People of Earth collaborates with eco-village inhabitants on digital independence
Much of our daily communication uses digital platforms: neighbours keeping in touch through WhatsApp groups, colleagues arranging meetings in Teams and creatives staying up to date on events using Instagram. However, communities are increasingly resisting the use of these technologies due to their ecological and social implications. Brothers Frederick and Phillip Ekwaro-Osire help communities develop alternatives as part of the Rooted Networks project, supported by the Open Call Grounding the Cloud.
6 August 2026
Frederick and Phillip Ekwaro-Osire and their collective People of Earth are working on a sustainable, independent communications network in collaboration with Eco-dorp Land van Aine (abbreviated to: ELvA). The village – a green oasis of kitchen gardens, food forests and a swimming pond – is situated in the south east of the province of Groningen (NL). The approximately 65 inhabitants aim to live sustainably, among other things by cultivating their own food. This way of life demands a suitable means of communication.
These ideas come together in Rooted Networks: a communications network that relies as little as possible on existing digital infrastructure. LoRa, a radio communication technique that allows messages to be sent over long distances using very little energy, was selected instead of the internet or a mobile telephony tower. A network of small, solar-powered transmitters will enable inhabitants to communicate without using commercial platforms or having to have an internet subscription.
We soon found out we shared a lot of ideas concerning technology and sustainability.
For People of Earth, the project is part of a more wide-ranging search for technology that does not demand continuous growth and raw-materials consumption, but aligns with human and environmental limitations. The makers are inspired by a variety of visions of the future that connect sustainability, community building and technological autonomy including Afrofuturism, solarpunk and permacomputing.
Inhabitants co-create
Rooted Networks will not be developed for, but in collaboration with ELvA’s inhabitants. At the first meeting, People of Earth presented the network’s options and inhabitants immediately came up with applications and design choices. This led to ideas including solar-powered transmitters, housings made from natural materials and applications for local cooperations.
The session also made it apparent that the community already has a lot of know-how. Some inhabitants had experience with network technologies and immediately recognised the opportunities presented by the system. To further expand the experiment, People of Earth left a LoRa radio behind so inhabitants could explore and test themselves.
Technology as a form of autonomy
To Frederick, the project is ultimately about who controls technology. As a Black digital maker, he critically examines the chains behind digital technology, ranging from raw-materials extraction to the development of digital infrastructure.
‘A decolonial perspective that also takes contemporary forms of extraction into account is often lacking in discussions of sustainable technology,’ he explains. ‘Communities can develop alternatives that are better aligned with their own holistic, sustainable values if they gain control of the technologies utilised.’
Communities can develop alternatives that are better aligned with their own holistic, sustainable values if they gain control of the technologies utilised.
It is precisely this desire for more ownership that he recognises at ELvA. Although their backgrounds differ, People of Earth and the eco-village both desire to be less dependent on systems they have limited influence on.
‘ELvA is located in an area rich in raw materials, however the inhabitants have little say in how these are used. Their solution is to provide an alternative way of life that is less dependent on extractive systems. By jointly developing more autonomy over our technology, we can implement these ideas step by step.’
Rooted Networks is supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL’s Open Call Grounding the Cloud. The call is for makers and collectives that make digital technology’s impact on humans and the environment tangible, and who come up with alternatives. The call will be reopened for new applications from 17 August 15:00 CEST until 14 September 16:00 CEST 2026.
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