---
title: About CSTF
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- /foundation/
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## Hello, Neighbor

Society is held together with care. People helping people. When we join others around us we form community.

The Internet connects us instantaneously with people around the world and, in that very real way, we become neighbors.

The Internet is a pathway towards engaging with others in meaningful ways. Social networks, discussion boards, event listings, and community hubs are all ways we can engage with others. Oftentimes, though, the websites and apps we use are designed and mediated in a way that make us feel more isolated than ever.

CSTF is working to change that by putting the control of the Internet back where it belongs, in the communities that connect on it.

Our flagship project, Wild Cloud, allows communities of all sizes to host their websites and applications themselves, on their own computers, for members to access and enjoy.

Wild Cloud serves your neighborhood, whether that is an apartment building, a city block, a town, a club, or an organization, _any_ community. It provides a place for your community to host the apps that suit you, to keep your data private, and to grow with you. Beyond purchasing your own computers and investing your time, Wild Cloud is free, allowing you to keep your resources where you want them, inside your neighborhood.

Wild Cloud is the missing piece of your neighborhood's technology puzzle. Open Source software provides much of the software your neighborhood requires. AI-coding agents make custom software, software that is by your neighborhood and for your neighborhood a new possibility. With Wild Cloud, all your software, and all your hardware stays entirely within your communities control.

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CSTF is a place for people who believe communities can build their own technology—and who want to help make that happen.

Not because the alternatives are scary (though sometimes they are). But because community-owned technology is simply *better*. It's more affordable. It stays when companies leave. It reflects what neighbors actually need. And building it together turns out to be one of the best ways to meet each other.

## What We've Noticed

All around the world, communities are quietly building remarkable things:

**In Chattanooga, Tennessee**, the city built its own fiber network. Now 170,000 residents have gigabit internet for $50/month, the city has attracted billions in economic development, and no corporate ISP can decide to raise prices or abandon the community.

**In Barcelona**, a network called Guifi.net has grown to over 37,000 nodes—the largest community-owned telecommunications network in the world. It started with neighbors who wanted internet access in rural areas. They just... built it themselves.

**In Detroit**, the Equitable Internet Initiative trains residents as "Digital Stewards" who build and maintain neighborhood wireless networks. Participants say they've met more neighbors installing antennas than in years of living there.

**In rural Lancashire, England**, farmers formed B4RN (Broadband for the Rural North) and dug trenches across their fields to lay fiber optic cable. They now have faster internet than central London.

**In Brooklyn**, Red Hook WiFi kept the neighborhood connected during Hurricane Sandy when commercial networks failed. Neighbors maintained the mesh network themselves.

These aren't tech startups. They're neighbors who decided to build something together.

## What We Do

CSTF exists to help more communities do what Chattanooga, Detroit, and Barcelona have done—but for all kinds of technology, not just internet access.

### We Build Tools

Our [Wild Cloud project](/projects/wild-cloud) gives communities everything they need to run their own digital services—email, file storage, collaboration tools, and more. Think of it as a community center for your digital life, one that actually belongs to your community.

### We Share Stories

We collect and tell the stories of communities building their own technology. These stories show what's possible and help communities learn from each other.

### We Grow Knowledge

We create guides, documentation, and learning pathways that help people understand and maintain their own technology. Technical knowledge is a gift we can give each other.

### We Connect Neighbors

We bring together people who are building community technology—practitioners, organizers, curious beginners. Together, we're all learning.

## What We Believe

**Communities can do this.** The examples above aren't flukes. They're proof of what's possible when neighbors decide to build together.

**It works better.** Community-owned technology isn't just more ethical—it's often faster, cheaper, more reliable, and more responsive to what people actually need.

**Everyone can contribute.** You don't need to be technical. Communities need organizers, teachers, writers, encouragers, and people willing to learn. The technology is just an excuse for neighbors to work together.

**Simple is better.** The best solutions are often the simplest ones. We favor approaches that communities can understand, maintain, and adapt over time.

**Open means trustworthy.** When you can see how something works, you can trust it. When you can change it, you can make it yours. That's why everything we build is open source.

**Joy matters.** This work should be enjoyable. Building things together, learning new skills, meeting neighbors—these are good things. If it feels like drudgery, we're doing it wrong.

## What Becomes Possible

When communities own their digital spaces, wonderful things happen:

**Neighbors meet each other.** The technology becomes an excuse for connection. Installation days become community events. Teaching becomes a way of caring for each other.

**Local needs get met.** Tools can reflect local values, languages, and priorities—not the one-size-fits-all approach of global platforms.

**Skills grow.** People who never thought of themselves as "technical" discover they can learn, contribute, and teach others.

**Resources stay local.** Instead of subscription fees flowing to distant corporations, communities invest in their own infrastructure and each other.

**Resilience builds.** Communities that control their own technology can't be cut off by a company's business decision.

## Who We Are

CSTF is a volunteer-led nonprofit (a US 501(c)(3) charity) based in Washington State. We're small, we're growing, and we'd love your help.

### Directors

<div class="not-prose">

{{<figure
  src="/people/paul-payne.jpg"
  href="/people/paul-payne/"
  target="_self"
  alt="Paul Payne, Director"
  nozoom="true"
  caption="Paul Payne, Director"
  class="max-h-80"
>}}

</div>

_We're looking for more neighbors to join us. See our [open positions](/contribute/positions) if you're interested._

## Come Say Hello

We'd love to hear from you.

### Online

Join our [community forum](https://forum.civilsociety.dev) to connect with others building community technology. Come introduce yourself—we're friendly.

### Mail

7405 168th St NE #621<br/>
Redmond, WA 98052

### Phone

+1 (206) 790-6707
