August 13, 2003
Kinkajou at Centre Songhai
Yesterday evening, we had our eleventh test of the Kinkajou system, this time for Bill Adé, the Songhai machine shop manager, and a group of technical trainees from Benin and Nigeria. The test was held at the Centre Songhai auditorium, an open-air, grass-roofed amphitheater with seating for about 300--the largest meeting space of our field tests to date.
Given that the Centre Songhai is well served with electrical outlets, and many of the offices have computers, the trainees were initially skeptical of the the Kinkajou's utility. Early recommendations included adding the ability to play video cassettes and computer files.
Bill arrived ten or fifteen minutes into the demonstration, and pointed out that the Kinkajou would be a useful training tool for two Songhai centers in northern Benin, and their outreach programs in local villages. The discussion then moved onto more technical aspects of power requirements and the possibility of local manufacture.
This morning, we met with Songhai director Frere Nzamujo and Léonce Sessou, the head of communications. They were impressed with the rugged design, and the fact that the projected image was still visible on the wall of Nzamujo's office, even though it was still pretty bright in the room with all the daylight coming through the blinds. They are interested in running a pilot test with the projector at their rural training centers in northern Benin and Nigeria. These discussions will continue via email once we get back to the US.
