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In some developing countries, widows are looked down upon and are often considered inauspicious especially in rural regions. Some societies even consider them and their issues invisible. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study focused on understanding how technology could facilitate entrepreneurial and DIY activities of widows from rural Sri Lanka. We conducted semi-structured interviews and field observations with thirteen widows from low socio-economic backgrounds, who were involved in various small-scale entrepreneurial activities. Our findings showed three central aspects associated with their entrepreneurial activities which can be supported through technology: initial stages of entrepreneurship, balancing work with life, and dealing with exploitations. This paper explores how gender inequality in a social context affects marginalized women in rural Sri Lanka in conducting their entrepreneurial efforts. In particular, we highlight resilient practices that the participants apply to support their entrepreneurial activities. With an "assets-based approach" we conclude by providing implications for policymakers, media, and HCI practitioners to support this inbuilt resilience by leveraging their current assets.

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Part 5: Co-design StudiesInternational audienceFinancial literacy can play an important role in supporting the livelihood of the poor. Sri Lanka, being a country that aims to become a knowledge economy, has started to integrate the use of technology in its primary education. This paper presents a case study from a Co-Design activity with primary school children in rural Sri Lanka to ideate designing of mobile applications to engage primary school students in financial literacy. Three workshops were conducted spanning over two months based on the bonded design method. Techniques involving bags of stuff, storyboarding and stickies were utilised to support idea generation. Two themes; shopping and transporting were prominent among the final designs. From the findings of this paper, we discuss the design inspirations of the study and the impact that scaffolding practices had on the outcomes of the study. Finally, we lay out some initial guidelines to follow when conducting co-design workshops with rural and resource constrained children in Sri Lanka

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