How to make an off-grid micro 'internet' that can run off solar power (or any power) for emergencies, camping, protests, or building community autonomy and dual power.
This was the first project like this that I had heard of and I have kept an eye on every similar one I could find. I am excited to start working on my first build soon with a friend who is a bit more tech savvy than I. Just got my first Linux computer up and running on a shitty old laptop. Finding parrotsec os to be the best lightweight Linux distro for my weak laptop. Might try and make a vs of this using parrot see how it functions. It’s a toss up it could make the the setup easier for some folks or be a complicated distro with too much fluff. I wish I was a bit further along in my programming journey cause I would love an open submission for books ect but that’s a logistical and software threat nightmare I’m not equipped to navigate yet. Great work and very inspirational. I started learning Linux because of your videos.
What is your TikTok name? Someone “green screened” one of your videos but didn’t tag you. I’d like to add your name to the comments. This is life saving stuff!
Please have a look at the freifunk movement in Germany https://www.freifunk.net. The community is building a independent wireless decentralized mesh windowshelf network to interconnect people in local communities and share internet access for almost 20 years now. Flat hierarchy and very well documented.
I think an important thing to note is that Kiwix also has a server mode which can be set to launch on startup.
So the same off-grid internet Raspberry Pi that serves the chat program, Calibre library, and Plex server, can also be used to host an entire local copy of Wikipedia, Khan Academy, TED talks, Project Gutenberg, IFixit repair guides, and more.
Of course, this all depends on your specific situation and if you have the resources needed to run that extra server on your device.
Great article! I think some of your use cases can benefit when using content addressable systems. Especially, your library box is an very interesting use case for an ipfs or hypercore (before dat) applications. Ipfs and hypercore establish a synch mechanism between nodes, that can increase your reliability and resilience of content providing mechanism. In some way maybe your local social media could also benefit of the scuttlebut infrastructure. A nice article which sums up some key points https://thenewstack.io/scuttlebutt-decentralize-and-escape-the-social-media-rat-race/
Beyond that the offline first (https://offlinefirst.org/) and off-grid/decentralised web community (. https://youtube.com/c/AdjyLeak especially the radical networks conference playlist) has developed some very interesting strategies for resilience content distribution
I can also provide some guidance regarding other non-GAFAM(T) resources. Whoever is interested, please talk to me directly (not sure how to do it here – I am new to Substack).
Epic work. Will it be ok if I translate it to Polish and do some adjustments according to my experience and Polish context? I will also try to formulate some suggestions how to improve it.
Hi currently going through the guide step-by-step. In addition to the recommendation for flashing the image you are using so others can just 'plug-and-play', I would in the meantime like to give a helpful little bit for others: ubuntu on the pi can be dreadfully slow, especially when messing with the browser, (in the future, I would like to personally look into doing a build that requires no desktop for better speed and performance), so here is how to download the books directly from the command line, bypassing the web browser.
Recipes For An Off-Grid 'Internet'
I don’t have the stuff or time to make it now but I’m def gonna follow your work because it’s fascinating and might be handy down the line.
This was the first project like this that I had heard of and I have kept an eye on every similar one I could find. I am excited to start working on my first build soon with a friend who is a bit more tech savvy than I. Just got my first Linux computer up and running on a shitty old laptop. Finding parrotsec os to be the best lightweight Linux distro for my weak laptop. Might try and make a vs of this using parrot see how it functions. It’s a toss up it could make the the setup easier for some folks or be a complicated distro with too much fluff. I wish I was a bit further along in my programming journey cause I would love an open submission for books ect but that’s a logistical and software threat nightmare I’m not equipped to navigate yet. Great work and very inspirational. I started learning Linux because of your videos.
What is your TikTok name? Someone “green screened” one of your videos but didn’t tag you. I’d like to add your name to the comments. This is life saving stuff!
You are my new favorite person "on the internet". And in real life : ) Thank you.
I had real problems getting Rocket Chat working on ubuntu 22.04.
