Smallbean is closing the technology gap with our Citizen Archivist Project. We provide mobile computer labs and teach technology skills using an innovative curriculum that documents community life around the world. Our initiatives are enabled by solar power and the in-kind donation of personal electronics.

Participants in the Citizen Archivist Project learn technology and computer skills while uploading and processing oral history interviews, photographs and video footage capturing a snapshot of life in communities around the world through the eyes of local citizens. In addition to gaining computer and technology skills that improve university and job prospects via Smallbean’s innovative “learn by doing” curriculum, participants in the Citizen Archivist Project learn the significance of documenting and preserving their community culture.

Smallbean is currently active in Kenya, Tanzania and Brighton. Most recently, in July 2010, Smallbean established Citizen Archivist Project sites at four library locations in Kenya as part of our MobileCAP initiative. Citizen Archivists at the Kenya sites are gathering oral history interviews, photographs and video footage. In addition to teaching technology skills and linking these libraries to the resources that exist in Nairobi and beyond, the Smallbean initiative in Kenya is focused on the collection, translation and preservation of tribal dialects.

Smallbean is a 501(c)3 nonprofit headquartered in Boston, MA.