AMD equips indigenous communities in the Mexican State of Chiapas with computing technology and Internet access

Deployment Date and Location
In April 2008, AMD Mexico deployed the 50x15 Learning Lab methodology and installed two digital centers to supply indigenous communities in the Mexican State of Chiapas with computing technology and Internet access. The tools will be used by the communities to reach out to the larger Mexican population to improve economic, social and cultural development.

Challenge
The purpose of the learning lab is to connect the indigenous people of Chiapas to outside resources while preserving and promoting their culture, helping to foster sustainable development in the lives of the communities.

Solution
The solution for this deployment was to work with multiple collaborators to install devices that allowed the residents to connect to the Internet, giving them improved access to healthcare and educational tools, along with new agriculture techniques and the ability to make use of government and financial services. The residents were also instructed on how to use the Internet to help preserve and promote their culture.

A sustainable agricultural solution was introduced in the Chiapas learning lab. EarthBoxes, low-cost, water efficient, portable gardens developed by The Growing Connection (TGC) were installed to provide a sustainable source of revenue and fresh produce. TGC is a grassroots project developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and supported by a progressive coalition of private and public sector partners.

The Growing Connection has provided the initial agricultural equipment and knowledge to improve the communities’ nutritional intake and to encourage micro-entrepreneurship by selling excess produce. Each learning lab will serve as a site for community members to access information regarding crop growing and producing reports and other materials to aid in business development.

With the help of the learning lab deployments, community citizens will be able to secure national identification documents that allow them to vote, obtain passports and participate in military service. They will be taught to communicate with friends and family in other parts of Latin America and the United States and with TGC communities world wide.

Who Benefits?
The indigenous populations of San Juan Chamula and Oxchuc, particularly the women and children, are the main beneficiaries of this learning lab. Most people in Chiapas are poor, rural farmers. About one quarter of the population is of full or predominantly indigenous descent, and many in the rural areas do not speak fluent Spanish. The state suffers from the highest rate of malnutrition in Mexico, estimated to affect more than 40% of the population.

The learning lab was designed under an integral and innovative approach that facilitates the communities’ access to education, healthcare information, agriculture and nutrition programs, which are all priorities of the Government Development Plan of Chiapas. The lab also focuses on providing intercommunication with other communities, using technology to increase their capabilities through e-commerce and facilitating official procedures online.

Deployment Environment
The towns of San Juan Chamula, population of 7,000, and Oxchuc, population 11,000, are located in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico. The communities are in the mountains, making them difficult to access. The roads are in poor condition, causing a trip of 30 km (19 miles) to take one or two hours.

Power
Power is supplied to the communities by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), Mexico’s nationwide energy provider. There are occasional blackouts in the towns and fluctuating power supply levels can occur. For this reason, voltage stabilizers and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) devices were installed in the labs.

Connectivity
Connectivity is purchased by the communities from Telmex, a Mexican telecommunications company that provides products and services throughout many parts of Latin America. Currently, DSL connections are in use with 512kbps bandwidth.

Devices
The centers were outfitted with nine AMD Geode™ processor-based FIC Mini PC devices, along with one HP CPQ AMD Athlon™ processor-based desktop PC to act as a server. The Mini PCs run the latest operating systems, including Microsoft® Windows® XP and Open Office, an open-source office productivity suite.

Financing
Each learning lab is primarily financed by the communities. AMD provided hardware and training through the Universidad Anáhuac México Sur (UAS), as well as installation and project management expertise. The agricultural solution and EarthBoxes were provided by The Growing Connection through the FAO.

Content
Microsoft® Windows® XP packages were installed on the Mini PCs, as was Open Office. The community will use Windows Messenger to allow for Web conferencing between the communities’ citizens and their governor.

Expertise
Initial training for the learning lab was provided by students from the UAS who also developed a basic how-to guide for future students. The students will follow up on training once a quarter.

Technical maintenance expertise was provided by a committee created within the community with the supervision of AMD Mexico representatives.

Collaboration
The project would not be possible without the following corporate, educational, and NGO partners and the critical roles they played.

Red de Mujeres Por Ti A.C.
Founded in 2006, Red de Mujeres por Ti is a nonprofit civic association of women committed to providing resources for social assistance, education, culture and economic growth. Primarily operating in Chiapas, Mexico, Red focuses on vital issues that effect social development such as education, health, justice and culture. Since its inception, the people involved in Red de Mujeres have achieved a positive impact in all of the communities where they have worked.

The Growing Connection
A grassroots project developed by the FAO, TGC is supported by a progressive coalition of private and public sector farmers. The organization links people and cultures in a revolutionary campaign that introduces low-cost, water efficient and sustainable food growing innovations hand in hand with access to technology and information via existing and emerging technologies. The Growing Connection has collaborated on this learning lab to demonstrate how access to information via existing and emerging technologies can assist a community with agricultural and micro-business needs.

Universidad Anáhuac México Sur
UAS provided students for training community members and is in the process of developing locally-relevant content.

AMD
AMD provided the 50x15 Learning Lab methodology and the overall supervision of the project.

Deployment Issues
Devices: The Mini PCs did not have the software installed. It had to be copied onto a flash drive, and then installed on each individual device, which was very time consuming.

Power: a power failure occurred during the lab installation in San Juan Chamula because of an automobile accident. The lab was without power for fourteen hours.

Facility: the structures of the facilities that house each learning lab were not very robust.

Deployment Results
All devices have been installed and Internet connections are working in both communities. Small groups have been using the labs under the supervision of two regional supervisors from the AMD Mexico team on a pilot basis and full-scale training was conducted by the UAS students on April 19, 2008. In each community there is a local committee that works on the follow up, daily operation and support for new users as part of their agreement with AMD.

Participant Quote
“One day we were invited to a private, sacred ceremony. We were their special guests and that made me feel honored. I also realized that the people of the community considered our work important and that was their way of showing it. In that moment I knew that even though we had different interests and different timing we could always make them work harmoniously.”
Julia Romero
College student at UAS

*Photograph courtesy of Arthur Boijolais.