One-Day Intensive

Solarpunk Automation

01.19.26 | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM PST 6 hours in one focused day

Turn old devices and low-power radios into the resilient digital nervous system of a solarpunk community. Build offline-first, solar-powered, low-energy, community-based tools. 100% of proceeds donated to CyberPony Express: https://themultiverse.school/x/cyberpony

with Liz Howard

Overview

Build offline-first, solar-powered, low-energy, community-based tools that meaningfully support a commune, eco-village, neighborhood resilience hub, or solarpunk garden collective. Learn to create resilient local infrastructure that works without internet, cell towers, or cloud services. All proceeds from this workshop are donated to CyberPony Express, supporting decentralized communication infrastructure.

What You'll Master

Working Meshtastic mesh network (bring a friend or multiple nodes
mesh networking requires 2+ devices)
Local WiFi-hosted information hub
Solar-powered field node prototype
Resilience blueprint for scaling from garden to commune to neighborhood **Note:** Building a mesh network requires multiple nodes. We recommend either bringing a friend to the workshop or purchasing 2+ Meshtastic devices.

Who this is for & what you'll need

Guided coding

You'll run commands and edit files. No prior experience needed.

Physical parts

This class uses hardware you'll bring or build.

What to bring

Optional hardware (~$25-100+): Meshtastic radio / ESP32 + LoRa, small solar panel (2-20W), LiPo battery + charge controller, IP65 enclosure; or flash an old phone with postmarketOS. Loaners/observing welcome.

Instructor

Liz Howard

Future Infinitive☸️ (Liz Howard) Founder & Professor, The Multiverse School Computer Science · AI · Cybersecurity Formerly faculty, Cal State Monterey Bay Co-founder, Hipcamp Previously built Hackbright Academy, Girl Develop It, Galvanize, Enki

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