Red Libre de Ometepe

2007 Update

2007-10-04T11:56:00.000-06:00

I've owed this blog some word since leaving it on such a dire note. Since I left Nicaragua in July of 2006, the Red Libre has continued to operate. There have been the usual problems with getting people to pay, but I've not been made aware of anything more serious.

In February of 2008 the satellite service contract is up for renewal. I don't know how we could get funding and a replacement system up by then, but it would be lovely if we could. It looks like I'll most likely be tied up here in the US through the end of the year, for reasons truly beyond my control. Perhaps this is a good time to try to find a new volunteer?

2006-07-30T02:34:00.000-05:00

IBW wants $1,000 for repairing our VSAT.

Who takes responsibility now?

Home

2006-07-10T16:25:00.000-05:00

I've re-scheduled my return flight for the 20th of July--10 days from today. I look forward to seeing many of you soon!

2006-07-07T10:52:00.000-05:00

What I've been doing all this time: waiting, and dealing with crises. It's a bad state, and I got myself in it. I've threatened to go home early, I've despaired, and I've gone on vacation.

The status is this: PEMCE says we're approved, everything's fine, but that our project at the bottom of the list for priority among a couple hundred projects, because ours is so small. I have been calling them for months, and have always been told to call back next week.

Two weeks ago, the batteries from the repeater in Altagracia were stolen for a second time. I bought a couple more (U$140 each) with money from David, and sent them back to the island, while I went to take a few days off. They were not installed by the time I got back, I guess because folks in Altagracia were too afraid to do so.

Si a la Vida's router is connected to the Internet, but not to the computers there. My fear is that, as I made one end of the cable carrying signal and power to the router, and Wally Hedman made the other, we used different wiring schemes, 48 volts went through a signal circuit, and the ethernet port is fried. I'm going to test that today. If it's the case.. well, I'll do what I've been doing for a while now: the best I can with the little I have.

There's been renewed interest in forming a cooperative apart from Finca Magdalena, particularly on the part of Sonia Koffler (Hotel Villa Paraiso), Hotel Castillo, me, and the BOSIA office (i.e. Kari, the present volunteer). We had some enthusiastic meetings, but so far nobody's actually done any of the tasks they've been given. As has been pointed out, things are more likely to do something if they're paid to do so, and there's the rub.

We desperately need a paid administrator to take things forward: negotiate contracts, put some marketing together, make a concrete business plan, and all the rest of the things that should have been a part of the planning process that never happened. I am not interested in being that person, nor should I be him. We have a lawyer who seems to care about the project, and is willing to help us encorporate as a cooperative, but of course would need some money to be able to commit his time.

We would need about $10-12,000 US to make the infrastructure more robust and wide-reaching, to hire an administrator, do some marketing, and generally get the business to a stable place. There's money around if we wanted to take out a low- or zero-interest loan, but it's not clear how quickly we could pay that off. Nor is it clear that if and when the project money comes through, we could use that money to repay our debt.

It's unclear to me how to move forward. The latest I will be coming home is August 18, which doesn't really leave much time to get anything done. I'm now considering coming home within a few weeks, and buying a flight back to Nicaragua when the money to do so materializes. I need a realistic plan, but it's very difficult to do not knowing what will happen even within a month or two.

I'm learning how to play these games—of projects, of working in Nicaragua, of life—but I seem to learn things just a little too late. I'm slow, we always knew that. I owe a review of Things We Should Have Done Differently, and perhaps one of things I've personally learned. I haven't forgotten, David.

Cinco de Mayo

2006-05-05T13:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning, our satellite equipment "woke up" dead. Apparently, the fans blew out, which allowed the power supply to overheat. Or possibly the other way around. In any case, it's fixed now. I'm still in Managua, and should have it back, installed, and operational, by tomorrow afternoon.

More exciting news is that PEMCE says that they are committed to funding our proposal. It needs to be mashed into the Logical Framework format, but they're going to commit personnel to this; we don't have to do it. If we're very lucky, we'll have money within a month.

Also, the Red Libre de Ometepe / Coop. Carlos Díaz Cajina no longer owes IBW money.

We're getting there.

Agatsu

2006-04-11T09:39:00.000-06:00

I ought to say, that the counterpart of the Forces of Awesome is the Way of Wonder, presently exhibited in a near-by shaded structure by some nuns and a gaggle of Balgüeño children. It is here and now. Like masa katsu versus katsu hayabi.

2006-04-10T16:21:00.000-06:00

I have a new phone number: 505-829-7858. Give it a try! Many thanks to John Wyss for gifting me the phone and chip. You can also try sip:762546@fwd.pulver.com, if I'm around my computer.

The Red Libre de Ometepe means many things to many people. It helps business people connect to their customers and each other. For students and teachers, it's a research tool, and a "window to the world". For BOSIA, it's a way to bridge worlds, and to improve the quality of education on Ometepe. For me, it is an opportunity to learn, to extend myself into the world, and to experience life more fully.

The very protocols on which the Internet and the RLO are founded afford this flexibility. As the network of networks becomes ubiquitous on the island and in the world, people will be able to find new ways to interact and organize themselves. These possibilities are the cats in the box of globalism, a profound storm of liberalization that spares none.

Such dramatic and rapid change in all sectors of society opens chances for shifts of power. It is my intention to pull against the concentration of power, and to do what I can to empower individuals to understand and control their environments intelligently and creatively. This—the thing I want to promote, not necessarily the promotion itself—is what I call (with tounge in cheek) "the force of Awesome." It is counterposed to that of Good, which is the best a governing body can hope to attain.

All classes of use of the network—for business, in education, in public places, basic services, advanced services, anti-social or normal activities—can be part of the path to empowerment and self-realization. Some things have to come before others, but I am enduringly, patiently committed to the goal.

I welcome any comments. Please note that this was written quickly, though.

