A nonprofit organization, forming. We train people in local AI systems alongside practical skills — growing food, making tools and clothing, maintaining technology, building capability that persists after we leave.
The model: learn at working sites, not classrooms. Build your own with support. Spread through direct relationship, not franchise.
What this looks like
“Local AI infrastructure” is concrete, not abstract:
- A server in a back room running models you control — not a cloud subscription someone else can revoke
- Voice documentation while your hands are busy — the system captures, transcribes, connects to what you already know
- A knowledge base that belongs to you, in files you can read, on hardware you own
- AI that develops your capability, not replaces your judgment
This isn’t about technology for its own sake. It’s about what becomes possible when communities control their own tools — when the person growing food, making jewelry, or teaching a class can document and build on what they know without depending on platforms that extract more than they give.
Ways in
Not everyone needs to set up a server. There are many ways this work reaches people:
Everyone in the network writes about their work — essays, build logs, experiments. All of it is public. Take what’s useful, ignore the rest.
The network needs diverse skills, not just technology. Agriculture, security, design, textiles, education, craft. If you’re doing real work and wondering what AI tools might mean for it, that’s the conversation we’re having.
Collaborative projects, shared development, open tooling. The group learns by building real things together.
For people who want to establish local AI infrastructure in their own community — direct training at working sites and a starter kit to take home. This is the deepest path and the most independent outcome.
The network
Each person owns their work, their data, and their publishing. The organizational site features selected work from across the network — it doesn’t control it. Nobody gatekeeps anybody else’s site.
Named after the water lily genus — rooted in local conditions, rising to meet the light.
We’re early: building the proof-of-concept, recruiting collaborators, documenting the process. Essays and project writeups will appear on individual sites as they come online.
If you’re doing related work — local food systems, community technology, appropriate technology, education, creative practice — and want to explore what this could mean for your community, we’d like to hear from you.