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oneVillage Foundation has been discussing the possibility of developing a “Freedom Router” as a way to promote freedom for wireless communities to make decisions about what kind of software they use on their computer hardware. We see this as a important to step towards the realization of “Open Societies“ and “Open Digital Villages” in emerging markets as well as affluent ones.

Background
Juergen Neumann posting on the wsfii discussion group list reports on his current effort working with Vic Hayes, Xavier Carcelle, Marek Linder and Florian Fainelli to develop a OpenHardware Platform. They are currently organizing an OpenHardware get-together in Paris. Several of the people on this team recently met with Joy Tang (Director of OVF) and other FOSS leaders in Taiwan in October.

Relevance to OVF
The business model and application area is still in development but the basic concept is to develop an EcoLiving Zone (ELZ) (more about the ELZ: “Ghana C2C nation? a Plan for Setting up Ecoliving Zone in Ghana“) in Ghana to promote more sustainable and open source approaches to development, seeing that the two communities and/or schools of thought are converging. The ELZ surrounding Winneba Ghana would be a test bed to evaluate the “Freedom Project” from a technology, community development and the business standpoint - as a multisector approach to sustainable development.

This would include using the Freedom Project Routers to establish long distance wireless networks to deploy sustainable best practices and technologies within the geographical borders of the ELZ. Key to the development of this program would be the set-up of Open and Distance Learning Program to connect the rural village hubs with the Winneba Open Digital Village (WODiV). The WODiV will operate as a clearinghouse for organizing and disseminating relevant knowledge in our networks as it pertains to the particular EcoLiving approach needed in the village.

Open Hardware Initiative Goals:

1. Achieve cheap FOSS compatible open embedded wireless hardware, which come off the factory with e.g. OpenWRT or similar OS.
2. Modular more comprehensive wireless router (super node) for backhaul infrastructure

oneVillage Foundation-Ghana’s Goals:

Within the Winneba Open Digital Village project, oneVillage Foundation Ghana will expose these ideas stretching from its immediate environs to the global landscape through the “Simpa Open Summits” - www.simpasummits.net