Final Proposal

2006-04-09T15:35:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the help of Janet Wheelock of ANETIC and Isabel Medrano, the proposal of the Red Libre de Ometepe to PEMCE has been finalized and submitted. For real, this time. The final document is here (600KB PDF, 12 pages of Spanish text and figures). It says that in the second half of 2006, the Ometepe Freenet Project would like help to do the following things:

install small computer labs with new computers in two schools, and staff one teaching position,

improve the stability and speed, and reach of existing network infrastructure through taller towers, better equipment, and better battery backup,

extend the reach of the network with a new tower near Charco Verde / San José del Sur,

get someone to do a little PR work, such as a basic website and a brochure for prospective and existing users,

support two student interns to work on projects such as new services, extending the network, specializing systems, or localization and translation of documents to support wireless networking in Spanish-speaking countries, and

support two student interns to develop a business plan and platform for public access points in communities across the island.

That sounds like a lot, because it is, but we'll have a lot more people to help out. The project is developing links with universities on the mainland, and participating in national roundtables regarding many aspects ICT development.

To diverge from the subject at hand, the author would like to complain that his big toe was savagely stung just a moment ago by a large, red wasp. Said wasp was unadvisedly constructing a nest hanging from the far underside of the desk, which the author inadvertently nudged with the aforementioned big toe upon resting his feet on a bucket. No class of life form is so prevalent at the Finca Magdalena Network Operations Center these days as the wasp.

Back to business, one of the aforementioned roundtables is on regulation. We want to "liberalize" Nicaragua's ludicrously over-regulated communications industry, including de-licensing 2.4GHz, which this project uses. Telcor appears to be taking us seriously, which is encouraging.

It's Summer, and it's warm. I have a camera now, and will try to take some pictures to show you a little more of what my world looks like. This will be fed into my Flickr stream, and may not be noted upon here. Note that Flickr provides XML feeds for your convenience.

Also, I've started to try to clean up the office. I have a long way to go.

That is all.

Back from Lands North

2006-03-30T20:12:00.000-06:00

There is photo evidence over on flickr. Right into the thick. And the heat.

We

2006-03-15T20:34:00.000-06:00

These people have the awesome:
Boundless
I want to be like them when I grow up.
Also.. We're everywhere:
WSFII

Across the globe, free information systems are emerging. Many of them are headed by very creative, community-minded, lovely people. From this comes new ways of being together, new forms of education, and an inversion of power. Given dedication, intelligence, and love.

San Pedro

2006-03-15T08:51:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was pi day; today is the ides of March.

I find myself in San Pedro Sula, Guatemala after an 11-hour bus trip, with just a large day-pack half-full of gifts. Besides being long and unnecessarily air-conditioned, the trip included a truck sprawled across the road on its side, and people in funny outfits collecting scattered chicken cages and gathering escaped chickens.

Today and tomorrow I'm visiting children sponsored by my father and step-mother through Children International. They send money every month for things the children or children's families need, as well as for a general fund for health care, etc. So I'll be meeting them, taking pictures, and seeing a little of what their lives are like.

Not much project news. Ever wrote to say that the Altagracia repeater went down, but came back up after he cleaned some electrical contacts. I think that there's been an organizational mishap with the funding proposal, and a woman and I are both waiting on each other for the other's part of the proposal to be turned in. That should be easy to fix, but it's too bad the process has dragged out into my vacation.

Anyone know anything fun to do in San Pedro Sula?

Progress

2006-03-08T10:39:00.000-06:00

I've neglected to post here until now: Three new nodes are online on the Red Libre de Ometepe. They are a "Cyber" run by los Cabrera of Altagracia, the new Hotel Cabañas in Santo Domingo, and the Insituto Nacional Ladislav Chwal Binksy (INLCB) of Altagracia. We're very happy both for the improved financial viability of the network, and the gradual realization of its social goals.

Yours truly is to leave the island at the end of this week for Managua, followed by a two week vacation in Honduras and Guatemala. Before leaving, our proposal to PEMCE (DFID and the UN Office for Project Services) will be complete, and hopefully a solicitation for license to sell Internet service.

The latter process gives no sign that anyone in the Nicaraguan government understands the Internet as anything other than a commodity, that is, there is no sign of recognition of the original intent of the Internet, nor of the decentralized and community-based structure of a freenet. The level of beaurocracy surrounding these activities prohibits anything like the kind of growth in coverage and access that Nicaragua supposedly desires. Perhaps through CONIPROSIT we'll have the opportunity to open some minds.

If anyone knows of any interesting community radio or community networking projects in Honduras, Guatemala, or El Salvador, please let me know soon!

Proposal draft

2006-02-17T21:04:00.000-06:00

Here is the (Spanish) text of the (still not quite finalized) proposal of the Red libre de Ometepe to PEMCE, an organization of the British government and the UN. There's a bit more to it; I'll post the final version within a week or two.

Notes

2006-02-03T19:06:00.000-06:00

I've got a mail box!
Apartado 3
Moyogalpa
Rivas
NICARAGUA, C.A.
Please allow 10 days for delivery, a couple weeks for someone to notice that something's arrived, and maybe another week for me to get over to the other side of the island.
My mother's coming! Arriving midday Tuesday. If you've any small thing for her to bring down, let me know and I'll put you in touch.
They came and fiddled with our satellite terminal! I think it might be better now, hard to tell so soon. We're now with a company called NewSkies, which is not based in Israel. We seem to have slightly better ping time through their satellite, but they use the same private addresses as we do, which is annoying but acceptable.
There will shortly be news involving chocolate!

Advocates of Wi-Fi in Cities Learn Art of Politics

2006-01-22T18:51:00.000-06:00

Check out this recent article from the New York Times.

The Meeting

2006-01-22T09:44:00.000-06:00

Our first big community meeting in a year happened yesterday morning. Many folks from around the island showed up to hear us give a "state of the network" report, and discuss the mid-term goals and needs for the project. They asked good questions, made good comments, and generally showed a lot of enthusiasm and interest in the advancement of the network.

Those goals are:

Straighten out our financial situation, and make sure it stays that way. Ideally, this would be the responsibility of some trustworthy person, who also has some responsibility for strategic development of the project-as-business.

Train a number (3+) of technically-adept folks who are geographically dispersed about the island to do new installations, maintenance, and support. This implies setting up at least one school and Sí a La Vida, which will be done as part of the training.

