Vinaya Kasajoo

Vinaya believes that the free flow of information in the form of news or opinion is vital to any functioning democracy. By training a cadre of Nepali villagers to be journalists and by broadcasting news via portable, low-cost radios, he informs people and engages them in local decision making.

Vinaya sees that in Nepal, the lack of communications tools and infrastructure means that the rural majority cannot share ideas and information about issues important to their lives. As a result, only a small group of people shares in the vision and responsibilities of democracy. To engage rural people in current topics and, by doing so, open an ignored market segment, Vinaya has dedicated himself to strengthening community media. He began his work by publishing Deurali, the first weekly rural newspaper in South Asia, for which he taught villagers to be news gatherers. Now, to reach the illiterate majority, he has introduced a network of transportable, low-cost community radios that neighboring villages share. Supported through advertisements and the contributions of village councils, the radio stations he has established broadcast local news and programs on topics ranging from family planning to the market prices for goods. As a result of Vinaya's initiatives, villagers gain control of their outlets of information and use them to influence policy and improve their economic and social well-being.

Since the advent of a multiparty democracy in Nepal in 1990, access to information and freedom of expression have been extended to all and guaranteed under law. These guarantees signal a huge step forward from the days of strictly controlled media. But in reality it's predominantly the educated elite, many of whom live in cities, who take advantage of these new rights. Rural people are not an insignificant group in Nepal. In fact, more than 85 percent of the country's twenty-two million people live in very small towns or villages. Of these, nearly 60 percent of men and 90 percent of women are illiterate, making any form of printed news irrelevant. For these rural people, the content of printed materials, Internet sites, and satellite television is of little use.

In 1993, Vinaya began publishing a pioneering weekly for rural people called Gaunle Deurali–which means, roughly, "a rural meeting place in a hilly area." Started in his hometown of Palpa, the project now reaches twenty-five districts. Vinaya sees that involving villagers in reporting the news is critical to the success of his work. Thus, he trains villagers to take on responsibilities of reporting. These "barefoot journalists," who have become the primary contributors to the weekly publication, are a varied group.

Vinaya started by training school teachers to serve as regular contributors, and later brought in housewives, development workers, students, farmers, and health workers. Every journalist participates in a six-day training course, which introduces such topics as journalistic writing, press law, and the press code of conduct. In addition to paying those who go on to write stories, Vinaya provides an incentive to readers' clubs to contribute pieces–they receive free subscriptions to Deurali as long as they submit at least one story a month to the journal.

Having established Deurali, Vinaya decided to expand his efforts to reach the large numbers of illiterate villagers. He learned about community audio towers in Thailand, and adapted this idea to the Nepali village context. The community audio tower–comprised of loudspeakers, a tape recorder, and an amplifier–is shared among neighboring villages. Programs are recorded and then played for several hours every day in different villages. Vinaya works with villagers to broadcast local news, stage debates, and disseminate information on local talent, technology, and expertise. Among the topics he addresses: health, nutrition, sanitation, drinking water, conservation of natural resources, family planning, and human rights. The audio towers also broadcast local advertisements that generate a small income for the station and cover operating costs.

Before taking charge of the radio stations, villagers are trained in four main areas: the concept of community media, the basics of journalism, handling the equipment, and producing programs. Vinaya has been leading the push to create community radio stations around the country, an effort he hopes to support through funding from Village Development Committees or Community Forest Users' Committees.

In the future, Vinaya plans to continue his training programs for journalists (he has trained seven hundred rural Nepalis thus far). In addition, he is working with local, national, and international organizations to expand the reach of local community newspapers and radio stations. He plans to link these efforts through the Internet, allowing groups to share ideas and exchange best practices. He also consults to groups in Africa that have observed his programs and would like to adopt some components that are appropriate for rural African communities. He has also written a book called Community Radio for Empowerment of People, which is available in Nepali, and has now turned his attention to writing training manuals for village journalists.

Vinaya was born and raised in the small city of Tansen, located some one hundred and eighty miles west of Kathmandu. He studied Nepali and English literature at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu. Later, in his twenties, he traveled to Benares, India, where he was exposed to new perspectives on politics and social responsibility and became inspired to be a journalist. He started working as a regional correspondent for an urban daily newspaper (published in Bhairawa).Vinaya brought a printing press to Nepal from Benares and, in 1983, began publishing his own weekly newspaper, an endeavor he continued for a year. In 1985, during Nepal's Panchayat System, Vinaya was imprisoned for publishing articles that supported a schoolteachers' movement; in 1987, he was placed in police custody for publishing traditional songs in his weekly newspaper.Vinaya's experience with his own daily life convinced him that the existing media outlets were not designed to report to, or about, rural villagers. Since the beginning of democracy in 1990, he has devoted his full energies to strengthening the media as a means of extending democracy to rural areas. He also serves as an advocate for community media before various government bodies that play roles in authorizing and regulating radio (including issuance of licenses for FM stations). This is an increasingly important and sensitive task as the government responds to the growing power and influence of "Maoist" groups in rural areas.