Lessons from a Community Telecenter in Southwestern Colombia

Developments in electronic communications have created many new uses for the letter “e”—“e-commerce,” “e-learning,” “e-governance,” and so forth. These terms point to some of the ways in which modern information and communications technologies (ICTs) are changing how millions of people work and live. Against that background, it makes sense for the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT, the Spanish acronym) to ask how ICTs—especially the Internet—might serve in our efforts to help the rural poor build sustainable livelihoods.