Expanding the network, making the service more reliable, and adding clients to reduce the financial burden of (and severe dependence on) our present commercial clients. A new tower, successfully installed in Sinacapa with a wireless link to the mainland, should bring us a long way in this direction.

Several of these items require, or don't make sense without, more money than we currently have, being Very Little. Also, we can't expand the network or add new clients without more antennas. The last ones we sent down were confiscated by customs, and there don't seem to be any for sale in country.

Now, we have found potential solutions to both of those problems. We're going to try to bring the antennas in through the CDC coop. And I have a very little time to get a proposal together for Cooperación Britanica, which may be very interested in a network that puts them in better contact with the many small organizations they work with.

We are on the brink of the next major phase of the project, when things will pick up dramatically. The next 6-10 months are absolutely critical. It's an exciting time!

Phone, Post

2006-01-16T18:14:00.000-06:00

I've got a phone: +0 505 654 0645. I don't have access while at home, mind. You can SMS me at this webpage. If anyone finds an email->sms gateway for Enitel, please please let me know.

Also, El Nuevo Diario wrote an article about the project and forgot to tell me about it. Linked above. They got all their information from the project proposal, and didn't bother to interview either David or me. But hey, 30 seconds of fame, etc. I found the same article under three different dates. I don't know if they published it three times, or if their web site is broken.

Excitement lies on the horizon—hold on, boys.

Ometepe in January

2006-01-12T17:10:00.000-06:00

David Adler has been here for a few weeks to babysit his very successful coffee roaster project. Finca Magdalena is now roasting their own, high-grade coffee in an approx. $1000 barbeque-based roaster, rather than over an open fire. The result is far less labor and smoke inhalation, a much better roast, and a far superior cup of coffee.

You can read about his experiences, and those of his comrades, on their blog.

Arrived

2006-01-11T17:27:00.000-06:00

I guess I've neglected this blog of late.

I arrived safely on Ometepe last night, having run into Kim, Ela (sp), and Emily while waiting for the ferry. Everything is just a little different, myself included.

Most significantly, people seem more enthusiastic about the project. They're doing less nodding and taking more action to provide for something that's important to them. I'm not just talking about the hotels; the mayors of both Altagracia and Moyogalpa have gone out of their ways to show their interest in the project. Partly for this reason, and partly because I don't broke any more, I'm more optimistic about the project this time around. I don't have a lot of time--about two months, a break, and about two more months--but I hope that will help keep me on track.

We're (the project fund) mostly broke, by the way. I brought a couple more routers down, but I think we're out or nearly out of antennas. David and I will look for a source in Managua on Monday. There is supposedly some money we can make a bid for, though, so I'm hopeful that we'll be able to set up a tower on Sinacapa, near San José del Sur, sometime this year. The mayors should be able to help us find the money.

The goals for this stay are:
- Train someone here on the island
- Get the business squared away (a reliable manager, a business model that's acceptable to the users)
- Start the ball rolling towards the future (Sinacapa, money, etc)
- Get the schools set up (finally)
- Install a few more clients

What order these happen in, and which of them happen at all, depends a lot on a meeting we've planned with various folks for (I believe) the 18th. We'll keep you better informed in the future, and let you know how the meeting goes.

Peter

[x-posted to the freenet list]

Article in the Bainbridge Review

2005-12-24T01:48:00.000-06:00

There's an article about the project and my involvement with it in this week's Bainbridge Review. Click the headline of this post to be taken to it.

If you're coming here from that article, there is a link to the correct address for the project website at screen right.

I return to Nicaragua January 9th. BOSIA sponsored my airfare, and some semi-anonymous donor is sponsoring my stay. I appreciate the support very much. I'm a little worried, though, that we won't have enough money to do the things we want to do.

Photos from Ometepe

2005-09-16T21:13:00.000-05:00

Found someone's excellent pictures from Ometepe in ~2000 via del.icio.us. Take a look—there are some familiar faces caught extraordinarily well.

Home

2005-08-23T12:50:00.000-05:00

I arrived safely back in Seattle, in case anyone was still wondering. This is a strange land, but stranger is who I am when here. Everything's more complicated; there are many distractions. Still, it's comfortable and familiar, and that's what I've been longing for. Mt. Si was cold and crisp when I said hello to my old friends cedar, doug fir, and the mountain berries (were there always wild raspberries at the top?).

I'm broke, trying to avoid spending money, and looking for a little work. (Know anyone who needs an experienced network or linux server administrator?) I'm starting to do writing in preparation for grant proposals, meaning I need to do some visioning for the project. I will, of course, let you know when I have written anything worthwhile, and ask for your feedback. For now I am structuring the writing around a new website, presently located here, for which David owes me a narrative history of the project (*cough*), and an ometepe.net dns entry.

There's plenty more than that, of course, but no need to bore you. In a week and a half I set out on the Wonderland Trail. It seems like an indulgent use of time and money, but it's been in the works for so long, and I've been missing the Northwest landscapes so.

That's it, I'll keep you up to date.

The Wire

2005-08-06T12:45:00.000-05:00

After enjoying several natural disasters, my time here his coming to a close. Yet, strangely, it seems like things are just beginning for the project.

I did a presentation on Tuesday at the Mesa de Conectividad, a roundtable for entities involved in Internet connectivity in the country. Consequently, several people, including students and schools, are offering their assistance. Of course, this will have to wait until we have more time on the island, and some money to pay folks for living expenses. But when I get back down in December, as I'm planning nowadays, we may well have several interns, some press attention, some funding, and one or two more foreign volunteers. It's a lot to come together in 3-4 months, but we'll give it a shot.

Also, a group in Estelí is planning some pretty cool projects in that department. I may do a workshop for a week or so in February on wireless and/or Linux. Ooh, another earthquake… waiting for it to show up in the seismic monitor. From there, or sometime shortly after that, I may visit a project or two in Guatemala. And by then, I'll probably be broke again, and it'll be the hot season again on Ometepe, so I may head home. But really, I can't plan that far in advance.

Today's task is to work on an up-to-date webpage for the project.

Cuba

2005-07-27T17:19:00.000-05:00

Picture 064
Originally uploaded by qazwsxmko.
Additional pictures on her and my photo streams.

