Village women in parts of Andhra Pardesh, India are using a local radio station to educate their communities of best practices in health and farming. Photo: Kris Van de Vijver (flickr)

One of the most basic forms of technology — the radio — is helping women in rural parts of India's Andhra Pradesh educate other women in their communities.

Deccan Development Society (DDS), a grassroots non-profit based in Andhra Pardesh, works with some of the poorest communities with programs focused on health, education, food security and other methods of empowerment for women. Last October, DDS developed a community radio station that broadcasts daily interviews with local village women throughout the state.

Most of the women interviewed are poor, uneducated and illiterate. Many of them work in the fields or are involved in some form of manual labor in their villages. Despite their limitations, these women are able to use the radio to discuss their work and community issues that may help their peers. For example, discussions on which herbal medicines to use for livestock and efficient farming tools are helpful for other women in the village and surrounding areas. The women are paid for their contribution which allows them to feel a sense of empowerment by earning their own money.

BBC News documents the initiative by DDS and spoke to one of its founders, P.V. Satheesh who explained the benefits of the initiative.

The local radio station has helped women in the region become more confident…the idea was to get local voices to talk to the local people on issues that were close to their hearts. It is a means of asserting themselves in this rural setting, of finding a voice and putting themselves in greater control of their own destiny.