Kauaʻi Digital Village - Community Infrastructure
Kauaʻi Digital Village
In the ahupuaʻa system, resources flowed from mountain to sea, shared by all who tended them. Water, fish, timber—managed collectively, sustained perpetually.
We’re building the same thing. But for bandwidth, storage, and compute.
The Village We’re Building
Kauaʻi Digital Village isn’t a place. It’s an infrastructure commons for the North Shore.
Community-owned networks. Local-first services. Captive portals that respect privacy. Radio stations that broadcast when cell towers don’t. Knowledge bases that survive platform extinction.
MCT builds the systems. The community owns them.
What’s Already Running
Laulima Portal Network
WiFi that teaches
A captive portal system that doesn’t harvest data. Instead, it offers:
- Tide and weather data
- Community bulletin board
- Local-first services
- Emergency broadcast capability
Currently deployed at three North Shore locations.
Tomorrow Radio
Broadcast that doesn’t need broadband
Community radio that runs on solar power and transmits on FM. When internet fails, radio persists.
- Local music library
- Emergency broadcast system
- Community DJ slots
- Podcast to FM bridge
SALAD Game System
Stories that learn you
A psychological profiling game that creates personalized community newsletters. Not surveillance—participants control their data, see their profiles, choose their stories.
Village Knowledge Base
Wisdom without WiFi
Offline-first documentation hub. How-tos, guides, procedures—all accessible on local network without internet.
- Disaster prep guides
- Technical documentation
- Community resources
- Historical archives
What’s Being Built
Mesh Network Backbone
Point-to-point wireless links between willing homes. When Starlink fails, the mesh remains.
Community Cloud (Nextcloud)
Shared storage and services. Your photos backed up to your neighbor’s server, their documents to yours. Mutual aid infrastructure.
Local DNS & Services
.lan domains that work without internet. Essential services hosted locally. Email that routes through the village first.
Energy Infrastructure
Solar + battery systems for critical nodes. The network runs when KIUC doesn’t.
The Architecture
Three Layers
Layer 1: Physical
Hardware in homes. Routers, servers, radios. Owned by individuals, connected to community.
Layer 2: Network
Mesh connections, local DNS, traffic routing. The nervous system that connects the nodes.
Layer 3: Services
Shared applications, storage, compute. The value layer that makes it worth building.
Design Principles
Local-First
Everything works on local network first. Internet is enhancement, not requirement.
Community-Owned
No corporate entity owns the infrastructure. Cooperative model, shared governance.
Resilient by Design
Multiple paths, multiple backups, graceful degradation. Built for storms.
Privacy Preserving
No surveillance capitalism. No data harvesting. No advertising business model.
How to Join
As a Node Host
Provide physical space and power for infrastructure. Receive priority support and free access to all services.
As a Builder
Contribute skills: networking, programming, documentation, training. Help expand the village.
As a Member
Pay monthly cooperative fee. Access all village services. Vote on governance decisions.
As a Supporter
One-time or recurring donations. Fund infrastructure expansion. No voting rights but full gratitude.
Current Nodes
Anini Beach Area
- 3 mesh nodes active
- Laulima portal deployed
- 200GB community storage
Princeville
- 2 nodes planned
- High-elevation advantage
- Solar power available
Hanalei
- 1 node active
- Radio broadcast tower
- Emergency services priority
Kīlauea
- 2 nodes in development
- Agricultural monitoring focus
- School connection planned
The Economics
Costs (Monthly)
- Hardware amortization: $500
- Internet backhaul: $400
- Power: $200
- Maintenance: $300
- Total: $1,400
Revenue (Target)
- 50 member households × $30 = $1,500
- Break-even at 47 members
- Surplus funds infrastructure expansion
Value Proposition
For the price of one streaming service, get:
- Resilient internet access
- Private cloud storage
- Email services
- Local-first apps
- Community support
- Digital sovereignty
The Vision
By 2027, North Shore Kauaʻi has:
- 500 connected households
- 50TB community storage
- 99.9% local service uptime
- 72-hour offline capability
- Zero platform dependencies
When the next hurricane hits, when the next platform changes its rules, when the next privacy breach happens—the village endures.
FAQ
Is this legal?
Yes. Community networks are explicitly protected by FCC rules. We’re not an ISP—we’re a cooperative infrastructure project.
How is this different from Starlink?
Starlink provides internet. We provide digital infrastructure. Starlink connects you to the world. We connect you to your community.
What about maintenance?
MCT provides ongoing support. Community members learn to maintain their nodes. Knowledge spreads like the network does.
Can this scale?
The architecture scales infinitely. Each new node adds capacity. The limiting factor is community will, not technology.
Why should I trust this?
You shouldn’t. You should verify. All code is open source. All infrastructure is inspectable. Trust is earned through transparency.
Join the Village
The digital commons won’t build itself. We need node hosts, builders, members, and supporters.
The ahupuaʻa worked because everyone understood their kuleana—their privilege and responsibility. The digital village works the same way. We build it together, or we don’t build it at all.
