country, its frame is made of ‘Aanjili’ wood. There are 24 compartments inside the frame and each compartment has no less than 110 PET bottles. Altogether, the arrangement has as many as 2,500 PET bottles, each bottle expected to carry 1 kg.

Not only is it a good solution to use waste bottles, it also serves as a great platform to sit on, have group discussions or simply enjoy the serene surroundings and cool breeze of the lake itself. It also helps them to have a better and easier access to the lake for swimming and for getting into paddle boats and a kayak said Paul Kronenberg, who, along with his partner Sabriye Tenberken, established the IISE at Vellayani.
Read the full story

Fishlings in Vellayani Lake

Young fishlings appeared in the Vellayani lake (Thiruvananthapuram തിരുവനന്തപുരം (District). Amjad and me managed to get a few shots of them among the reeds. The great thing about living on IISE campus is that you can jump into lake for a swim on a hot day and get fish pedicure too. :0).