Re: [lime-users] Disaster Mesh for Dominica

Here's my current summary of documentation that's either in other places or not yet published. It would be good for the people who plan, set up, and maintain the network to have steady communication with other people who've set up networks (like on this email list), since this isn't (yet) just a matter of plugging in the router and everything magically works. Maybe you already know that, I just mention it since I don't know what your experience or skills are. Creating any network, it's important to think about all the pieces necessary for a functional connection for the specific people and place (and there are some specifics of disaster situations). These include: - electricity for the router and any antennas that need power - electricity for the devices people use to access the Internet, for example you might need a diesel generator and fuel for it, or solar panels and batteries and an inverter, and you'll probably want lots of extension cords and power strips so that lots of cell phones can be charged at once. In Haiti after the earthquake, sometimes one person came to a place with electricity with a dozen cell phones of friends and family in order to charge all of them. Multiply that times ten people, and that's a lot of outlets needed to charge all those phones. See the Communitaire TED Talk for more details on the Haiti response. - devices to access the internet (cell phones, laptops, desktops, tablets, etc.) - enough routers for the number of people in question (I've heard that the most commonly used router with LibreMesh, TP-Link WDR3500, can handle about 20 WiFi connections at a time, in other words 20 cell phones) - connection to the Internet. If this isn't possible, connections to other nodes of the local network are still useful for some things, and even a WiFi node without any other connections can be useful for sharing data, mesh apps, etc. In terms of hardware for connections, you probably need at least some CAT5 Exterior UTP/Ethernet cable (with RJ45 connectors and the device to put them on the cables, don't know what it's called in English), and likely need some antennas for point-to-point connections (Ubiquiti is a commonly used brand among the LibreMesh community). - optional: a server for the network. This could be a lot of different things, such as a Raspberry Pi or an old laptop. You also need enough storage for whatever you want to do (probably at least 32GB, and if you're gathering photos and videos then maybe you want 1-2TB), either as a USB stick, an SD card, or an external hard drive (or internal hard drive if the server is a laptop or desktop). A local server can be very useful, for example running a local phone system. - USB sticks and external hard drives can be useful in general, since a lot of information can be moved with them in areas without a network (this is called the "sneaker net"). - phone chargers, cables, and portable phone batteries (the small ones that fit in your pocket, and maybe a few larger ones). - webcams might be useful... I'm not quite sure what for, but it can be nice to have. - waterproof protection for routers. This can be anything that does the job, such as a plastic bag for short term use, or a 5 liter plastic water bottle cut open at the bottom, or a box designed for protecting outdoor electronic equipment. That's a summary of the hardware that comes to mind right now. The social part of the network is just as important as the hardware, since this is where the system makes a difference in our lives: - people on site who know how the system works and how to fix or at least diagnose problems that arise. Communication between these "network caretakers" across the island, and with the people who can get them new things and replacement parts, and with at least one person from the LibreMesh community (this way their questions and new ideas connect back to the larger LibreMesh initiative). - agreement about where, when, and how to setup the network. If the network nodes (the places with WiFi) are stationary, then they might go at shelters and disaster response offices. Depending on community needs and the availability of electricity, some nodes might get moved throughout the day. For example, a community may decide to have the node at their shelter during the night, and take it to a food and water distribution point during the day. - an agreement for using limited resources for optimum effect, including electricity, bandwidth, storage space, and the number of simultaneous WiFi connections per router. These decisions depend on the situation, the culture, what's feasible, etc. They need to be related to community decision making, whatever that looks like in each particular place and moment. For example, if the electricity comes from a diesel generator and there's only enough fuel to run it two hours per day, it might make sense to run it for one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening, at the same time every day, so that people can plan their activities around that consistent schedule. If there's a way to coordinate this schedule across the entire island, then people who need to talk with each other on different parts of the island know that they can talk at those particular hours (this is how the HF radio communication works in some remote places). For bandwidth and the number of simultaneous WiFi connections per router, each group of people will probably self-regulate, especially if they know each other, although this depends on the culture and how desperate each person feels. - interface with the rest if the disaster response effort, including local organizations, foreign organizations, government (which may show up at some point to talk about regulations). These groups may have particular uses for the network, like triage mapping with Ushahidi software, or many other things, and they may have ideas about how and where to setup the network. They may have relevant knowledge or resources to create and maintain the network. - think about how this network might change over time as people adapt it to their needs. What will communities do with the routers after the relief effort is done? Will they keep the network functioning in areas that didn't have Internet before the storm? I don't know anything about the political situation in Dominica... Maybe the storm has opened the door for more "disaster capitalism", or maybe the door has opened to rebuild in more cooperative, community-oriented ways than before. A concept in use right now is "linking relief, recovery, and development (LRRD)". I have heard these phases of response used here too, framed as relief (immediate medical care, food, water, emergency shelter), recovery (rebuilding homes and other infrastructure), and economic and social advancement (community organization, small businesses, etc.). Some of those things can be planned ahead of time, and many will be figured out or adjusted as the system is created and used. Good luck. I'm from the Texas Gulf Coast (also in hurricane recovery right now) and I'm in Ecuador at the moment (where I came to help with earthquake response last year and have helped create a small LibreMesh network). My heart goes out to you, the folks in Dominica, and everyone affected by the recent hurricanes. I hope that Puerto Rico can get help soon, because the situation is really bad there right now. And I hope that in the long term, communities organize to make hurricanes only about the wind and the rain, and not have to suffer due to the politics, economics, and racism that make these disasters so much worse. Cuba offers one of the best examples of how to prepare for and survive hurricanes, and there have even been trips from US cities to visit Cuba and learn from their system. ~ Patrick El 27 de septiembre de 2017 16:05:10 GMT-05:00, Support <support(a)qo-op.com> escribió: >You must have heard about hurricane that destroyed north carribean >islands this month. I am organizing a mission to send to Dominica a >bunch of router to help country to recover Internet coverage. > >https://www.google.fr/search?q=maria+dominica&client=firefox-b&dcr=0&prmd=ivns&source=lnms&tbm=vid > >I am conducting donation events in France and Internet to send first >help. > >I am contacting libre mesh group for getting support and help about >disaster Internet solution we could provide. > >Thanks everyone >Fred. http://madeinzion.org