Kauaʻi Digital Village
In the ahupuaʻa system, resources flowed from mountain to sea, shared by all who tended them. Water, fish, timber—managed collectively, sustained perpetually.
We’re building the same thing. But for bandwidth, storage, and compute.
The Village We’re Building
Kauaʻi Digital Village isn’t a place. It’s an infrastructure commons for the North Shore.
Community-owned networks. Local-first services. Captive portals that respect privacy. Radio stations that broadcast when cell towers don’t. Knowledge bases that survive platform extinction.
MCT builds the systems. The community owns them.
What’s Already Running
Laulima Portal Network
WiFi that teaches
A captive portal system that doesn’t harvest data. Instead, it offers:
- Tide and weather data
- Community bulletin board
- Local-first services
- Emergency broadcast capability
Currently deployed at three North Shore locations.
Tomorrow Radio
Broadcast that doesn’t need broadband
Community radio that runs on solar power and transmits on FM. When internet fails, radio persists.
- Local music library
- Emergency broadcast system
- Community DJ slots
- Podcast to FM bridge
SALAD Game System
Stories that learn you
A psychological profiling game that creates personalized community newsletters. Not surveillance—participants control their data, see their profiles, choose their stories.
Village Knowledge Base
Wisdom without WiFi
Offline-first documentation hub. How-tos, guides, procedures—all accessible on local network without internet.
- Disaster prep guides
- Technical documentation
- Community resources
- Historical archives
What’s Being Built
Mesh Network Backbone
Point-to-point wireless links between willing homes. When Starlink fails, the mesh remains.
Community Cloud (Nextcloud)
Shared storage and services. Your photos backed up to your neighbor’s server, their documents to yours. Mutual aid infrastructure.
Local DNS & Services
.lan domains that work without internet. Essential services hosted locally. Email that routes through the village first.
Energy Infrastructure
Solar + battery systems for critical nodes. The network runs when KIUC doesn’t.
The Architecture
Three Layers
Layer 1: Physical
Hardware in homes. Routers, servers, radios. Owned by individuals, connected to community.
Layer 2: Network
Mesh connections, local DNS, traffic routing. The nervous system that connects the nodes.
Layer 3: Services
Shared applications, storage, compute. The value layer that makes it worth building.
Design Principles
Local-First
Everything works on local network first. Internet is enhancement, not requirement.
Community-Owned
No corporate entity owns the infrastructure. Cooperative model, shared governance.
Resilient by Design
Multiple paths, multiple backups, graceful degradation. Built for storms.
Privacy Preserving
No surveillance capitalism. No data harvesting. No advertising business model.
How to Join
As a Node Host
Provide physical space and power for infrastructure. Receive priority support and free access to all services.
As a Builder
Contribute skills: networking, programming, documentation, training. Help expand the village.
As a Member
Pay monthly cooperative fee. Access all village services. Vote on governance decisions.
As a Supporter
One-time or recurring donations. Fund infrastructure expansion. No voting rights but full gratitude.
Current Nodes
Anini Beach Area
- 3 mesh nodes active
- Laulima portal deployed
- 200GB community storage
Princeville
- 2 nodes planned
- High-elevation advantage
- Solar power available
Hanalei
- 1 node active
- Radio broadcast tower
- Emergency services priority
Kīlauea
- 2 nodes in development
- Agricultural monitoring focus
- School connection planned
The Economics
Costs (Monthly)
- Hardware amortization: $500
- Internet backhaul: $400
- Power: $200
- Maintenance: $300
- Total: $1,400
Revenue (Target)
- 50 member households × $30 = $1,500
- Break-even at 47 members
- Surplus funds infrastructure expansion
Value Proposition
For the price of one streaming service, get:
- Resilient internet access
- Private cloud storage
- Email services
- Local-first apps
- Community support
- Digital sovereignty
The Vision
By 2027, North Shore Kauaʻi has:
- 500 connected households
- 50TB community storage
- 99.9% local service uptime
- 72-hour offline capability
- Zero platform dependencies
When the next hurricane hits, when the next platform changes its rules, when the next privacy breach happens—the village endures.
FAQ
Is this legal?
Yes. Community networks are explicitly protected by FCC rules. We’re not an ISP—we’re a cooperative infrastructure project.
How is this different from Starlink?
Starlink provides internet. We provide digital infrastructure. Starlink connects you to the world. We connect you to your community.
What about maintenance?
MCT provides ongoing support. Community members learn to maintain their nodes. Knowledge spreads like the network does.
Can this scale?
The architecture scales infinitely. Each new node adds capacity. The limiting factor is community will, not technology.
Why should I trust this?
You shouldn’t. You should verify. All code is open source. All infrastructure is inspectable. Trust is earned through transparency.
Join the Village
The digital commons won’t build itself. We need node hosts, builders, members, and supporters.
The ahupuaʻa worked because everyone understood their kuleana—their privilege and responsibility. The digital village works the same way. We build it together, or we don’t build it at all.