MEDA's GROW project gave Amplio's audio-only 'Talking Book' devices, designed with non-literate users, to 662 women's farming groups in Ghana's Upper West Region, reaching 23,000+ soybean farmers with on-demand advice in local dialects.
662
Women's VSLA groups reached
190
Communities covered (11 districts)
23,000+
Women farmers reached (by 2018)
Details
Maturity
Discontinued
Promoter
Amplio (formerly Literacy Bridge) & Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA)
The Talking Book, designed by Amplio through participatory design with low-literacy rural communities, uses icon-based buttons to let users play, pause and repeat pre-recorded messages in their own dialect.
Activities
Between 2013 and 2019, MEDA integrated Talking Books into its GROW project, distributing devices loaded with soybean-cultivation advice to 662 women's Village Savings and Loan Association groups across 190 communities in 11 districts of Ghana's Upper West Region.
Results
The project reached more than 23,000 women farmers by 2018; MEDA and Amplio report participating farmers adopted recommended practices such as bulk selling and price comparison, and GROW farmers won district-level Ghana Farmer's Day awards.
Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — MEDA's Greater Rural Opportunities for Women (GROW) project distributed low-cost audio devices to farmer groups; overall project budget not itemised in reviewed sources.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Talking Books integrated into the GROW project 2013-2019.
Staffing & skills
MEDA GROW project field staff, Amplio device/content designers
Conditions for success
icon-based, audio-only device design for non-literate users
integration into existing Village Savings and Loan Association groups
Common failure modes
results described as programme monitoring rather than an independently audited evaluation
a secondary UNICEF-attributed statistic could not be verified against a primary source
Commonly funded by
Philanthropic / foundation funding
Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.
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Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
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