Welcome to the digital age

When I returned from my stint in the colonies as it were in 1992, I had never used a computer. A few months later I was teaching computer studies to 15 year olds in a school in Bracknell and here I am now 14 years later, sat writing a permaculture weblog, checking out my on line book sales and answering emails from people from australia who are interested in permaculture here in the UK. Its all pretty fantastical really. This week I have been helping put together a data base for trainers in developing countries, mainly africa, sat in Wales, for an organisatin in the south of england with a programmer who is a welsh man living in Quebec. Global or what?

Today I am setting up the chickenshack permaculture information line, our 24/7 information hotline, to pick up calls from people interested in our coming design course. What with being on the cover of the new Diggers and Dreamers and having had an appearance as a featured home on a BBC Wales program we might even end up famous! So just in case we ever get that flood of calls we will be set up for it.

The line is one of those 0870 things that takes you into what they call a call management system. callers get charged something like like 6p a minute, and chickenshack earn something like 2.5 of it back as an income - which in turn pays for the service. I know these systmes can be hateful and infuriating, however ours goes straight to voice mail on option 1 with 3 other recorded information lines on subsequent options. its seems to be the best option - using technology for its best effect and only people genuinely interested in the information have to pay anything for it via a few pence on a phone call. So i hope it works well for people.

The service is from PC-Q a communications specialist in Llanidloes, affiliate partner to the sector39 media and design partnership i work with.