# OTF Grant

See GDoc version here w/ full discussion: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17MN9RhFKTOmmP0dW5IMfGlqeIHKc9v2qluBxPaogYFQ/edit

## 1. Tell us about your project idea

### Project Title*

Distributed Mobile Publishing

This project name can be changed if a full proposal is requested.

See help guide for more information. <https://guide.opentech.fund/appendix-i-concept-note-guide#project-title>

### Describe your project in 1-3 sentences.

Our project aims to empower grassroots media collectives and human rights activists in regions with unstable internet access or high censorship. Working alongside on-the-ground Central and South American media partners, we propose developing a 'sneaker mesh' network of decentralized, locally hosted websites for activists, human rights and earth defenders, and indigenous communities. Our approach reduces reliance on centralized platforms vulnerable to censorship and outages, and enhances information dissemination by providing a content creation mechanism and a means for distribution. The outcome will be increased communications sovereignty and independence for the partners involved and the potential to replicate these networks elsewhere.

(100/100 words)

### What problem will your project address?

In regions throughout Central and [South America (https://freedomhouse.org/country/ecuador/freedom-net/2023)], grassroots media collectives and human rights activists face significant challenges disseminating information.These obstacles stem from Internet instability and censorship of centralized platforms, which hinder reliable access to information. Additionally, [link rot](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/pl_2024.05.17_link-rot_report.pdf) and data loss due to changing terms and services on these platforms lead to the disappearance of crucial information and historical data over time. Over-reliance on centralized platforms vulnerable to shutdowns or content removal, increasing [government surveillance of online] (https://www.accessnow.org/mexico-is-embracing-digital-authoritarianism/) content, and limited technical resources for maintaining a secure, independent online presence further exacerbate the situation. These issues collectively compromise freedom of expression, access to information, and the ability of independent voices to reach and maintain their audiences. Current solutions like VPNs, Tor networks, and IPFS have limitations in speed and accessibility and don't adequately address the problems of link rot and local content creation.

Our project aims to solve the problems of both network access and content creation. To address the former, we propose creating a 'sneaker mesh' network of decentralized, locally hosted websites for independent journalists, activists, and indigenous communities that can work under unreliable Internet access (i.e. due to being located in rural or otherwise remote areas, or in urban areas deemed too underprivileged for Internet access). This web-based application will put data storage and sharing directly into the hands of users, circumventing centralized control by publishing to decentralized protocols. Building on our previous work on the [Distributed.Press](https://distributed.press/) project, which enables publishing to distributed and peer-to-peer(p2p) protocols, we will also provide tools and infrastructure to facilitate local content creation and distribution. Expanding our work on the censorship-resistant and easy to use [Sutty CMS](https://sutty.nl/en/), we will empower communities to tell their own stories. Our model is designed to be replicable in other regions facing similar challenges, with Ecuador, México (and likely Argentina) serving as the initial test cases.

This approach will improve the ability of grassroots media collectives and activists to maintain an online presence, and create and share information securely, including monitoring of local territories. By reducing reliance on centralized platforms, empowering local control of data, and facilitating local content creation, our project will contribute to a more open, secure, and accessible Internet ecosystem for those working in indigenous communities and remote environments. Importantly, it will also help preserve vital information and narratives that might otherwise be lost due to link rot or platform instability, ensuring that crucial voices and histories are included rather than silenced or forgotten in our digital age.

(394/500 words

### If this project is funded, what form will it take?

X Technology Development
Applied Research
Digital Security Support
Community Convening

### Give a brief overview of the activities in this project.

Objective 1: Project planning and codesign

Activity 1.1: Define sneaker mesh network and app requirements and features, working in collaboration with small communities in Central and South America
Activity 1.2: Test and choose appropriate DWeb technologies (e.g, Hypercore, IPFS, DAT, Iroh)
Activity 1.3: Design user interface and user experience
Activity 1.4: Create simple paper prototypes to test functionality with local communities

Deliverable 1: Project requirements documentation
Deliverable 2: Technical brief
Deliverable 3: UX/UI mockups and/or wireframes
Estimated Time: 2-3 weeks

Objective 2: Create decentralized data management system

Activity 1.1: Select protocols for implementation, based on codesign criteria
Activity 1.2: Set-up development environment
Activity 1.3: Implement DWeb protocol-based data structures (activity will vary depending on the protocol selected)
Activity 1.3: Develop mobile peer discovery and synchronization

Deliverable 1: Functional DWeb mobile backend
Deliverable 2: Data replication and sync protocols
Estimated Time: 4-6 weeks

Objective 3: Build user-facing mobile app components

Activity 1.1: Develop UI components, including interface for pinning list of available sites; other elements TBD through the codesign process
Activity 1.2: Create offline-first functionality

