What does a community-supported IT look like?

Ecobytes is a socio-technical collective which has the long term vision of supplying Internet hosting on servers built from the least environmentally harmful parts and powered entirely by renewable energy, while providing a high-level of security that citizens and organisations demand. We also envision to become a resource for knowledge about environmentally sound and socially just computing. We provide hosting based on solidarity economy principles and based on the user communities interests. In our personal work we combine this common passion for sustainability and information technology by assisting various groups and individuals with their day to day computer work, especially regarding Internet related activities. Although only constituted as an NGO in December 2013, the Ecobytes collective has been operating as an informal group since June 2006. In all its activities, Ecobytes is engaged in supporting Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) principles, which is why all servers are running exclusively GNU/Linux based operating systems. Developed software is always contributed back to the community by using FLOSS licenses. The collective further encourages its users and everyone else to migrate to FLOSS, for example by organising training events, providing consulting and helping with installation of FLOSS to individuals and organisations. Currently Ecobytes' physical infrastructure includes four high-performance servers in German data centers. Over 100 users are currently being hosted by Ecobytes, particularly relating to grassroots communities on degrowth, transition towns, food sovereignty and community-supported agriculture and businesses.