# Listening as a technology partner: Janastu in W4P
## v2
W4P as a program has been a new way of working for Janastu which has worked at the forefront of open source technology for communities for over a decade. Through the technology challenge that Janastu was part of, we introduced the idea of an 'unPC' called ASPi(aspiration pi) built to be a group device that can bypass social taboos by being present in houses for girls and women to interact with, in a group. It also started to see potential as a inexpensive workstation for women entrepreneurs to see gigs as a viable way to earn money through creative services. However, through the global chip shortage, the core computing device and its peripherals started to steadily grow costlier and unavailable in stock to purchase.
In this period, we developed a media-making curriculum and engaged with a group of girls from Mirzapur. We also set up listening sessions in different parts of the W4P geography to try to understand what the role of a technology partner would be. The process of deploying technology in a such a dynamic program that functions in such varied contexts is one that requires immense human support in the beginning stages. These stages include understanding the geography and gaining a situational awareness, gaining allies that align with our work and help in the process of deployment, understanding the context of the program and its needs in a multifaced, multi-stakeholder and multi-layered manner. Our work with TRIF has begun in that manner. We would in the future, try to understand the different stakeholders who are part of the process. Then sitting with them, we would have to collectively assess the need for technology and identify the very human processes needed to support them.

Through different interactions with their team and block-level executives, we seemed to validate our ideas about sensemaking as a process of its own. We have also started to see the need for basic utilities that connect communities locally first. This is also the story of the beginning of the ASPi Cloud. One of the first services that we are able to offer as a service on this platform is PAPAD. PAPAD is a low-literacy tool for archival, annotation and fragment-sharing of audio files. As an aggregator for the listening methods and their outputs, PAPAD - when baked into the processes of listening - can offer connections between different listening systems.

As the partnership with TRIF goes forward, one of the needs we are anticipating is a discovery tool shared between entrepreneurs, customers and coalition members. As we prepare to go on ground again, we would try to validate or build on this.

---
V1
---
# Developing tools and processes for listening

#DAnewsletter

For acceleration of entrepreneurial activities, the technological aspects of different initiatives have been distributed among various partners under the W4P program. Janastu as a technical partner was engaged in creating and deploying different technologies for listening and dialogue. An initial prototype in this direction was the ASPi Computer. Developed as a shared device for peer-to-peer learning, it has been a process to develop it. However, following the [chip shortage](https://hackmd.io/@janastu/SJlOdfUU5) the world has been experiencing since May of 2021, the Raspberry Pi has grown 2-3x in price. This has started to burden its general feasibility as a cheap, small, easily deployable computer for listening and dialogue needs.

This is where we started to expand on the idea of ASPi Cloud along with the ASPi Computer. The ASPi Cloud is meant to serve as a software services bucket for collective sensemaking exercises. PAPAD, an app that was developed in this direction has been at the forefront of this move. With PAPAD, teams of listeners from the same communities will be able to parse through and share the various conversations that are happening in different sectors at different levels and in different places. Going forward, we will be working with TRIF and DA in their geographies to identify additional technological needs from the ground for two important personas in the W4P program
- Entrepreneurs (tentatively of the CSC sector using the UDYAME kiosk) and
- the different people conducting and participating in ground level activities like the block level executives.

The process will be as follows:
1. Conduct brainstorming sessions with different stakeholders - understanding their pain points and their expectations of technology being a support in their system
2. Conducting subsequent on-ground workshops that are co-creating workshops but using ideas produced in step 1 as prompts and places to kick off from
3. Deploy PAPAD as a technology, and work with the preraks and BLEs to understand with them how it might provide some value to their day-to-day learnings
4. Build further processes by understanding how these planned activities go


## New Version

## Listening as a technology partner: Janastu in W4P

W4P as a program has been a new way of working for Janastu which has worked at the forefront of open source technology for communities for over a decade. Through the technology challenge that Janastu was part of, we introduced the idea of an 'unPC' called ASPi(aspiration pi) built to be a group device that can bypass social taboos by being present in houses for girls and women to interact with, in a group. It also started to see potential as a inexpensive workstation for women entrepreneurs to see gigs as a viable way to earn money through creative services. However, through the global chip shortage, the core computing device and its peripherals started to steadily grow costlier and unavailable in stock to purchase.
In this period, we developed a media-making curriculum and engaged with a group of girls from Mirzapur. We also set up listening sessions in different parts of the W4P geography to try to understand what the role of a technology partner would be. The process of deploying technology in a such a dynamic program that functions in such varied contexts is one that requires immense human support in the beginning stages. These stages include understanding the geography and gaining a situational awareness, gaining allies that align with our work and help in the process of deployment, understanding the context of the program and its needs in a multifaced, multi-stakeholder and multi-layered manner.

Our work with TRIF has begun in that manner. We would in the future, try to understand the different stakeholders who are part of the process. Then sitting with them, we would have to collectively assess the need for technology and identify the very human processes needed to support them.
Through different interactions with their team and block-level executives, we seemed to validate our ideas about sensemaking as a process of its own. We have also started to see the need for basic utilities that connect communities locally first. This is also the story of the beginning of the ASPi Cloud. One of the first services that we are able to offer as a service on this platform is PAPAD. PAPAD is a low-literacy tool for archival, annotation and fragment-sharing of audio files. As an aggregator for the listening methods and their outputs, PAPAD - when baked into the processes of listening - can offer connections between different listening systems.
As the partnership with TRIF goes forward, one of the needs we are anticipating is a discovery tool shared between entrepreneurs, customers and coalition members. As we prepare to go on ground again, we would try to validate or build on this.