Rural communities leveraging digital technologies

Athi Market is located along the Meru-Mikinduri-Maua road in Eastern Kenya. The market centre is surrounded by lush green tea plantantions and an imposing Nyambene forest. It serves a sizeable rural  population in the lowlands owing to its location. A challenge arises with the ever dwindling land acreage due to a population bulge. The once dependable tea farming is no longer profitable with earnings that are marginal at best leading to environmental degradation. The dwindling economic fortunes coupled with a low skilled ever expanding population has necessitated a rethink on how to empower the community. With expensive Internet and relatively impoverished populace with low digital literacy, athi community network was formed to bridge the digital divide. We have partnered with Athi Special school to equip the instructors with digital skills. Pregnant teens and other women have also been neglected and don’t enjoy the full benefits of the digital economy. To address this, we have placed women at the heart of the organization’s decision-making and identify interventions necessary for this gender.