Letter to Stacker NewsLetter to Stacker News
Building Similar Spaces As Those On SN, But Offline.Building Similar Spaces As Those On SN, But Offline.
Hey Stackers,
I’m writing this as a Bitcoiner doing grassroots education work in rural Malawi—and as someone who’s learned a lot from Stacker News, and building something, similar to how this place is designed.
Decentralized learning spaces, but offline.
SN is not just a website.
It’s a set of decentralized spaces (Territories) where teaching, learning, signal, and proof-of-work happen without permission.
The Study Hubs aim to do the same thing—but offline.
The Shared Idea
Stacker News proves something important:
You don’t need centralized platforms or institutions to coordinate learning and value.
You need incentives, openness, and skin in the game.
Bitcoin Study Hubs apply that same idea to education.
They are physical, decentralized learning spaces in rural Malawi where people:
Learn Bitcoin in local languages (like Chichewa)
Use basic phones and simple tools
Learn by doing, not by theory or credentials
Train local facilitators instead of relying on outsiders
Form small, village-level Bitcoin economies
Just like SN Territories, each hub is local, contextual, and independent—but connected by shared values.
The Problem We’re Addressing
SN works because participants already have:
- Literacy
- Internet access
- Time to explore ideas
- Some exposure to Bitcoin culture
In Malawi, most people don’t.
The missing layer isn’t access to Bitcoin alone—it’s:
Understanding, confidence, and continuity.
Bitcoin Study Hubs exist to close that gap:
- From “I’ve heard of Bitcoin”
- To “I can use it”
- To “I can explain it to someone else”
That’s how Bitcoin survives in constrained environments.
How This Looks on the Ground
In practice, the hubs function like offline Territories:
- Weekly, in-person learning sessions
- Local language discussion and teaching
- Practical Bitcoin usage (sending, receiving, saving)
- Real economic context—families, farmers, vendors
- Local facilitators earning trust, not authority
Tools like Machankura and Bitchat are used because they fit reality—but the core isn’t the tool.
The core is people learning together, consistently, without outside control.
Phase 1 Proposal: 5 Million Sats
I’m proposing support—through the actual resources or sats —towards 5 million sats to establish the first Bitcoin Study Hub and train local facilitators.
This phase covers:
- A permanent rural learning space
- Off-grid-resilient teaching infrastructure
- Training for 3–5 local facilitators
- Weekly, in-person Bitcoin classes
- A replicable model future hubs can adopt independently
Full details are here:
https://geyser.fund/project/bitcoinstudyhubs
All spending and progress will be documented and shared as public proof of work.
Why This Matters (Long-Term Sustainability)
Stacker News shows that:
Decentralized spaces work when people are committed to learn, teach, and contribute.
Bitcoin Study Hubs extend that lesson to places where:
- Schools don’t teach Bitcoin
- Internet access is unreliable
- Institutions don’t reach—or are unreliable
If this works, the outcome is:
- Locally sustained Bitcoin knowledge
- Communities that don’t need constant external support
- Deeper, more meaningful Bitcoin usage
- Real-world reference points for Bitcoin education under constraints
How You Can SupportHow You Can Support
1. Support With Resources or Tools1. Support With Resources or Tools
If you’d rather contribute materials, teaching tools, or infrastructure instead of sats, reach out on Nostr and we’ll coordinate what actually helps on the ground.
Nostr:
npub16ecxhn2xscwjt2mmn2ls59yms0avkvd0z3t64v70pew6vfg9y6qqh38puf
2. Support With Sats2. Support With Sats
Alternatively, you may want to donate sats —towards the 5 million sats, via Lightning/Onchain
Lightning:Lightning:
Onchain:Onchain:
- SegWit: bc1qxn9d4xewhp66rayree604y7ckka3eyvg2p9av2
- Taproot: bc1pqltuyslegpwn5he0kwny84v8ewmhlmr0vuxcvc6npxest7ffvy5s5qrvr0
All contributions will be publicly accounted for.
Stacker News proves that decentralized learning spaces work online.
Bitcoin Study Hubs test whether the same principles work offline, in places with fewer resources but just as much need.
If this resonates, I’d appreciate your support—through sats, tools, or simply signal-boosting and feedback.
Thanks for keeping this place focused on what matters.
With respect,
Kondwani
Bitcoin Study Hubs
· Malawi 🟠
What I like about this is how grounded it feels.There’s no hype, no “this will change everything overnight” tone it’s just people sitting together week after week, trying to understand something new and useful. That’s how things actually stick.
Get as many of them writing updates on Stacker News as possible.
We want to hear about local adoption and how people are solving specific problems on the ground.
That should generate a nice income stream to support these communities too.
Great idea. I bet those stories would be well received and generously zapped.
Get a Starlink mini, a solar panel, a charge controller, and a https://Tollgate.me compatible router.
Then put it where there isn't Internet access, currently -- but where there is sufficient need for mobile data / wi-fi (to justify the capital expenditure).
When the locals ask where they can get Lightning Ecash, you have their interest in learning bitcoin.
When they ask how they can do the same thing (sell wi-fi in their neighborhood), you end up with them teaching to others what they've learned.
Brilliant idea...
For some reason I always have trouble with Geyser on my graphene pixel, but I got it to work on my laptop.
I'm not sure whether @Alby has a minimum threshold, but you might also look into getting your organization listed on their Zap Planner feature, where users can schedule regular zaps. I know Anita Posch's Bitcoin For Fairness recently got listed on the site, which also includes HRF, Open SATs, and Brink.
There's was an issues, indeed. I'm not sure what it was.
I love how your proposal focus on boosting the locals’ capacity 👍