Using InSTEDD’s platform Verboice, farmers can also access to information and knowledge on improved, high value fragrant rice seeds through their mobile phones.

1. How ICT can help in
Agriculture?
HEALTH | TECHNOLOGY |
SUSTAINABILITY
Tharum Bun
Communications and Digital Media Manager,
InSTEDD iLab Souhteast Asia
October 3, 2014

2. About Tharum Bun
• Now: communicator
• Recently: an IVLP alumnus of the
U.S. State Department’s exchange
program, a board member of Open
Development Cambodia, Mekong
ICT Camp
• 2008: initiated the very first
BarCamp Phnom Penh
• 2004: started to pioneer blogging in
tharum@instedd.org Cambodia
@tharum

3. We design and use open source technology tools to help partners
enhance collaboration, share knowledge and improve information
flow so partners can better deliver critical services in their
communities.
our niche
overview

4. projects
Our approach facilitates collective
action by local partners, and is
being successfully applied
globally.
Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos
Mexico, Mozambique, Rwanda, Ghana, Thailand, USA, Vietnam,
Zimbabwe

5. Increase farmers’ access to improved fragrant rice seed
supported by implemented by

6. Current solution
Mass media campaign
● weekly radio program

7. Internet landscape: Cambodia
~ 3 - 4 million net users in Cambodia as of 2014,
said Cambodia’s Commerce Minister
and a Googler
at BarCamp Phnom Penh this year

8. Mobile phone landscape: Cambodia
~ 19 million mobile phones
–
~ 1.3 phones for each of the country’s 15 million people
source: Southeast Asia Globe Magazine,
November 2013

9. Innovative solution: the most basic and inclusive level of communication

10. Test and learn
Validate design
assumption
Get end user
feedback
Most of the farmers
told us that the voice
is a little bit fast.
They need to listen
more than 2 times in
order to understand.

11. Test and learn
Most of the farmers
are not familiar with
the keypad, and we
found that there is
no problem if we use
Linear call flow.

12. Innovative solution: the most basic and inclusive level of communication

13. Innovative solution: the most basic and inclusive level of communication

14. Tool: www.verboice.com
● In 2011, InSTEDD
developed Verboice
to provide health
reminder via mobile
phone to help reduce
maternal and
newborn mortality in
Kenya.

15. Tool: www.verboice.com
● a free and open-source platform
that enables non-programmers to
design and run a variety of
interactive and automated voice-based
applications (hotlines,
alerts, reminders, quizzes,
surveys, ...).

16. Tool: www.verboice.com
● Everything is done through a drag and drop interface,
which lets users combine Verboice’s several features
into a multitude of different applications.

17. Tool: www.verboice.com

18. Tool: www.verboice.com

19. Tharum Bun
Communications Lead
InSTEDD iLab Southeast Asia
www.ilabsea.org | @ilabsea
tharum@instedd.org
@tharum

20. www.ilabsea.org