Transcript A Web Smart Space Framework for information Mining using

Can E-Commerce &use of ICT’s help Rural Women of
Balochistan to fight Poverty?
The 4th International Workshop on Frontiers of Information Technology
(FIT 2006)
20th –21st December, 2006, Islamabad, Pakistan
Jan Muhammad
Balochistan University of
Information Technology and
Management Sciences
Quetta, Pakistan
[email protected]
Sadique Ahmed Bugti
Balochistan University of
Information Technology and
Management Sciences
Quetta, Pakistan
[email protected]
Khalid Qazi Mengal
Department of Communication
and Information Technology
University of Bremen, Bremen,
Germany
[email protected]
Presentation Outline
Problem Statement
Introduction of Web Smart Spaces
Related Work
Proposed Solution
Used Methodology
Conclusion
Future Directions
Problem Statement
The rural women of Balochistan facing perpetual
cycle of poverty, social exclusion and low bargaining
power to sell their handmade items
The handmade goods (handicrafts) taken by
middlemen on very cheep rates
Lack of skills, no awareness about use ICT’s to help
them in finding international markets.
What is Solution
?
Use of ICT’s, E-commerce and
Web portal
What is Web Portal?
A platform with numerous elements that:
help and enable these rural women to present
their products and services with photos and
descriptions on the internet.
information and guidance to start small
business and contains useful links for rural
women.
Related Work
International Fund for Agriculture Development
(IFAD)-supported programme
• The rural women in Latin America and the
Caribbean are selling shampoo, textiles, leather
goods and other handmade products over the
internet, through an
The Seelampur Community ICT Centre
• An ICT learning centre for girls and women
located in a high-density, low-income area in
India's capital New Delhi.
Related Work (Contt)
The First Mile Project
The majority of poor people in Tanzania live in rural
areas, and most are small farmers for whom agriculture
is the only way out of poverty
Proposed Solution

The use of ICTs to help rural women of Balochistan in overcoming
perpetual cycle of poverty,

Building their capabilities and vocational skills.

A web portal is proposed which will help and enable these rural women to
present their products and services with photos and descriptions on the
internet.

Through online chat rooms and forums, rural women can have their
questions answered about market access
Used Methodology

The proposed web portal can be
developed with the help of provincial
IT/Social Welfare Department and
maintained centrally by any of social
welfare organization working for human
resource development in the province.
1.
2.
3.
Development & Launching of web portal
Training of youngsters for use of ICTs
Online chat-rooms and discussions
Phase-I

Development & Launching of web portal

The proposed web portal initially launched and owned by
any of the above mentioned NGO’s and then linked to
provincial/country web portals.
 The social workers from these organizations will help the
rural women to submit Digital photos and description of
their products

The potential customers for these handicrafts
can contact the administrator and then to the
relevant rural women for purchase of items.
Phase-II
 Training

Large number of youth both male and female
remain jobless and become burden over their
families.
 This

of youngsters for use of ICTs
addresses two issues at a time:
one the capacity building and job opportunities for young
men & women
 the access of rural women to use ICTs for the
showcasing their products.
Phase-III
 Online

chat-rooms and discussions
In this phase women can trained and directly
involved in the use of ICT.

A web portal will enable rural women to make
direct contacts with the potential national
and international customers through email,
chat rooms and forums.
Conclusion

We proposed a web portal as a test bed for use of e-
commerce and ICT’s to help rural women to fight
poverty.

Social welfare organizations e.g. NGOs can help
these rural women to access this web portal.
Future Work

Youngsters of these areas can be given basic
training of ICT to help these women in
marketing their products
 Provision to poor rural women the facility
of mobile van service.
References
1.
Government of Balochistan, http://www.balochistan.gov.pk/New%20Folder/geo.htm
2.
Abdul Wadood, Journey Towards Emancipation, SEHER Publication, 2002.
3.
Ali A. Naqvi, Demystifying, Learning, Struggling, Overpowering the Myths of Information Technology
through Human Resource Development, CIRN 2005
4.
Jo Rhodes, Can E- Commerce Enable Marketing in an African Rural Women's Community Based
Development Organization?, Informing Science Journal, Special Series on Community Informatics, Vol. 6,
2003
5.
Women entrepreneurs go global with e-commerce, Fighting Rural poverty, the role of ICT, Key Facts by
IFAD
6.
Putting ICTs in the hands of the women, Stockholm Challenge Award 2006
7.
Yousaf Haroon Mujahid, “Digital Opportunity Initiative for Pakistan”, The Electronic Journal on Information
Systems in Developing Countries, EJISDC (2002) 8, 6, 1-14
8.
The First Mile Project First Mile Project http://www.firstmiletanzania.net/ ‘Communication and learning for
better market linkages’
Thanks…….