Deliverable 1: Functional mobile app frontend
Estimated Time: 6-8 weeks

Objective 4: Connect mobile app to DWeb backend

Activity 1.1: Implement API for pinning and clearing sites
Activity 1.2: Manage data consistency and state

Deliverable 1: Integrated app with working data flow
Deliverable 2: Data management protocols
Estimated Time: 3-4 weeks

Objective 5: Assess app and data security

Activity 1.1: Perform a security and risk audit of the app and data

Deliverable 1: Security audit with threat modeling and recommendations for improving security in additional phases
Estimated Time: 2-3 weeks

Objective 6: Mobile optimization

Activity 1.1: Optimize battery and data usage

Deliverable 1: Performance-optimized mobile app

Estimated Time: 2-3 weeks

Objective 7: Conduct user testing

Activity 1.1: Conduct unit, integration, and UX testing with local communities for in-field feedback
Activity 1.2: Test network and peering behavior

Deliverable 1: Test reports
Deliverable 2: Bug fixes and optimizations
Estimated Time: 3-4 weeks

Objective 8: Deploy app in-field

Activity 1.1: Prepare for app store submission
Activity 1.2: Create user documentation

Deliverable 1: App store-ready application
Deliverable 2: User guide and support materials available on project website
Estimated Time: 3-4 weeks

(386/500 words)

(383/500 words)

### Are there similar projects that exist already? How is your project different or complementary to those projects?

Various projects share our dedication to improving Internet access in low-bandwidth and censored environments. We're committed to ongoing collaboration with our peers in this field to ensure complementary approaches. One such project is Ceno Browser. Both Ceno and our proposed project leverage p2p networks to help users access information in censorship-prone areas. However, our focus is on mobile-first solutions for regions with limited Internet access, while still designing for the desktop environments to ensure broader accessibility. We differentiate ourselves through the efficient use of p2p protocols like Hypercore, enhancing performance and reducing computational costs. Our project goes beyond access, providing tools for content creation and technical literacy alongside p2p distribution methods. Drawing on our partners’ (Laboratorio Popular de Medios Libres and Servicios Universitarios Y Redes de Conocimientos En Oaxaca (SURCO)) years of grassroot collaborations, we place strong emphasis on community engagement and support for local media.

(146/250 words)

### How long do you estimate this project will take?

Approximately 1 week
Approximately 1 month
1 to 2 months
3 to 5 months
X 6 months to 1 year
1 to 2 years

### How much funding do you estimate you will need? (In US Dollars)*

$120K USD

## 2. Who are the users?

### Who would benefit from this project?

The primary beneficiaries are Indigenous communities in regions with limited, unstable, or censored Internet access.

We are currently collaborating with Laboratorio Popular de Medios Libres on their upcoming Escuela Común project in Ecuador. This initiative will help 13 organizations set up servers for preserving local indigenous and land defenders’ content related to human and earth rights violations.

We see this initial partnership as the basis for peer servers to help seed the data available in our mobile application.

For the initial stage of this project, we'll be working in partnership with [INDIGITAL](https://indigital.surcooaxaca.org/) and [Laboratorio Popular de Medios Libres](https://laboratoriodemedios.org/). Both organizations have extensive involvement with Triqui, Mazateco, Mixe and Zapoteco Indigenous communities in Oaxaca, México and Mayan communities in México, and Shuar, Siekopaai and Pakkiru nations on the Ecuadorian Amazonia.

During their work setting up community networks and radio, these organizations have found that there is little to no content produced and distributed locally in their languages related to local and shared struggles. INDIGITAL's work in linguistic justice [promotes production and access to information in indigenous languages](https://indigital.surcooaxaca.org/recursos-en-lenguas/) while making use of community networks from Oaxaca.

In their efforts to fight against Big Tech’s domination of infrastructure, Laboratorio de Medios' work with Indigenous media collectives has allowed communities to set-up, own, and maintain their own community networks, to the point where women in these communities are helping others to set their own tech infrastructure.

We are committed to working alongside communities to co-design tools that work in their specific circumstances, and conform to their understanding of digital interfaces and how they relate and mesh into their daily lives. Some of these groups have their own alphabets, while others follow oral traditions, so we envision a UX for the sites produced that can respect and follow these customs, instead of imposing our Western, text-centric UX.

These communities will benefit from the proposed "sneaker mesh" through the increased ability to upload content to custom websites through the Sutty CMS and distribute it on the web and within community networks via Distributed Press using DWeb protocols.

