Last year, PanLex (my project) and the Internet Archive created a new platform at palmleaf.org for digitizing Balinese palm-leaf manuscripts, specifically for transcribing the Internet Archive's huge collection of Balinese manuscripts into Unicode text in the Balinese script. The goal is to provide a rich digital resource for these manuscripts, including text, description, translation, etc. The link above provides more context.
PanLex's work last year focused on developing the platform and organizing a team in Bali to transcribe manuscripts. Technical work included developing a new Balinese font and a Mediawiki extension to manage the workflow. The extension is needed to import Internet Archive items into wiki pages and to provide a workable transcription interface. The React app provides a split-pane view where users can view the leaf image above and transcribe it into text below. It also provides an on-screen keyboard for inputting text in Balinese script.
Last year's work was essentially a pilot, so the priority was making the platform work and developing relationships in Bali. It was a success -- the team in Bali transcribed 3,000 leaves containing 92 complete works, and they are excited to continue. They plan to raise the total to 20,000 leaves over the next 1-2 years. Meanwhile, the Internet Archive, which hosts palmleaf.org, has suggested handing the platform over to Balinese Wikipedia (or perhaps more appropriately Balinese Wikisource, which doesn't exist yet). This would put the platform more directly in the hands of the community, make the content more widely available and more likely to be improved, etc.
I recently spoke about this with Carma Citrawati, who has been managing the work on palmleaf.org and is also involved on the Balinese Wikipedia community. She spoke to other community members and they are definitely interested in finding a way for Balinese Wikipedia or Wikisource to host the content and platform in some way. I'm excited about the possibility of getting this done but there are two main obstacles: (1) figuring out the technical details so the ArchiveLeaf extension can be deployed on Wikimedia and updating the extension, (2) funding this work if it is substantial.
I'd appreciate any suggestions for who to contact and what to do next. Thanks!