3 interrelated dimensions – tools, spaces & processes

Before discussing the organisation and implementation of the practice-based PLW, we’d like to introduce 3 interrelated dimensions of our use of community media as part of the CBPR approach.

1. Transfer of skills and technology to communities

In CBPR partnerships all partners contribute important knowledge to the collaborative efforts. In this project, a major contribution by the academic partners was to equip participants from grassroots community groups with knowledge of the equipment and the skills necessary to conduct research through community media data collection practices in ways that make sense, and are relevant, to community needs and interests. These are the tools with which we conduct CmBPR.

2. Drawing on community assets to create community spaces

Using these tools participants learnt how to create and capture stories as data. This enabled participants to critically examine the underlying structures, constraints, challenges and barriers experienced in their communities and how these give can give rise to modern slavery. This led to a collective awareness and understanding facilitated by knowledge sharing. in this way dialogic communications afforded participants opportunities to critically explore issues often normalised and accepted as part of everyday life. This is what Friere calls critical consciousness or conscientisation (1997). It is important to note how participants took advantage of the opportunities afforded them, in the communicative spaces such as PLWs. Combining their newly acquired: media practice and research skills with critical analysis through dialogue makes a significant contribution to the building of community capacities and capabilities.

3. Building or developing active & healthy communities – community development

This use of communicative tools in community spaces to capture and create stories that assist community understanding and knowledge not only has an empowering effect on participants but also, as we saw earlier, the broader community. As they returned home participants shared their newly acquired knowledge within their community networks. The outputs from the PLWs, internalised by participants are then shared and become collective resources  contributing to community knowledge. It is from these knowledge foundations that communities become better equipped to participate in policy deliberations, pursue social change and improve community life. In this way, through its tools, spaces and processes, CmBPR contributes to the development challenge set by the AKN Programme Committee..

Practice-based approach to PLWs

Some community participants in this project are involved in establishing a 2 studio community radio station with CM4K. The studios are to be set up at the University of Rongo and the Area Chief’s offices in Cham gi wadu. Participants were keen for us to adopt a community radio focus for this workshop. This idea met with agreement from the academics for 2 reasons. Firstly, radio is the most significant source of local information in the area. Secondly, we were looking to create audio content for distribution via local radio in order to raise awareness of: 1) the project activities and its purpose; 2) the community exhibition, where the stories were to be presented using a variety of arts and media formats; and 3) the post-project campaign. Creating content or at least developing the skills for the emergent community radio station, will enable the community to continue the campaign after the current research funding has run out.

As mentioned in the introduction pages, the exhibition and community dissemination plans of the project had to be put on hold due to the COVID19 pandemic. Although this workshop was facilitated prior to the Kenyan Government’s COVID policies for lockdown came into effect, we are convinced that our longstanding partnership with the community through CM4K has reulted in participants still being keen to develop skills and ideas that could be employed later on through the community radio station. Agreeing to focus on audio production skills to build community capacity and capability was a totally acceptable quid pro quo arrangement. It has enabled us to maintain trust, goodwill and mutual respect with and between community participants. The pandemic’s dangers and lockdown regulations created a difficult time for the project. Like everyone globally, all participants as well as the community at large have been tested in many ways.

RADIO PRODUCTION PROCESS

The community went through a series of discussions on the quality of a good program,

• It was discussed that a good local program should have the audience needs as its priority. In terms of delivery, language is key, it’s important to also consider timing of the programs, keeping in mind the different timing favor different audiences. The content should be relevant to the listeners in Cham gi Wadu. It should be entertaining, educative, informative and interactive. They gave examples of radio programs from other radio stations that they found to be attractive.
• The second step was to discuss the importance of having a community radio that allows the community to participate in the different levels of production. They were taken through the different basic roles in a local radio station this includes; manager, producer, host and editor. We discussed how the roles are inter-related.
• We also looked at how important creativity is in order to make the radio programs interesting. In order to make the programs interesting we discussed the use sound tracks that go hand in hand with the designed program it came out clear that during story collection it’s important to get some sound effects form the different scenes that can accompany the story. To make it more lively.
• Entertainment being an important aspect of programming we looked at how important it is to consider different genre that will represent all the different audiences
• As part of the pre-production process we looked at how an idea is born and designing a plan of action on how best to produce your work. Plan of action varies depending on the type of program being designed, for instance in audio drama series, the script may take longer and the production may also take more time. It needs more input. When it comes to interviews, it is best to prepare the interviewee keeping in mind the skills they had learn in the (ethics sessions)

PRODUCTION

The team was talked through how to use an audio recorder, it was explained to them that an audio recorder captures sound, converting it into audio file that can be transferred to another device like a computer.

As they were divided into 3 groups, the group had different dynamics ranging from the youth to the elderly, literate to semi-literate, some had access to basic technology such as smartphones while others had non-smart phones. For those who had smartphones they had interacted with the voice recorder app in the phones so they were familiar with the idea. But others were reserved as it was a new technological concept. It took time for some of them to gain courage to familiarize with the recorder. As community radio station usually runs on basic equipment. It was important for them to understand that audio recording had very little to do with the gear and everything to do with the skills of the person using it.

We went through the following steps

1. Parts of an audio recorder
2. How to power up the recorder
3. How to use the headphones for feedback
4. How to hold the audio recorder while recording
5. How to play back the audio files
6. How to delete unwanted audio files in the recorder
7. How to transfer from audio files from the audio recorder to the computer

After several attempts in their different groups. It was time to proceed to the next task.

POST PRODUCTION

The teams in their groups selected different themes in Modern-Day slavery issues such as Early marriage, human trafficking and child labor.

The broke into groups and made a plan of action, divided roles, one acted as the host while others were invited guests.

After recording they were taken through audacity an open source software for editing audio. Every group had a laptop that they used in editing.

During the editing exercise the group members were trained on how to

1. Import the file into audacity
2. Listen to the imported audio
3. Create 5-minute clip from the audio through, removing
4. Adding effects
5. Adding sound track
6. Exporting the resulting file