Kenyan Hut Dwellers Write Digital Cards in the Beach Sand

Eibergen, Netherlands, November 08, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Moses Onoo leaves the photo shop in Mombasa with a smile on his face. The Kenyan proudly shows off his new digital camera to his family and friends. It cost nearly 350 US dollars. “That’s as much as I earn in a year as a night watchman.” “He’s holding it as if he has a gold bar in his hands,” says Pim Bottenberg from the Netherlands with a smile. He created the website and gave Onoo the camera as part of this “micro-development project."

For a month, Onoo and his team have been filling orders for names written in the sand of Bamburi Beach. The names are then documented with a digital camera and sent by e-mail to the Netherlands. Each photo is then printed there and attractively framed. The gift card is then sent to its final destination by mail or e-mail.

“You can have a Kenyan beach name card made as a nice alternative for a birth announcement, or use it for an original greeting or Christmas card,” Bottenberg says. The Internet entrepreneur and his family have been going on holiday to Kenya for years and became friends with Onoo the night watchman. “He earns 25 euros (about 35 US dollars) a month, lives in a hut village and has to support a large family. We were touched by his life story and daily battle to survive. I have a few on-line businesses and started looking for a web businesses with which he and his family could earn a living. That ended up being Beachname. He had never held a camera before. His own village doesn’t have electricity, so he wasn't familiar with Internet and e-mail. I taught him in an Internet cafe, and then we went to the beach to practice with the digital camera."

On his own feet

“It is not simple to write a name well in the sand. There is a lot of stuff on the beach that has to be cleared away first. You have to make sure that there are shadows around the letters to make it legible. Every high-relief letter is ‘sculpted’ by hand. The very bright sunlight makes it impossible to view the LCD screen to check if a photo has turned out okay. Moses first has to find a place in the shadow and then view the camera under a cloth."

Bottenberg compares his project with the micro-lending programmes that are offered in more and more developing nations to the disadvantaged so they can start their own businesses. “The nice thing is that Moses is now completely comfortable with the new on-line world of e-mailing and uploading photos. He also has other families from his village help him make the beach names. There are now eight families being supported by www.beachname.com. Terrific, isn’t it?"

The use of the Internet and digital photography means it does not matter where the recipient of the beach name card lives. The website is being translated into six languages and expanded. In just a few clicks of the mouse, people can order a card on-line. The price is 12,50 euro / US$ 17.50 per card and the card is sent worldwide, both digitally and by mail, at no additional charge. “It’s an original, global gift that makes a name for Moses’ village in more than one respect,” says Bottenberg.

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