Review of the School of Communication and Free Technologies for the Common Defense of the Territory
By Laura Zambrano
Recently, I had the opportunity to participate as a representative of the Digital Autonomy Center (CAD) in the School of Communication and Free Technologies for the Common Defense of the Territory, held in Puyo, in the Ecuadorian Amazon. This space brought together various organizations that collaborated in teaching practices related to the administration and maintenance of autonomous servers, aimed at strengthening Abya-Yala communities in their technological capacity and digital autonomy.
The main objective was to provide participating organizations with tools to manage their documentation securely and, in the case of servers, provide computers configured as autonomous servers. These devices will allow communities to manage their information freely, avoiding dependence on commercial services and centralized clouds.
The school addressed two key subjects: documentation and servers. In the server part, where I was directly involved, computers were delivered for organizations to use as autonomous servers. Throughout the week, we worked on server administration, virtualization, terminal use, and tools such as CoopCloud to install services such as Nextcloud and WordPress with Tainacan. Participants not only learned the technical aspects, but also the importance of security measures such as physical security of servers, password management and SSH keys.
Reflections and Recommendations
During the course of the classes, we faced some logistical challenges that led us to reflect on how we could improve future editions. For example, implementing tools like VirtualBox was challenging on some machines due to hardware limitations. To avoid these problems in the future, I would advice to use lighter solutions, such as USBs with persistent storage, which would ensure that all participants can follow the activities smoothly.
Likewise, participants expressed that it would have been useful to begin with a deeper theoretical introduction, perhaps through virtual sessions held in advance. This would have left more time to focus on practice during in-person meetings, maximizing technical learning. It is also essential to reinforce security education, especially disk encryption, password management, and SSH key management. This, given the high risk profile of the participating organizations, which face potential threats due to their work in defense of territories and human rights.
Look to the Future
In the long term, I see great potential for these communities to continue working autonomously with their servers. To facilitate this process, a support network consisting of a forum and a communication channel on Signal has been created. There, facilitators and participants will be able to exchange knowledge and offer technical help. This network is essential so that organizations can manage their infrastructures in a secure, efficient and collaborative way.
On a personal and collective level, we keep working with other organizations and networks of allies to continue promoting technological autonomy in different regions. We believe that there is great potential to develop more workshops and interchange spaces, strengthening the resistance and autonomy of communities through free technologies.
Pictures by Dandy