Anna is back safely in Seattle, and I'm here at my post over Lake Nicaragua. Everything almost as I left it. High humidity and persistent (even when it's sunny) rolls of thunder. The rains have made the roads bad again, and I'm down to half the normal number of transportation options. But I have a good feeling about my remaining just-under-three weeks here. There's a lot to take care of, but volunteer is coming Monday to help out, so we'll see what we can do.

How was the trip? It was very good, thanks. I got frustrated with myself on several occasions for making us spend too much money, or failing to plan enough to take better advantage of our time. And there was a hell of a lot of time spent in transit, some of it unnecessary. But that's how it goes, neh? I think I learned a thing or two about travelling.

And Cuba? I've been saying, a different world; unlike anywhere I've been. Propaganda everywhere, commerce so controlled, and repressed. No es fácil was the constant refrain, and it sure seemed to be the case. People wanted anything spare we could give them. Mostly, the people we talked to blamed Fidel Castro for their conditions, if they had the nerve to blame anyone. No one had much interest in talking about the future.

Some of the hilights of the trip: horseriding through the Miraflor reserve in northern Nicaragua, scrounged-up dinner on the front porch during a class 4 hurricane, excellent music, moped-ing along the coast near Baracoa, and living it up for a few days in San José, Costa Rica. Many thanks to Anna for her companionship, for revivifying my life down here.

Dennis

2005-07-12T16:07:00.000-05:00

Just in case any of you were worried about our well-being out here, I can assure you that Anna and I survived the recent hurricane just fine. We had spaguetti, beer, cake, and tea on our front porch as rain, coconuts, and roofing material flew by. The center came pretty close to where we were, but it wasn't that dangerous. Some people died in the center of the country, but I think it had slowed down by the time it got to us.

Anyway, we're in Santiago de Cuba, after spending a week or so in and around La Habana. Cuba is certainly another world. There's all the apparent stuff, crumbling architecture in La Habana and classic cars, but I'm trying to get some idea of the politics: what people think of Castro and of the States, what everyday life is like, how people get by. "No es fácil" is the standard refrain.

Well, we just got off a 16-hour bus, so I think we're off to take it easy for a bit. I should check in once or twice more before we take off.

Estelí and Miraflor

2005-07-01T19:43:00.000-05:00

After a few days on the island, Anna and I have made it to Estelí. Besides being cool, and one of my favorite places in the country, Estelí is the setting-off point to get to the Miraflor Reserve. It's a truly beautiful place, so green and cool, with streams everywhere, and moss clouding the trees. We spent a few days wandering around on foot and horseback, and staying at campesinos' houses.

Due to my having to learn a certain lesson twice about buying airplane tickets, we'll be flying out of San José CR on Sunday instead of Managua tomorrow. We also paid about $250 more than expected, my fault. We'll arrive back in San José the 22nd of July, and spend a few days in Costa Rica until Anna's flight home. I don't know how Internet access will be in the meanwhile, although there'll surely be some.

I forgot to bring my camera to this Internet Café, so what pìctures I've taken thus far will have to wait to be uploaded.

Edge

2005-06-20T11:10:00.000-05:00

In less than a week, I'll be leaving this island for a month. My friend Anna arrives Thursday, and after a visit here, we will be headed a bit around Nicaragua, then to a nameless Caribbean country that we're not going to because we're not supposed to. Back somewhere around the 26th of July.

I'm trying to do too many things at once, as usual, meaning I have the Internet connection at the high school here in Balgüe, the whole installation at the high school in Altagracia, and the link for the Alcaldia Municipal de Altagracia all pending. At least one of them will get finished before I leave. The rest I hope to have time to finish in the three weeks I'll pass on the island between vacation and home.

In other news, the President Enrique Bolaños recently called a state of economic emergency following a threat by the Spanish power company Union Fenosa to pull out of the country. Now, there's a little war being waged between the executive and legislative branches of the government, for which reason the Organization of American States (OEA) has been called in. People say this is the most unstable the country's been since the Sandinistas lost power in 1990, but here on the oasis de paz nobody seems to care.

And just like that…

2005-05-31T20:56:00.000-05:00

And, what do you know, the satellite terminal was under warranty and there was another one on hand. So we're back in production. Let's test this baby out..

Sunsets and monkeys for those of you who haven't seen. 'Cause who doesn't like sunsets and monkeys? Note that other people could very well post monkeys and sunsets not from Ometepe, but for now, the photos that are up are mine.

End of May

2005-05-26T14:29:00.000-05:00

Friends,

This is what we often call a "time of trial" for the project. "We're fucked," Santos said, and his laugh brought the despair up from my belly. I saw it on my laugh-breath, tangible, and laughed until I was sure it was all out. It felt like sweating out a sickness. Nicaraguans know how to survive.

What's happened is this: for several weeks, the quality of the satellite signal was poor. It came and went frequently, at times only 30% of the traffic would make it through, and the people who resell our service to tourists were losing business. Not good. Two customers refused to pay May's bill until something improved.

Last Friday I made a trip into Managua to work with our ISP to stabilize the connection. Things seemed to be OK until Monday morning, when the satellite terminal went down and didn't come back up. It wasn't just a question of the signal; the device just doesn't power on. This is verily a Bad Thing™.

I went to Costa Rica Monday to renew my visa and returned Tuesday to find our Internet offerings in a state of death. The next morning I had a meeting to present the idea of putting computers with Internet access at the high school in Altagracia, but I didn't have any idea when we'd actually be able to give them Internet access: next week, in a month, or next year.

I don't know the chances the terminal can be repaired, nor how long it would take to send a replacement, nor if we'd have to pay for one. I have four weeks left on the island to do something. The option of throwing in the rag and trying again next year, doing it right this time, is attractive but rash. We'll have to feel this one out a bit yet.

And that's where I'm at.

Seven Weeks And Counting

2005-05-03T20:45:00.000-05:00

These posts are turning out monthly, which is fine, I suppose. It's May now, and the rainy season has already taunted us with one nighttime downpour. Soon, soon.

