Minodoo, Togo’s nomadic maker community
In Togo, the community of Minodoo, a unique space that is celebrating its 1st anniversary this year, organizes OpenSourceTours. Ten young makers animate these wandering introductory events in the true spirit of open source.
Special report from Lomé (Togo)
I met Elolo Kokou Amegayibo, Nukunu Amegayibo and Franco Kossi Dolagbenou, 3 of the 10 makers who comprise the Minodoo community, at “Dalle”, a makeshift cybercafé in the Djidjolé outer district of Lomé. This was where the young makers spawned their idea one year ago.
“Stay together”
Through several experiences in tech communities, these entrepreneuring students met, found each other and never separated. Sharing the same philosophy of open culture, the same determination to spread technology and the same conviction that Togolese youth must be involved in building their country, they created the nomadic space Minodoo—“stay together” in the vernacular Ewe language. The name recalls Africa’s famous friendship slogan “we are together”, which can be heard all day long—conveying values of solidarity, resilience and volontarism that make up the team’s joyful core.
“At Minodoo, we do things ourselves, with what we have, without waiting for anyone.”
Elolo Kokou Amegayibo
Minodoo’s primary asset is its multidisciplinary team. Coming from various backgrounds far from technology, they are all self-taught geeks and passionate about what they’re doing. A biologist, a geographer, a cartographer, an economist, an environmentalist and a marketing executive have eventually become confirmed coders, OpenStreetMap experts, Jerry server builders, renewable energy specialists, web designers and IT security pros, by sharing knowledge via tutorials, videos, books and MOOC. Most often they compose using online collaborative tools, albeit with one major handicap : Internet connection. To get an idea, Internet provider Togocel offers 1 GB for 5000 F CFA (7.60 €), which in Africa amounts to a considerable amount of money.
OpenSourceTour to “evangelize” the maker movement
While the community’s decision to go nomad was initially due to the lack of a venue in which to meet, it especially coincides with Minodoo’s ambition to promote technology door-to-door, as well as genuine citizen involvement through information technology, by enabling local communities to appropriate digital tools. These makers are first and foremost citizens, who measure each day the social impact of the digital divide.
“As our young brothers do not have easy access to technology, Minodoo comes to them, introduces them to Arduino, Jerry and open culture, and inspires vocations that support and encourage collaborative work.”
Franco Kossi Dolagbenou
To do so, Minodoo launched OpenSourceTour (OST), based on the concept of a wandering thematic bootcamp. For its first edition in Kara in northern Togo in December 2014, more than 75 youths, teachers, merchants and even computer-savvy office clerks were initiated to Linux, with support from the Association for free software (APLL), which launched Labu-Lab fablab in Kara.
Two months later in Tsévié, over 3 days, OST showed 50 high school students the role of digital technology in education through Jerry workshops, Wikimedia and debates on MOOC in a specifically Togolese context. Minodoo is currently working on a third edition.
“Our ambition is to create a national network and identify in each city ambassadors of the Minodoo philosophy, who can continue to pass on and share knowledge. This is why we systematically organize OST with local partners, in order to have a long-term impact.”
Elolo Kokou Amegayibo
Minodoo : entrepreneurial fiber
In Togo, events are not sponsored by companies. Therefore, Minodoo’s workshops are self-financed by pooled individual participation and whatever they could get their hands on. If the community persists, it’s also thanks to their entrepreneurial dynamics, all based on open source. Everyone contributes horizontally to everyone else’s projects—Franco Kossi Dolagbenou is working on green energy solutions for rural areas, while OpenStreetMap expert Richard Komlan Folly launched his start-up SocialGIS, an innovative mapping and geomatics agency that uses open data.
“We believe in it. We invest today because we are proud to lay our brick in building Togo technologically. Five years from now, we are certain that Togo will be at the cutting edge in the sub-region…”
Elolo Kokou Amegayibo