But this worked in the end.
sudo snap info rocketchat-server --channel=3.x/stable
i saw a video about some cubans that build their very own internet using nano stations on a large scale intranet
Please have a look at the freifunk movement in Germany https://www.freifunk.net. The community is building a independent wireless decentralized mesh windowshelf network to interconnect people in local communities and share internet access for almost 20 years now. Flat hierarchy and very well documented.
I think an important thing to note is that Kiwix also has a server mode which can be set to launch on startup.
So the same off-grid internet Raspberry Pi that serves the chat program, Calibre library, and Plex server, can also be used to host an entire local copy of Wikipedia, Khan Academy, TED talks, Project Gutenberg, IFixit repair guides, and more.
Of course, this all depends on your specific situation and if you have the resources needed to run that extra server on your device.
Is there a way that you know of to do this with an old laptop, using its wifi card?
How far can this be scaled up? If enough people did this, could we form something like another Project Cybersyn?
Great stuff! Your are an inspiration!
Heard about this project on the Live like the world is dying podcast.
I have added the following to my server after looking at the internet in a box project.
Kiwix-Serve - which runs off line Wikipedia & The Anarchist Library and other .zim files
Azuracast - radio station, on demand audio content and podcast hosting.
Calibre-Web
Keep up the good work!
I had trouble getting rocketchat-server to install on a raspberryPi with Ubuntu 20.04.
I keep getting
error: snap "rocketchat-server" is not available on stable but is available to install on the
following channels:
candidate snap install --candidate rocketchat-server
beta snap install --beta rocketchat-server
edge snap install --edge rocketchat-server
Please be mindful pre-release channels may include features not completely tested or
implemented. Get more information with 'snap info rocketchat-server'.
I tried multiple times with different flavors of Ubuntu and kept running into problems :(
Great article! I think some of your use cases can benefit when using content addressable systems. Especially, your library box is an very interesting use case for an ipfs or hypercore (before dat) applications. Ipfs and hypercore establish a synch mechanism between nodes, that can increase your reliability and resilience of content providing mechanism. In some way maybe your local social media could also benefit of the scuttlebut infrastructure. A nice article which sums up some key points https://thenewstack.io/scuttlebutt-decentralize-and-escape-the-social-media-rat-race/
Beyond that the offline first (https://offlinefirst.org/) and off-grid/decentralised web community (. https://youtube.com/c/AdjyLeak especially the radical networks conference playlist) has developed some very interesting strategies for resilience content distribution
All the best
I have just mirrored the library mentioned here: https://anarchosolarpunk.substack.com/i/63732974/book-repository on my GAFAM(T)-free NextCloud account, hosted by a friendly foundation in Poland (anonymous read-only access, decompressed: https://nch.pl/s/Zf2AfSyp4HaYkPK). Dear OP, I can give you an R/W link, or help set up your own instance, if you care.
I can also provide some guidance regarding other non-GAFAM(T) resources. Whoever is interested, please talk to me directly (not sure how to do it here – I am new to Substack).
Epic work. Will it be ok if I translate it to Polish and do some adjustments according to my experience and Polish context? I will also try to formulate some suggestions how to improve it.
In solidarity,
Petros
Hi currently going through the guide step-by-step. In addition to the recommendation for flashing the image you are using so others can just 'plug-and-play', I would in the meantime like to give a helpful little bit for others: ubuntu on the pi can be dreadfully slow, especially when messing with the browser, (in the future, I would like to personally look into doing a build that requires no desktop for better speed and performance), so here is how to download the books directly from the command line, bypassing the web browser.
wget --load-cookies /tmp/cookies.txt "https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&confirm=$(wget --quiet --save-cookies /tmp/cookies.txt --keep-session-cookies --no-check-certificate 'https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1pqJPKT-eZUNuaL2-lo3jeJLr_Oyxj1t4' -O- | sed -rn 's/.*confirm=([0-9A-Za-z_]+).*/\1\n/p')&id=1pqJPKT-eZUNuaL2-lo3jeJLr_Oyxj1t4" -O FILENAME && rm -rf /tmp/cookies.txt