On Monday I met with the director, teachers, people from the parents' association, and many of the "best" students at the high school in Balgüe to present more formally our project of installing Internet access there, and ask for their help. I think most of them still don't have much of an idea what Internet access means, although a few who did spoke expansively on what this could mean to their community. I hate running meetings where I have to spend too much of my brain power understanding what people are saying and why. I was therefore greatful to Kari and Dorita from the BOSIA office in Altagracia for their help.

Our goals were and are to ensure that the equipment is used productively, equitably, and sustainably by the students and faculty of the school. To that end, we are going to work with the director to draw up some guidelines for use of the systems. We've also formed a committee including students and teachers that will guide the process. These will be the first to receive training from me, in exchange for looking after the systems and teaching others. I have a distinct feeling once again of flying by the seat of my pants, but I think this will be OK until we can get some more formal systems of support and teaching going (soon? I hope).

I have about seven weeks left on the island, and it'll be just barely enough to get this going here and at the high school in Altagracia.

And that's about all you get tonight. I'm sleepy. Good night.

The Altagracia Milestone

2005-04-09T20:22:00.000-06:00

Despite that a tree lies obstinately in the line of sight between the Altagracia repeater and the pueblo itself, while two of its brethren innocent, have fallen in the name of the project, the Bainbridge-Ometepe Sister Islands Association office was today officially "hooked up" and continues to this moment to be enjoying its newfound connectedness to the outside world. Your humble narrator received a hunk of real, dark chocolate in gratitude for his services rendered.


traceroute to bosia-client.ometepe.net (172.16.4.160), 30 hops max, 38 byte packets
 1  firewall (172.16.1.1)  2.187 ms  1.071 ms  1.002 ms
 2  beneficio-ap (172.16.2.5)  2.215 ms  2.410 ms  2.346 ms
 3  altagracia-repeater (172.16.3.160)  5.227 ms  6.343 ms  7.458 ms
 4  bosia-client (172.16.4.160)  11.417 ms  34.377 ms  7.986 ms

The Hotel Castillo would similarly have been made a part of our trifling network, if the fellow who was to prepare certain elements of the installation hadn't typically forgotten the work and made himself scarce. This was representative of many of my days. Yes, life moves slow here, but slowness is not incompatible with some degree of organization. So it goes.

As soon as the installations are finished and we get some legal business taken care of, my priority is to take some time off away from the island, and write. We need a website, and moreover we need a more developed statement of the values and needs of the project than one finds in the project proposal to be put on such a site.

The goal for the next two months is to clean up, put things in order, and generally try to make sure that the network will survive in our absence. David Mitchell is here for a few days, and has promised me a laundry list of chores. Which is fine.

It's been a long, educational trip so far. Over a bottle of Ommegang I'd brought for a celebratory occasion, David asked me what it was, exactly, that I'd learned. These are some of the bigger items: how to work on my own with few resources; that there are sorts of people one finds here and there around the world that I would wish to have more contact with, people whose energies, values, and maturity (for lack of a better word) I identify with; that in the year or two to come, I want to come into contact with more people to inspire me, perhaps through some smaller-scale projects here and there throughout the region; something about what home means to me; and a thousand smaller things about people, technology, and the world. And this is only the beginning. Who knows where I'll find myself eighteen months down the road, and what I will have learned getting there?

Salud! Thanks for following me along the way.

With a little help..

2005-03-14T13:35:00.000-06:00

I've been back nearly a month. What have I accomplished? I forget how the days were passed, forget work done that did not result in its own totem, saying, "look at me! I blink!" I'm still so pleased with that blinky, even when it's clearly annoying.

Because there is still no connectivity in Altagracia. The repeater is still not ready, and a tree or two need to fall out of the line of sight. No school has Internet access, but computers are coming down in a few weeks, and part of the infrastructure is in place to bounce a signal down to the high school in Balgüe. There is still no local email system, although progress has been made on that front as well.

On the other hand, the Red Libre de Ometepe, S.A. has paid its first two months' Internet bills, with some cash briefly left over. In the last four days I've accomplished more here in Managua than in a couple weeks on Ometepe. With the help of John Wyss, president of our service provider, we know how to proceed to get our taxes and communications licenses in order. We have an outline of a good plan to get technical oversight on the island in time for my departure. And we may shortly have some geographic data of the island to assist greatly with planning the expansion of the network.

These things should have happened months ago. But this time has given me a chance to adapt myself to life down here, and to establish enough of the network to prove that we're for real. Yes, time has been wasted, but without great loss. Social networking, as noted in a prior post was, of course, key.

From here it gets more real, more serious, and more fun.

Another new friend

2005-02-25T12:38:00.000-06:00

People seemed interested in the scary fauna of Ometepe. Here's my office-mate, Ronald. He (?) spans about 5-6 inches in this picture.Click for a bigger picture.

Round Two

2005-02-15T22:10:00.000-06:00

I'm back on Ometepe after a very enjoyable, if hectic, three and a half weeks away. Summer has finally settled in here, about two months late. The ground is less green and more brown than it was, buses are less pleasant to be crowded in, and the tourist season is in full swing. Sweating up to Finca Magdalena at dusk, I was further warmed by the sight and greetings of familiar friends. It was hard to leave home again, but the people, places, and routines of my life here also feel good to return to.

I expect to be gone roughly six months this time around. I intend for much more of that time to be spent off-island than was my practice during my previous stay. Though it's now time to get cracking on the repeaters, more of my attention will go to organizational matters than before. The Ambitious List of Objectives for this trip includes:

build the repeaters at Altagracia and Sinacapa, connecting what sites I can to them;
do the first installs at schools;
network (socially) with more folks in Nicaragua doing related work, or interested in feeding off our project;
find an Idealistic, Young (i.e. foolhardy, works for peanuts) Nicaraguan to take over as soon as possible many of the technical workings of the network, and begin to train local folks;
get the ometepe.net email service up and running (David? Myles?); and
make or have made a real website for the project, which we embarrassingly do not have yet...

... which is quite enough for six months, thanks. Also in the cards are a trip to the North-East of the country or to Cuba with a friend, a few smaller vacations around the country, and visits by some Spanish Engineers Without Borders.

