Info materials | Writeshops | Projects | Clip art | Participation | Training | Websites | Digital libraries | Research | Audiovisuals

I provide the following services to development projects and organizations. Contact me for details.

Many development professionals do not have the time or skills to write. I specialise in helping get your experiences—or those of your partners and clients—onto paper or film, using a variety of methods. I can simplify complex, technical ideas: keeping the important information but making it easily understood. I can turn a rough manuscript into a desktop-published book or paper, ready for publication.

Experience: I have written or edited numerous publications, on development topics ranging from agriculture and veterinary medicine to family planning and indigenous knowledge. I specialise in putting (or helping the author put) scientific and technical information into an easy-to-understand form for farmers and non-scientific audiences. I have extensive experience as a science editor, especially with papers written by authors who speak English as a second language. I am skilled in desktop publishing and familiar with both British and American usage.

When information is spread among many different people, when people have different experiences and opinions, when scientists want to write for farmers and extensionists... a writeshop can be a good way of getting it onto paper. I can advise you whether a writeshop is appropriate; I can plan and run the workshop for you, and if you wish, I can produce the finished manuscript, ready for the printers.

Experience: I helped pioneer a unique method of preparing publications through intensive workshops. This method enables a manuscript to be written, revised and printed within a very short time. I have planned and managed more than 50 such writeshops in various languages in Asia and Africa to produce illustrated, user-friendly manuals on sustainable agriculture, conservation, and other topics. The manuals and booklets produced are ideal for NGO and extension personnel.

Communication is a vital, yet frequently neglected, part of development. New technologies do not spread by themselves — they often need a push. That may mean using mass media, computer-based communication, "small media" such as posters and flip charts, group and individual meetings, and training. On a larger scale, extension systems face numerous problems, including remote locations, poorly trained staff, and lack of suitable information materials. I can help find solutions to these problems within your funding constraints.

Experience: I have designed and managed projects to produce, test and revise media materials. I have advised projects on how to improve communication with clients, scientists and policy makers. I have conducted evaluations of agricultural extension systems in Nepal and Indonesia.

Publications for farmers and extension workers often lack pictures to help carry the message or to rest the eye. The result is straight text: uncommunicative and deadly boring. But adding pictures need not be difficult or expensive. If you can't shoot some photos or hire an artist, you can always use clip art. But there's the problem: there's very little development-oriented clip art around.

Experience: I promote clip art for development: I collect line drawings of development topics, obtain copyright permission from the originators, and make them available to others. These pictures can be used to illustrate everything from agricultural extension booklets to websites. I have compiled one of the few publications containing development clip art. I have a further large collection, some of which is now available via the DevArt website.

Local people's knowledge and attitudes are vital to sustainable development, but are all too often forgotten. Participatory communication methods such as participatory appraisal and group decision-making can tap indigenous knowledge and help local people and project staff develop common understanding and goals. I can help you design and implement these methods and train your staff how to use them.

Experience: I have designed, taught and used participatory communication approaches in projects in Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. My publications include several that focus on indigenous knowledge.

Many staff with the job of communication lack the appropriate background and skills. I design and teach courses tailored to the needs of your project or organisation. Possible topics include: planning communication strategies; selecting and designing media; participatory communication techniques; hands-on, practical experience in photography, video, graphics, editing and desktop publishing; using computers; and managing communication activities.

Experience: I have planned and taught courses on development communication, media and training techniques in Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and the United States. I teach a wide range of computer skills, including word processing, desktop publishing, email and internet use, website construction, graphics and spreadsheets.

Communications and computer technology are advancing at a breathtaking pace. The Internet and CD-ROMs can provide vast amounts of information to remote areas, and can archive vital information that might otherwise be easily lost. Once information is in electronic format, it can be duplicated and manipulated very easily and cheaply. But electronic  media must be used wisely to ensure that appropriate information is available, and that potential users can access it easily.

Experience: I have developed several websites in English, Indonesian and Vietnamese containing documents, training materials and information for agricultural researchers, policy makers. These have covered integrated pest management, integrated rural development, and agricultural research and extension methods. I am moderator of several email forums in English and Indonesian. I am administrator of websites for the League for Pastoral Peoples and the Capacity Building in the Central Region Project in Vietnam. I am developing the DevelopmentArt website to promote the use of artwork in development. On a lighter note, my website showing my collection of airsickness bags is a major source of information for aficionados of this unusual hobby. 

Digital libraries are web- or CD-ROM-based collections of documents that the user can search to find the information he or she needs. They are a useful way of storing and distributing information on a specific theme. CD-ROM-based digital libraries are especially useful for developing countries where computers are common but Internet access is not.

Experience: I have helped the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research develop digital libraries of research and extension materials, using the open source Greenstone digital library software. I developed a procedure to scan and digitize documents in Indonesian and build the library, and trained staff how to do this. I translated the Greenstone interface into Indonesian. I have written training modules on digitization and digital libraries for FAO and Unesco, and have advised organizations in Kenya on their digital library strategy.

How do farmers find out the news? What media should your project use to reach a certain group? Have your efforts to disseminate a technology been successful? Research can find out what you need to know.

Experience: I have designed and used quantitative and qualitative survey techniques and participatory research methods in Indonesia and the United States.

Videos, audiovisual programmes, exhibits and posters can be very effective ways of communicating with your audience. I can help choose the right medium for your needs, design your messages and put them into this form.

Experience: I have written or edited scripts for more than 20 videos and audiovisual shows in Indonesia, the USA, the Philippines and Vietnam. I have produced several audiovisual programmes and designed exhibits, posters and flip-charts.