smallbean
powering Citizen Archivists worldwide
MobileCAP initiative
What is the MobileCAP initiative?
The MobileCAP is a fully portable version of a Citizen Archivist Project technology lab, all in a single backpack. Each MobileCAP unit contains a refurbished energy efficient laptop, documentary tools (cameras and voice recorders), a solar power source, and Internet connectivity. The MobileCAP allows a user to conduct oral history interviews, as well as take photographs and capture video footage of community life anywhere in the world.
Read the MobileCAP brochure and learn more about the project.
Interested in getting involved with the MobileCAP program?
MobileCAP is a fully portable version of a Citizen Archivist Project technology lab, all in a single backback! Imagine a Peace Corp volunteer in a small town in India. Using a Smallban MobileCAP bag, this individual can teach computer skills to local residents and leave behind both a fully sustainable computer lab and fully trained Citizen Archivists documenting life in their town through our innovative program.
We’re currently negotiating with several microfinance companies interested in using MobileCAP units to document the lives and businesses of their loan recipients. Our MobileCAP units are also perfectly suited for Americans volunteering or living abroad and people in the developing world looking to establish solar-powered computer labs in their communities.
Click here to apply to participate in the MobileCAP project.
The MobileCAP Pilot in Kenya
The MobileCAP campaign will kick off this July with four units deployed to libraries throughout Kenya, as part of a partnership with Kenya National Library Services, the Boston Public Library and Maria’s Libraries. Using a successful curriculum that has already been implemented in the United States and Tanzania, librarians and other community members at the MobileCAP sites in Kenya will learn the basics of Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word, solar technology, Internet browsing and email.
Once trained, Citizen Archivists at the library sites will spend five weeks gathering data such as oral history interviews, photographs and video footage. In addition to teaching technology skills and linking these libraries to the resources that exist in Nairobi (the capital city) and beyond, the Smallbean initiative in Kenya will focus on the collection, translation and preservation of tribal dialects.