On the social networking thread, I'm meeting in a couple weeks with a Suiss named Markus. Markus has been working in the North of the country in computer education. I'm looking forward to hearing how the project strikes him, and what suggestions he might have. He may also bring some folks from the Caribbean coast interested in doing something similar to our project.

Several people appear interested in reproducing at least in part the model I guess we're producing. I'm a little nervous that they should do that while I can sense so many lessons yet to come. Still, going from place to place, playing a more facilitative or advisory role while locals take initiative for the project, appeals to me.

Tomorrow will be taken easily, but construction on the Altagracia repeater starts Very Soon Now.

Cheers, Peter

Despedida

2005-01-18T21:22:00.000-06:00

My despedida, my leavetaking party, has just finished. The rum ran out, and the ride down the hill was leaving, so everyone up and left at once. It wasn't overly emotional, but it felt good.

Everything is reasonably in place. We don't have service in Altagracia, but a contract will be made with the dueña of the land where the Altagracia repeater is for one year at C$300 (U$19), with six months up front. Mauricio, our "administrator," is taking over the show, collecting payments, buying receipt stationary, and so forth. The contract with our Internet provider will be made soon, and payment begins February 1, mid-way though my absence.

This is the first proofing. I intend to be a part of this project for some time to come, but I need to remove myself as soon as possible from the day-to-day operation. We'll see how the mess holds together . One must have faith enough in what one creates to set it free :)

Tomorrow to Masaya, Thursday to San José. I'll be returning Friday night at midnight, on American from... probably from Houston. Flight 1221? I very much look forward to seeing you all again.

Planning and Extortion

2005-01-14T12:52:00.000-06:00

It's been a few weeks since I posted. They've been busy ones.

I wanted to get the Altagracia repeater online before I return home at the end of next week. Was held up for a while by lack of transportation, specifically transportation for a couple solar panels that wouldn't destroy them. And some by-now reliable irresponsibility on the part of the person who had them. Still, I made a go of it.

The owner of the land where we have the masts and such ready for the repeater decided (or, her husband decided) that, since this project has something to do with gringos, and gringos are made of money, they would demand about $30 US per month for access to a 5' x 5' patch of their wheatfield. In fact, that money has to come out of the pockets of islanders. $30 a month might be the average income of a farmer on Ometepe, for reference.

I'm meeting with the various users who were to be dependent on the repeater. We'll talk tonight about how we want to handle the situation. It looks highly unlikely that there will be anything installed in town before I leave. So, it just remains to make sure that the three hotels and three private users that constitute the "low-hanging fruit" of the network are well-accomodated and happy.

My mail server appears to be down again. Don't know what's going on. Hopefully folks will get it back up again soon, but I might look into alternative hosting when I get home.

In a little over a week, I'll be sipping beer in the pub with some of y'alls.

2004-12-14T21:41:00.000-06:00

What news? Plenty. We're in the process of forming a corporation (!) to manage the network, handle billing, and so forth. It's difficult at times to follow what's going on at the meetings for this: the language is different, but the form and requirements of a corporation are quite different here—not that I really understood much about them back in the States. I hope that we will be able to transform the corporation into a non-profit soon, but for now this appears to be the fastest solution.

There are nine sites, including Magdalena, that I want to get connected by Jan 15. This will be a challenge, on top of building out infrastructure and other support resources, organizing the legal structure, working on finding more hands and money for the project, and taking care of my self. The next month or so will be a ride.

We have the office at Finca Magdalena hooked up to the Internet. Pending some work on its system, we will soon have a terminal for guests to use as well. We're anxious to get this up, because the income it generates will help us cover initial costs of the project.

Power has been a big problem here. The commercial power grid is very unstable, and threatens to damage expensive equipment. It's been a huge battle to get the hydroelectric system working, for many reasons. So we're just hoping nothing gets damaged permanently before we get ourselves off the grid.

If things went according to plan, David went to the port town today to pick up $3200 (iirc) worth of solar panels and batteries, to be installed at repeater sites near Altagracia and on the south side of the island. That leaves us with very little money in the project fund, but I think we have pretty much everything we need now.

I'd post some pictures, but I really need to get some sand out of my camera, and more than that I need to go to bed. Thanks for reading!

Wednesday

2004-12-01T20:29:00.000-06:00

Well, tbat wasn't so bad.. I should get root canals more often!

Back on the home front, the coffee delegation from Bainbridge arrived. They brought with them three big boxes of toys. They did not bring with them the forth big box, which ended up on some other flight, and of course contains the part we were anticipating most eagerly, our firewall/router. Naturally.

The Lost Boys

2004-11-26T18:23:00.000-06:00

Update: The story, with an image uploaded over our link, can be found on the website of La Prensa. They owe us big time, and may come back to interview us about the project. For awesome. Text edited a bit below:

For some eight or nine days, two gringos have been lost on the volcano Maderas, where I'm living. Rumors are flying about their having been found, which is not the case. But they were enough to get the Nicaraguan army and national police to show up in force, with helicopter. They've joined the search party, which for some reason ended up at our place tonight.

Right along with them came reporters and a photographer from La Prensa, the biggest news paper in Nicaragua. The photographer is presently at my side, going through his pictures, so he can upload them back to HQ via our connection. "You're already helping the community," he commented, after I gave the brief run-down of our project.

In other news, though it started late, and several key people failed to show up (perhaps due to rescue efforts), our meeting went reasonably well this morning. That is, people are committed enough to put their time into helping the project progress. That's awesome. We also met some Linux-savvy folks from Jinotepe who say they have a friend who does Linux networking. Excellent.

2004-11-25T11:54:00.000-06:00

A real update, this time:

The Internet connection is working pretty well, though the power isn't. The commercial power grid comes and goes, and makes us fear damage to the very expensive hardware we just put in. We still can't use the hydroelectric system here because the tap they just put in for coffee processing equipment would (and did) bust from the increased pressure caused by the generator. The good news is that the replacement parts David brought down for the inverter appear to work.

It didn't take 24 hours for people to start asking to use the Internet connection. People who already have email accounts (mostly off-islanders working at the Finca) want to check them, and everyone else is anxious to play with this Internet thing everyone's always talking about. So today we set up a nice little browser box for folks to use.

