projecting

PorFin is a digital divide project in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.
The project began as the hope and dream of two friends, Carmen
Ibarra Ruiz and Susan Baus, who were troubled by the lack of
access to computers and the Internet by anyone outside of the
dollar economy.The beautiful pacific beaches of San Juan del Sur
attract many foreign tourists so it is easy to notice the
discrepancy. Only a handful of residents can afford Internet
connection in their homes. The “cyber cafés” cost $2 US per hour,
the majority of which are payed by tourist dollars or Euros.

In the summer of 2005 PorFin began with two classes covering Internet basics. We now
have several classes daily, covering various levels as well as diverse software, according
to the needs of the student. We currently have 4 regular instructors, and the majority of our
work is done by volunteers who have experience in end-user computation. The biggest
obstacle faced today is the poor infrastructure that exists in Nicaragua for adequate,
affordable connectivity. The second barrier lies in the numerous problems that have
occurred getting donated equipment into Nicaragua in an affordable and secure manner.
The most daunting barrier we have faced is the lack of reliable, clean electricity. We have
long power outages every weekday, which includes the pumps that deliver water within
the town. This rationing on the part of the privatized power company, Union Fenosa, is
supposedly scheduled but in reality is unpredictable. The result is chaos in everyone's
daily life (except for those that can afford to buy and maintain fossil fuel burning
generator). We decided to gather donations and learn the technology to switch the
computer lab to solar energy, and have stage one in place as of December 2006.

Regular classes began in the spring or summer of 2006. The scope of these classes will
depend on the degree of successful resolution to the obstacles mentioned earlier. We now
have more students than we can accommodate. The numerous electrical blackouts foil
even our most determined participants, and we are still on the Enitel waiting list for
broadband Internet connection. The government of Nicaragua has been very slow in
recognizing the need to make Internet connections affordable to the general population,
choosing instead to invest in high speed data transfer capabilities for business.

Our plans for the future include collaborating with the San Juan del Sur Biblioteca Movil to
add laptops and Internet to their rural outreach program. This would bring technology into
rural areas on a regular, scheduled basis. As for our home base computer lab we hope to
mature into a self-sustaining project by offering in-house computer services and color
printing produced by PorFin students.

The founders of PorFin joined forces with the local women’s
community organization, Casa de las Mujeres, San Juan del Sur, to
build a project to offer free computer training with Internet access
to local residents. By the winter of 2003, the project had sufficient
donations of money and equipment to start creating the space,
Casa Computadora. The building that would house Casa
Computadora needed major repairs. In addition to new walls, floor,
and roof, the heat and blowing sand in our location resulted in
technical problems and short equipment life. Therefore, a sealed
room with a small air conditioning unit was built to house the
computer lab. By December 2006 we had sufficient donations to
put in the first solar installation. We now have enough solar power
to run the computers, a light and two fans.