We've now converted the old Balsa release for OLPC-XO machines as SD card images.
You can now use a Windows machine or a Linux machine to download and create the Balsa SD card for an OLPC-XO. Details are available at this link: Balsa Jaunty Release (for OLPC-XO)
 

SIL's Language Software Development team for Linux (LSDev-Linux) is pleased to announce the beta-1 release of the Balsa system. There's a Quick Start here.

Balsa is a system that runs on an SD card that turns a netbook into a Basic Language Software Appliance. It contains basic language software with a simple to use interface.