Bill Taylor: Local Activist with an International Reach

Bill Taylor is a longtime activist in Urbana-
Champaign. He has made remarkable contributions
to this community and beyond. He
was a founder of, and long time programmer
on, WEFT. He is also a co-founder of the
Kalyx Center, an alternative retreat center next
to Allerton Park. Some main thrusts of the
Center include promotion of alternative energy
and building methods; permaculture, especially
of indigenous plants; exploration and
promotion of the fine arts; and celebrations
based in non-mainstream religions. Lastly, he
is the founder of Primary Communications
Project (PCP).
Bill writes of the PCP:
“The Primary Communications Project is
an organization whose goal is to promote the
advancement of community radio in developing
areas, especially in Latin America. PCP
does this by providing broadcasting equipment
for community radio stations to populations in areas which lack these resources;
it then provides appropriate technical
design and support services, and assists
with installation of the equipment.
“PCP is an organization which provides
resources in partnership with
community groups which are doing
development in their local area of the
developing world. Equipment provided
by PCP is to be used specifically to
address the needs of the community
included within the coverage of the station.”
Thus, the services of the PCP
entails considerable obligations on the
part of the receiver.
The PCP has assisted community
radio networks in Nicaragua, El Salvador,
and Guatemala as well as in Honduras.
His next project is Radio Lenca
for the Lenca Indians of southwestern
Honduras and the adjacent areas of El
Salvador. The intention is to place a
large one-kilowatt AM transmitter in
the center of the Lenca area. But this will
entail some major financial commitments.
The preparation of the equipment
will cost $3,500; additional equipment
and spare parts $500; transportation
to, and setup in, Honduras $2000,
and the purchase of a Honduran broadcast
license $2000. This means that Bill
needs to raise $8000.
Bill is determined to make this work.
His political commitment has a spiritual
underpinning. In his own words: “I have
a strong opposition, founded in my religion
(Buddhism) to unequal treatment
of people, based on accidents of nationality,
race, class, religion, etc. This is a
strong driving force in my solidarity
work with the people of Central America
against the destructive policies of
NeoLiberalism.”
If you would like to help Bill Taylor
and Carlos Euceda realize their project,
use the contact information provided at
the end of the adjacent article on the situation
in Honduras.