The Big Meeting that was going to be today got postponed to tomorrow without anyone remembering that I'm supposed to go in tomorrow for a root canal. They ran out of minutes on their phone again, and I can't get David's phone to work right, so I haven't been able to postpone the dental appointment. This is the state of communication on the island. It keeps relationships within living communities strong, though, and I'm a little worried to see how that will change in the future.

We'll be sure to let you know how the meeting goes tomorrow.

WE GET SIGNAL - MAIN SCREEN TURN ON

2004-11-19T18:38:00.000-06:00

690ms roundtrip pingtime back to Seattle, but it works. Whee!

The promised update

2004-11-18T22:02:00.000-06:00

I'm still alive, but rather tired. You know, so you don't worry. But I don't feel like expounding to much right now. Sorry :-/ With luck, I'll have access from Magdalena within a day or two.

To the dentist

2004-11-18T15:35:00.000-06:00

I've not written in a while, again, leaving many people worried for my health. I got rid of whatever it was I had before, and have moved on to my next ailment. I'm off to Granada to see a dentist tomorrow morning. Wish me luck, that the dentist has and uses novicane.

Immediately following my dentist's appointment and likely unable to speak clearly, I will make the 5+ hour (ideal travel time) back to Finca Magdalena to get there before they finish installing the satelite equipment. Then to Managua Saturday to meet David Mitchell. A crazy few days.

Lately I've been rounding up everyone, from hotel owners to the standing and future municiple mayors of Altagracia to the Ometepe delegate from the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports, to come to a presentation/meeting next Thursday. This'll be big, scary, and important. Exciting, though. Everyone is very interested in the project, but I know they're be a little dubious.

And now, off to catch the ferry! If I'm still alive by the time I arrive in Granada, I'll expound a little more on the meeting and State of Things.

Guck.

2004-11-06T12:42:00.000-06:00

Hello, friends,

What interesting times we live in. Strange to be so far from you all in times such as these.

I've been sick for the last week. I think I picked up a parasite on the way back from Managua. No energy for a long time, and now a fever that comes and goes and indigestion. Yay! The health center in Altagracia gave me a stack of pills, but I'm going to see if I can get someone to actually find out what's wrong here in Rivas. So, suffice it to say that I don't have a lot of news due to having no energy.

The antenna tower at Magdalena is up and should be functioning. I haven't had the chance to test it due to weather and not being able to find some connectors. Hmm. I'm trying to hack something together, though.

Check out my new pet!

Managua

2004-10-27T18:18:00.000-06:00

I'm in Managua. Presently, I'm in the air-conditioned offices of IBW, the largest Internet service provider in the country. I'm staying at the home of John Wyss, its president. His home is nice, not over-the-top. He drives an SUV, and the air conditioning is always on full-blast. He is the busiest person I've ever met.

Managua is hot, sprawling, and chaotic. Decidedly not pretty. By taxi-ing around the city, I'm beginning to learn its layout. Being in a place like this feels empowering: you can get things done. People want to help you. Many of them know what they're doing. I should have come much sooner, for many reasons.

We had dinner last night, John and some telecom business men and I, at an Italian restaurant. I felt out of place, but I appreciated the opportunity to see how projects work from their level. I hope that this will be empowering in the future, so I can understand how my work fits into the "bigger picture" of development and business.

Ack, gotta go. Sorry there wasn't more art to this post. Or maybe that's just an expression of my mood.

Oh, and I voted!

Disco Magdalena

2004-10-22T14:02:00.000-06:00

(written last weekend, I think)
There is a congregation here tonight. A Belgian-Nicaraguan guy, a gal from Quebec, and a man from Demascus have started a discotheque on the porch of this 115-year-old farm house. We are drinking beers where 25 years ago, farmers worked for the Somoza regime. We chat in four different tongues about modern things: music, travels, our friends at homes so alien to this context.

Among these people, who am I? I do not count myself among these backpackers, seekers of adventure and encounters with the other--though I certainly enjoy their company. And though the local people increasingly know who I am, and I spend more and more of my time with them over travelers, I really have more in common with the travelers. It's a strange in-between place I'm in. There are certainly other people like me living around here, and even passing through, but we hardly form a cohesive group.

So I go back and forth between all groups. And this is good.

Still, I'm wishing for some Richard Hugo and fresh rivers full of salmon. Alpine lakes and flower meadows still adorn some inner landscape. I remember bean bags and Coltrane, roof-tops, fresh muffins, the Arboretum, four-square, the Bathtub. It would take a lot to dislodge these things from their places in my identity.

Ortega Comes To Town

2004-10-15T21:42:00.000-06:00

First, it appears that my server is back in functioning order. Many thanks to the Clark brothers for their work. On a side note, if anyone knows of a fault-tolerant, mirroring network filesystem for ~3 nodes on different networks--basically, Coda, but hopefully more lightweight--let me know. We have Plans.

So, today was kinda going to be a big day. I called a meeting for 3 o'clock with some people Manuél knows who are interested in computers and all. Basically, they've all learned something about computers, but don't have any equipment to practice on, nor employment in the field. I wanted to talk to them about the possibility of starting a telecenter (think coöperative internet café) at some point in the future, and what it would look like.

At two o'clock, however, a chopper landed in the field by the health clinic (this is Altagracia, now) and out came the Secretary of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), Daniel Ortega. The main street swelled with people running to the spectacle. You understand running just doesn't happen that often here. A parade of trucks and buses had come into town a few hours earlier, including a bunch of folks on a plantain truck from the Coop. Carlos Diaz Cajina (CDC, the coop that runs Finca Magdalena, where I live). It's campaign time for the elections in all municipalities of Nicaragua, and Bernabé Lopez is running for an advisory position in the municipality of Altagracia.

It was sometimes hard to see for all the FSLN flags everywhere. I cursed myself for leaving my camera in Balgüe. It was hot as hell in the sun, but we stood there listening to various functionaries and candidates, and this MC who really only knew how to shout slogans, and he wasn't very good at getting us into it.

