Build Alternative Systems
Objectives
Use Open Source Tools
Use open-source and community-built tools to escape corporate control.
Support Decentralized Platforms
Support decentralized platforms and federated networks.
Explore Alternative Economies
Explore bartering, time banking, and local currencies.
Create Shared Resources
Create and contribute to shared resources and digital commons.
What You Can Do
Switch to open-source tools
Replace corporate software with community-built alternatives: LibreOffice (office suite), Firefox (browser), Linux (OS), or GIMP (image editing).
Choose privacy-first communication
Use Signal for messaging, ProtonMail for email, and Matrix/Element for federated chat instead of surveillance-based platforms.
Support decentralized social media
Join federated networks like Mastodon (social), Pixelfed (photos), or PeerTube (video) to break away from centralized corporate control.
Explore alternative economies
Try time banking via platforms like Hourworld or hOurworld, join barter exchanges, or experiment with local currencies like BerkShares.
Use cooperative platforms
Support platform co-ops such as Resonate (music streaming) or Fairbnb (ethical alternative to Airbnb).
Contribute to digital commons
Share knowledge on Wikipedia, support open-access publishing, or upload creative work to Creative Commons licenses.
Share physical resources
Use community “libraries of things,” tool libraries, or networks like Freecycle to create shared local alternatives to ownership.
Support and build new models
Back organizations like the Platform Cooperativism Consortium or Digital Public Goods Alliance that are actively developing alternatives to big tech.
Helpful Tools
Buy Nothing Project
buynothingproject.org
Cooperation Jackson
cooperationjackson.org
Element
element.io
Fairbnb
fairbnb.coop
Freecycle
freecycle.org
GIMP
gimp.org
IPFS
ipfs.io
Khan Academy
khanacademy.org
Local Futures
localfutures.org
Local Tools
localtools.org
LocalHarvest
localharvest.org
Loomio
loomio.org
Matrix
matrix.org
Milkwood
milkwood.net
Mozilla Foundation
foundation.mozilla.org
Mutual Aid Disaster Relief Network
mutualaiddisasterrelief.org
Mutual Aid Hub
mutualaidhub.org
Nextcloud
nextcloud.com
Open Collective
opencollective.com
OpenStreetMap
openstreetmap.org
PeerTube
joinpeertube.org
Permies
permies.com
Pixelfed
pixelfed.org
Platform Cooperativism Consortium
platform.coop
Repair Café
repaircafe.org
Repair.org
repair.org
Resonate
resonate.is
Solid Project
solidproject.org
Syncthing
syncthing.net
The People's Library
thepeopleslibrary.life
TimeBanks USA
timebanks.org
Transition Network
transitionnetwork.org
US Federation of Worker Cooperatives
usworker.coop