We believe in the practices around Social Construction of Technology and reject the idea of technological determinism. It is not the technology that could or should shape the society, but social context must shape the technology instead
This implies that we look at technology as a part of the social and political process rather than just a tool or service that dwells in the realm of “experts”. This is why the actors of Nomad, an international network of individuals and groups, are committed to putting essential technologies into the public domain. We want communities to be practitioners of technology rather than consumers of it.
Nomad defends the position that technological development involves not only a production of finalised tools but also the participatory process of production. The ecological, economic and social consequences of our work are as important to us as our tools. Hence we emphasis on linking technological development to specific practices of a community in a given context. Each context is to be considered as a new situation in which to experiment and invent.
Nomad aims to extend the GNU perspective to technology in general.
The issue of re-appropriation of knowledge is closely linked to the political perspective of developing local production in an economy based on solidarity. The Nomad network is not a technical service provider but a political network run voluntarily. We do not sell technologies… we transfer them.
BROADCASTING
Radio Broadcasting is our passion. When the concept of community radio began its journey way back in 2006 in India, we had realised the need for innovative broadcasting technology that is affordable and easy to operate. As a result, we came up with our flagship product, the Low Powered FM transmitter that powered more than 80 community radio stations all over India and Bhutan. Here is a list of our partners.
The time and technology were changing fast, and so were we. As data connectivity became available and affordable to communities we extended our services to IP based broadcasting. From creating a technology backbone to making a customised mobile app, Nomad worked on most areas where communities were looking for affordable solutions.
EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
A turning point came with our collaboration with Tamarind Tree, a school without walls. Dedicated to altering the idea of primary schooling, Tamarind Tree required education technology support.
We contributed to building the school’s Learning Management System (My Big Campus), on moodle. Additionally, we customised a digital library, a child-friendly computer Operating System and built dedicated video servers, given bandwidth issues.
Currently we are working with several school, learning centres and organisatons helping them in their journey towards digitisation.