Finally, Daniel got up and spoke. He talked about vaguely socialistic things and tried to get the people from poorer, more under-served communities excited. Altagracia often votes for the FSLN, probably because it's a poorer area. He talked about the importance of the constitution, created under his rule, and the importance of the rights it endows upon citizens. He didn't really talk about what they are, but they were certainly part of "Democracy", and Democracy was understood in terms of.. umm.. socialistic ideas. At least, that's what I got out of it. That and a hat.

I got to the meeting an hour late, which I thought was perfectly fine considering the circumstances, although I'm not sure the sentiment was shared. One guy had already left, which left only Manuél and two friends of his, one woman he'd worked with and another he taught for a while. I'm not sure how useful the meeting was, but we decided to come every week and I'll teach a little something about networking. We'll see how it goes.

Well, that was a day. No water until evening in Tagüizapa today.

Life on the Island

2004-10-14T11:02:00.000-06:00

(hmm.. it looks like the last post didn't actually get posted because my connection broke before it could go up... so you get two posts)

(Moreover, the server I spent so much time moving everything to just before I left got compromised yesterday. I don't know when it will be back up. In the meantime, my email, photo album, and mailing lists are down. Good thing I hosted this blog elsewhere. )

(Some pictures here! Sorry, they'll be presented a little more prettily when the server's back up)

Friends,

I'm in the house of the Álvarez family, in Tagüizapa. Marí, 5 years old, is trying to ask me something, but I don't know what it is. She's been standing next to the desk for a good long time, staring at me and asking questions very quietly. It's her room and bed I've taken over for the next three nights. She seems to really like me being here, though.

We're really close to getting an antenna mast up at Finca Magdalena, the first feat of the project. I think. So it was with a little regret that I left, but I'd already made the arrangements to stay here. I don't entirely understand the cultural norms involved, but it's important that I stay a little while with the family. It's a nice place they have, well built, nice furniture and all, and the family really is sweet, but this is not a useful place to be working out of at this point.

I've just taken to learning the names of various bugs. They come from Nahualt (NA-wal, sp?), the native language here, and seem to be recombinations of the same sounds. It's even harder because everyone seems to call them something else. I've heard three names for firefly (of which there are many these days). I'll try to put up a picture of a gigantic cuchón that showed up at the Finca a few days ago.

Thus far in my life, the practical things I've needed I've only had to turn to whatever institution I was in. The process was usually easy to figure out. Coming here, I can feel myself learning the basic skills that most people learn in the "Real World", working, leading, or navigating through more difficult living conditions. How to get things done when there isn't someone there who is paid to help you get things done. This confirms for me that this is the right place for me now.

Poco a poco is my refrain. Bit by bit, I'm learning, growing, progressing, learning to navigate the terrain. Seattle seems far away. The meanings and references of life there are so foreign to me as I talk to people on ancient buses, the sky all kinds of sweetness as we bump down the road at sunset. This is the character of my days.

I have an address now, should you feel moved to send me writings. You can even send small parcels, if you don't risking their disappearance. It takes letters 1-3 weeks to arrive (we'll see), and about the same for us to get to Rivas to check the mail. Here's the address:

Peter Abrahamsen

c/o Asosación Islas Hermanas

Apartado Postal #36

Correos de Nicaragua

Rivas, NICARAGUA

Hope all's well in Seattle. Wish me cool weather,

Rain, rain

2004-10-04T14:52:00.000-06:00

A quick post today. I've met Ramiro Rivera, the guy who knows where to get solar panels, groks power, and seems enthusiastic about the project. Besides being a nice guy, he'll be invaluable for the project.

Last night I met an English lady who was working with the UCA Miraflor coop system our of Estelí. We're talking about making a network of volunteer organizations and NGOs in Nicaragua to share experiences, resources, etc. I don't know if this will happen or not, but it's a good idea. There are similar networks in other CA countries.

Interminable rain yesterday. Pretty fun, actually.

OK, really, this is just a short note to say things are well. Now I've got to make a phone call, pick up some pipes and pay a bunch of money, and catch the 3:30 bus back to Balgüe.

Keep an eye on that volcano for me.

First Steps

2004-09-30T12:13:00.000-06:00

If you want to subscribe to this by email, go here.

A thousand apologies for not writing sooner. The Internet lies far away, and one often wastes much time travelling to get it, only to find that it is out of service, or that one must take the bus back before one has time to assure one's community of one's continued existence. Our ISP is talking about installing the equipment early, maybe mid-October, so you may hear from me more often in a bit.

Note: To stem any confusion, this will be my primary pulpit for the duration of my involvement with the Red Libre de Ometepe project, as well as my subsequent travels, since most of the same people are interested in both.

Right. So where have I been the last near-week? Friends, I've been many places. Things are going quite well for the project and yours truly. I'm getting the resources and support I need. I'm meeting people interested in the project, and they are excited that this is happening. They're kind of coming out of the woodwork--apparently there are some students from Rivas who want to interview me about the network, and perchance lend a hand.

And of my life? going well. People know who I am. I know few of their names, embarrassingly, but so it goes. The progress of the project and the sense of community I'm developing through it are what I missed last time I was here, when I felt at times so out of place and hence lonely that I wondered how I could ever spend five months on the island. I even have access to Bernabé's pickup truck now, so I can get around, and he's going to get me a spare cell phone (imagine that!).

Let me recall some moments:

Walking the kilometer up to the Finca from Balgüe (which means old, almost abandoned), through forest, past farm and hut, in the rain, past fireflies, not far from howling monkies, barely able to see enough to know which way to walk because I took the last bus back from town and it was late.

Coming to the Casa Álvarez of Tagüizapa, being scolded for not coming sooner. Their house improved. Random kids along the 20-25 minute walk from Altagracia know my name.

Sitting on the second-floor veranda at Magdalena, rain pouring down on the ceramic roofing, fantastic lightning illuminating different parts of the island, the lake. Feeling exhilarated.

Here

2004-09-23T21:42:00.000-06:00

This is just to say that I'm in Managua, I'm alive, and something has already tried to bite my neck. By the looks of its remains, it was an ant. The environment is dark, warm, humid, alive.

And I'm riding on cash until someone can bring a new Visa card down for me.