Chondon Chohot, an area under the Rani Shonkoil upazila of Thakurgaon district, is a typical village located near the border which lacks both access to electricity and good roads. Most of the villagers are tenants but the people there are well off in terms of having proper meals. This is because of the growth of HYV and hybrid rice, maize, and wheat cultivation with substantial yield gains over traditional varieties.

Of late, this village (and a few other villages around) has been witnessing the presence of laptop computers in the front yards of their houses. The technology has been taken there to help villagers keep up with the information revolution.

Given the situation where most of the villagers in Bangladesh hardly know about the existence the computer era itself, the arrival of the laptop in a village seemingly surpasses all their astonishment. And this is how a "rural revolution" of that kind has taken place.

Bangladesh NGO Foundation (BNF) has been providing local NGOs with financial support in the pursuit of their social development programs. It has as many as 1,000 or so partners all over the country. Eco-Social Development Organisation (ESDO) of Thakurgaon is one of their partners who receive a modest amount for the establishment of a rural information centre.

In fact, this amount is 40 percent of the total estimated cost. A priori reasoning would tell us that the money would be spent in establishing local shops to provide access to telephone, computer, and fax facilities. But in reality, the ingenuity of the officials of ESDO seemingly rang a tone of revolution.

Laila Anjuman (25) was trained for using the software called Jeeon that contains a package of information related to crops, poultry/livestock, plantations, fishery, health, human rights, etc.

Laila has formed a group of women in the village who get together in the uthan of a house every week. Females come there with complaints and questions, which are addressed by using the laptop.

Basically, the laptop displays the diseases that, say, poultry birds could be plagued with and instantly provides the solutions. Likewise, it displays various problems that might afflict paddy production or livestock population and the ways to cure them.

When we reached the Chondon Chohot villages, 15-20 females had already started airing their problems to Laila -- the lady with the lamp. An octogenarian woman was having some problems with her eyes and she was prescribed medicine. Another woman complained that some of her vegetables were being attacked by pests. Laila turned to the laptop to find solutions for her as well.

If solutions in the software fail to address any of the problems, Laila takes a note of that and after consulting appropriate experts on that she conveys the message the very next day or uses mobile phone for instant replies to the concerned woman. But we were told that most of the answers are available through the software under the aegis of the laptop.

The lady with the laptop computer has already covered eight villages in Nekmorod Union and established eight rural information centre societies, where about 200-300 women get their problems solved on a daily basis using this software. The alternatives, such as visits to health centres or agricultural extension officials, would cost as much as Tk.100.

Besides, the women could save a lot of time and devote themselves to other work. There is also a spillover effect that needs to be mentioned. For example, their husbands, children and relatives from far-flung areas also benefit from the knowledge these women have gained.

As we drove out of the village, a simple calculation struck my mind. If Tk.37 crore could be allocated as capital cost, then all villages could be covered with this technology (one laptop per ten villages).

In addition, 6,800 women could be employed at a yearly cost of Tk.40 crore (at Tk.5000 per month). By and large, an allocation of Tk.80 crore could change the shape of rural livelihoods within a very short period of time. This could go a long way towards fulfilling the dream of establishing a digital Bangladesh.

I understand that the sum of money required to spread this technology might scare many of us. It is obvious since we have limited resources but unlimited demands, and resources have their opportunity costs.

Why not then put forth a modest beginning by covering a few more villages across the country? Or can we not perhaps provide such facilities to our health or agricultural extension officials so that they are updated with recent solutions to the emerging problems of the rural residents?

Abdul Bayes is a Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.