Odd quirks can disrupt a new computer setup even under the best of circumstances.
But for Inveneo, a company
that specializes in building computer and communications systems in mud-hut
villages in Africa and other remote areas, killer bees and Ethernet-cable-chewing
goats have been some of its more peculiar challenges.

Take one sunny day in Gulu, Uganda, last August as an example. The long-range
Wi-Fi network that Inveneo had set up for a rural village went down, knocking
out Internet service. The network was part of a typical IT setup from Inveneo,
which usually includes computers, solar panels and Wi-Fi wireless transmitters
for Web access.

The problem: A colony of killer bees had made its new home inside a Wi-Fi junction
box set high up on an abandoned TV tower, and this caused a short circuit.

That's not exactly the kind of issue an IT manager faces in the developed world.
Luckily, Inveneo's local partner in the project, Norbert Okec, knew the local
beekeeper and was able to borrow a light-blue protective suit, as well as get
advice on how to remove the bees: Wait until dark when they're less active and
then smoke them out.

The next night, he climbed the rusty TV tower, poured smoke on the bees and
returned with the junction box, which was cleaned, repaired and reinstalled.

"It just shows how important it is to have local partners to help with
installations, support and many of the other issues you can never predict in
Africa," said Mark Summer, CEO of Inveneo, in a recent interview.

"Honey actually conducts electricity, we’ve learned," he added.

Inveneo, a nonprofit based in Silicon Valley, is focused on making computing
a reality for some of the most out-of-the-way places in Africa, including in
Cameroon, Nigeria and Burkina Faso. Most of its projects have been for schools,
hospitals, community centers and aid camps on the continent.

Inveneo's team contends with the same core problems experienced everywhere,
including no access to reliable electricity, Internet service or computers.
Inveneo's job is to integrate the entire setup, work with local partners to
put it in place, train them on how to best use it, and provide long-term support.

The organization relies mainly on its own hardware designs but also uses some
from others, carefully choosing hardware that will survive in rugged places.

Often, the "solutions" it puts in place face unexpected difficulties.

In one village the company installed a system in a building with a corrugated
metal roof, which is where it placed the solar panels. But the panels didn't
last long. Kids in the village had for years thrown rocks onto the roof because
they liked the loud clang it made. Now, the clang was gone

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