Further resources:

Laboratorio de Medios Libres:

* https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7227323931240656899/?actorCompanyId=98825506
* https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7171362290254987264
* https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7198885098509778946
* https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7168030965229928448
* https://compendium.letras.ulisboa.pt/index.php/compendium/article/view/93

INDIGITAL (SURCO):

* https://dwebcamp2024.sched.com/event/1gxbm
* https://www.derechosdigitales.org/19613/indigital-derechos-digitales-en-lenguas-indigenas/
* https://blog.lacnic.net/promocion-de-derechos-digitales-en-pueblos-y-comunidades-de-oaxaca-mexico/
* https://www.nvinoticias.com/oaxaca/general/presentan-espacio-digital-para-la-participacion-politica-de-indigenas/138670

(439/500 words)

### Where are your intended users, or audiences located?

See help guide for more information. <https://guide.opentech.fund/appendix-i-concept-note-guide#where-are-your-intended-users-or-audiences-located>

Northern Africa
Eastern Africa
Western Africa
Southern Africa
Middle Africa
Central Asia
Eastern Asia
Southern Asia
South-Eastern Asia
Western Asia
Eastern Europe
Northern Europe
Southern Europe
Western Europe
Caribbean
X Central America
X Southern America
X Northern America
Melanesia
Micronesia
Polynesia
Australia and New Zealand
Global

## 3. About you and your team

### What is your name?*

Sutty Worker Coop

### What email address should we use to contact you?*

[e-mail]

### Why are you, and your team members, the right people to work on this project?

Our team combines technical expertise with a deep understanding of the needs of activist groups and grassroots media collectives. We have a [proven track record](https://ffdweb.org/blog/building-distributed-press-a-publishing-tool-for-the-decentralized-web/) of developing decentralized applications and engaging with local communities to address their specific challenges.

Our proposed project team draws on the strength of two worker-cooperatives and two non-profit organizations. Organization overviews are below; a list of bios is attached.

Sutty Worker Co-operative is a worker-owned web consultancy based in Argentina, building more secure and safer websites with a focus on social, human rights, land defenders, LGBTTQIA+ organizations, actors of the social economy and activist collectives. Sutty is also the name of a content management system for these websites, through which they can be published and distributed as websites, on the distributed web (DWeb) and the Fediverse, thanks to our integration with Distributed Press.

Hypha Worker Co-operative is a Canadian worker-owned technical consultancy, partnering with organizations who seek out our deep knowledge and expertise in cryptography, decentralized governance, web protocols, and distributed ledger technologies. Our focus is on creative partnerships and the human rights use cases of these emerging technologies. Working in solidarity with our global neighbors, we collaborate to imagine and create alternative digital futures.

Laboratorio Popular de Medios Libres (the People's Laboratory for Free Media (LPML)) has been working on two crucial areas of new technologies: structured community networks and the development of autonomous servers. They have initiated a process of training system administrators to address digital communication needs from a community perspective, away from the surveillance-based commercial dynamics that have prevailed in recent decades. Through these efforts, they have generated a network of people with technical skills and a growing infrastructure of local networks and services. At the same time, they promote a narrative that fosters the development of digital skills and the formation of a society capable of discussing the Internet and ICTs that communities really need to meet their needs. With a presence in Mexico, Ecuador and Peru, they have systematized the training processes through their Escuela Común initiative.

Servicios Universitarios y Redes de Conocimientos en Oaxaca (University Services and Knowledge Networks in Oaxaca, (SURCO)), is a grassroots, not-for-profit organization legally constituted in August 2011 to offer a bridge between academia and social activism in Mexico. Since 2012, SURCO has been involved in several initiatives to promote cultural diversity with universities in the United States, Canada, Germany, and Austria. We believe that knowledge is not only to interpret the world, but to change it. The integration of formal education and community activism allows us to offer dynamic and diverse opportunities to the participants of our programs and projects, facilitating connections to the international context and collaborations with local projects in the state. To this end we foster academic exchanges with a network of universities in Mexico, USA, Canada and Europe.

(473/500 words)

(462/500 words)

### Please upload any supporting documents to your application.

Full team bios: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16e1_XruPscTTyc-v7b2PPRaaafjBdSbUqeGxry4E7yo/edit?usp=sharing
Distributed Press slide deck: ADD LINK

Accepted file types are .doc, .docx, .odp, .ods, .odt, .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .rtf, .txt, .xls, .xlsx

### If this project is for a community gathering, what is your proposed start date?

The start date for this event must be at least 90 days after the application has been submitted.

See help guide for more information. <https://guide.opentech.fund/appendix-i-concept-note-guide#what-is-your-proposed-start-date-for-this-project>

## 4. I acknowledge:

### I am at least 18 years of age*

### My application will be dismissed if it does not fit within OTF's mission, values, principles statements.*

### I have read and understand OTF's Terms and Privacy policy.*

### I understand that all intellectual property created with support for this application must be openly licensed.*

### If my project involves technology development, I agree to undergo a code security audit facilitated by OTF*

## 5. Submit for review