Why low-cost video is a strategic tool for sustainable development programs

Across Africa, development outcomes are strongest when information is practical, locally grounded and able to travel beyond a single workshop or training event. This belief sits at the core of illuminAid’s mission: helping communities in the developing world educate themselves using low-cost video technology.

illuminAid’s recent collaboration with WorldFish under the Climate-Resilient Aquaculture Systems for Africa in Kenya illustrates why this model matters for non-governmental organization partners working across the continent. Smallholder fish farmers face increasingly complex challenges — from climate variability and water quality to fish health and market access. Addressing these challenges requires more than technical guidance; it requires trusted, repeatable learning tools that reflect farmers’ lived realities.

During a Nairobi working session and subsequent field mission in western Kenya, illuminAid worked alongside WorldFish and local partners to identify priority training needs and transform them into farmer-centered video learning resources. Participants collaborated across the aquaculture value chain to define 18 high-value training topics and begin scripting content grounded in both technical rigor and on-farm realities. In the field, farmers, hatchery operators, extension officers and women traders shared practical insights that shaped the videos' direction from the outset.

This approach reflects illuminAid’s broader goal: to build long-term, sustainable access to knowledge by teaching local individuals and organizations how to deliver training themselves. Rather than importing external solutions, illuminAid works with subject matter experts and equips local teams with solar-compatible cameras and cordless projectors to produce educational videos in hard-to-reach settings. The result is a growing library of locally relevant content that can be screened repeatedly, adapted into multiple languages and shared widely at low cost.

Aligned with its vision of a world where electricity, literacy, language and location are no longer barriers, illuminAid’s intervention ensures that instruction and knowledge dissemination fuel economic opportunity and positive social change.