The trial transmission of programmes for Radio Alakal, the first community radio for fisherfolk, commenced in 15 coastal villages on Monday, through a network of radio kiosks.
The recorded programmes were not broadcast in the experimental phase; they were onlyd played through loudspeaker set up at three listening centres at valiathura, Veli and Poonthura.
Project managers said the exercise was to demonstrate the operational readiness of the network in the run-up to the formal launch later this month. They said negotiations were on with several FM radio operators for transmission.
The soft launch involved a variety of programmes in two slots of one-hour duration each. Men, women and children in the coastal villages converged in front of the kiosks to listen to the programmes. The kiosks are located near fish landing centers and in common spaces where fishermen congregate for work or leisure activities.
All the programmes were produced by local volunteers who are also trained to administer the network. The team has been provided with digital recorders to conduct interviews. Music and editing are provided by SPACE, a city-based open software group.
The edited programmes are currently prepared in CD format and distributed to the 17 radio clubs that have been set up in the coastal areas. The pilot project is promoted by a group of organizations, including the Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation, South Indian Federations of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS), MJM Centre and Loyola College, Thiruvananthapuram.
Software support has been provided by indiadisaster.org. Apart from weather forecast, tidal height, conditions at sea and disaster warning, the programme content includes discussions and expert opinions on livelihood options, market information and interviews. Weather information is currently sourced from various websites.
Source: KSMTF.
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