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Digital Setu: Bhimdhunga Digital Divide Storymap

Collaborators: Local community members, ICIMOD
View Storymap → Research notes

Digital Setu: Bhimdhunga Digital Divide Storymap

Overview

An interactive storymap documenting digital infrastructure, access patterns, and community perspectives in Bhimdhunga, Nepal. Combines interviews, photographs, and spatial data to tell the story of connectivity challenges in rural areas.

Approach

Research Design

  • Mixed methods: interviews + infrastructure mapping
  • Community-centered: local voices drive the narrative
  • Visual-first: minimize text, maximize multimedia

Technical Implementation

  • HTML/CSS/JS for standalone deployment
  • No external dependencies
  • Works offline (critical for demo in low-connectivity areas)

Key Findings

  1. Infrastructure exists but access is constrained by affordability and digital literacy
  2. Mobile-first internet shapes how people engage with technology
  3. Community networks matter more than individual access

Impact

  • Used in policy discussions at district level
  • Informed ICIMOD’s connectivity research
  • Created template for similar storymaps in other communities

Reflection

What Worked

  • Community participation created authentic narrative
  • Visual approach crossed language barriers
  • Offline-first design enabled local sharing

What I’d Change

  • Add more quantitative data visualization
  • Include temporal dimension (how has access changed?)
  • Build in mechanisms for community updates

View the full storymap →

  • Field research methodology notes
  • Interview coding process
  • Storymap technical implementation