Farmer Zack Matere has discovered the power of the internet. While Matere isn’t the typical internet user, living on his farm in Seregeya, Kenya, he’s found the internet is an important tool for anyone, anywhere. Because he is miles away from the nearest computer, Matere uses his cell phone to connect to the internet, which costs him about 66 U.S. cents per day.
When Matere’s potato plants were dying of an unknown disease, he was able to use the internet to discover what the problem was and how to fix it. Uses like these ensure that rural farmers don’t lose their crops, a predicament that could leave them without a source of income and food to feed their families. Since the internet has helped him improve his life, Matere is eager to share his knowledge with people around him, to make his community stronger.
Since he is the only one with an internet-enabled phone, Matere posts information he gleans from the internet on a local noticeboard to share with his fellow farmers. He helps his community avoid plant diseases, like the one that almost claimed his potato crop, and scams when selling their crops.
Matere has also used his phone to take photographs of a group of young people who have been endangering the area’s water supply. By posting the photos online, Matere was able to get help from the Forest Action Network to protect the nearby water sources. He hopes that by showing locals how the internet can help them, he will be able to improve lives for Kenyans.
by ERICA LIEPMANN, Causecast Associate Editor
