"If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking." — Buckminster Fuller
We build digital pitchforks — citizen infrastructure that teaches collective action, solidarity, and shared stewardship through use. Not apps or platforms in the traditional sense, but tools crafted to reshape how people relate to each other and to their communities.
In an age of techno-feudalism, where digital platforms have replaced markets with fiefdoms and users have become digital serfs, the antidote is not better regulation of feudal tools — it's building tools that nurture citizen empowerment and the people's capacity to act together.
- Pedagogical by design — every interaction teaches users to think collectively rather than individually
- Ownership-enabling — users become stewards, not consumers
- Solidarity-building — designed to strengthen connections and shared purpose
- Sovereignty-preserving — communities maintain control over their tools and data
- Interoperable — small, loosely coupled tools working as part of a larger ecosystem
- Antifragile — growing stronger under stress rather than more brittle
| Repo | Description |
|---|---|
| my-community | Community dashboard Chrome extension — Bluesky feed, curated digest, participation opportunities |
| dear-neighbors | Neighborhood dashboard Chrome extension — community-curated local news + participation opportunities |
| nsrt | Novi Sad Relational Tech — neighborhood tools for Novi Sad residents |
All CIBC projects follow open-source best practices from Producing Open Source Software by Karl Fogel. We audit project health using claude-audit-oss — a 60-item checklist covering documentation, contributor experience, governance, licensing, and more. New projects should be audited before their first public release.
The Citizen Infrastructure Builders Club connects with organizations working to strengthen citizen agency: Metagov, Newspeak House, Civic Tech Field Guide, Life Itself, and the Relational Tech Project among others.
We're a community of builders, designers, researchers, and citizens forging tools for democratic participation, collective intelligence, and community self-rule. If you're building citizen infrastructure or want to support those who are — join us.