There always seems to be one person in a village who qaulifies as the village geek. This is the person who at best has a 6 or 7th grade education, yet he is able to fix a broken radio or VCR. It sill surprises me to see a satellite dish sitting on the roof of a thatched hut, reminding me rural villages do not follow Western market segment criteria; instead it's a mix of the old, new and the cultural context of the community.
The village geek is usually the first to own a mobile phone but he lacks energy to recharge so he will buy a solar light panel, hotwire the panel and phone together and presto be able to get the news on market prices for his tomatoes. In doing so others will proceed to buy a phone for themselves knowing that they can charge it.
I've come to like the village geek ( ... OK so I have a thing for geekie guys) because he is cleaver, resourceful and creative. He is also fun because most people in the village come to understand that soccer games and Bollywood movies can be enjoyed after a day in the fields or before the men go off to defend their crops from wild boars.
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