Building the Climate Tech Handbook with DemocracyLab
"The world is realizing that we can't punt the climate crisis down the road like we used to. We can no longer hope that someone else is going to solve it. We have to be the ones to solve it. And in order to solve this global emergency, we have to build an entirely new economy." - Jacob Caggiano, Founder, The Climate Tech Handbook
Inspired by Gitlab's famous Handbook, the Climate Tech Handbook is an open-source project that aspires to be the "Wikipedia of climate tech", providing resources to anyone using technology to address the climate crisis. The project's website currently features over 90 climate solutions across sectors such as electricity, transportation, agriculture, etc., and includes a comprehensive list of climate tech-focused job boards and Slack communities.
The Handbook officially launched in April 2023 as part of “Earth-A-Thon”, a DemocracyLab hackathon, where a team of 5 volunteers launched version 1.0. Since then, the project has attracted 40+ volunteers across diverse functional areas, including UX, software development, and marketing, through DemocracyLab's online platform and boot camp partnerships. These volunteers redesigned the Handbook’s homepage, built features including a countdown clock and image cards for navigation, and designed a mini course for those new to Climate Tech.
"I don't think my project would be successful without DemocracyLab because it set the machinery in place to connect volunteers and my project. I don't have to pound the pavement trying to find people and can instead focus my energy on screening the candidates that come through the platform, knowing that they'll want to help. I appreciate that DemocracyLab gives volunteers an on-ramp to prove themselves and project owners the opportunity to easily recruit skilled talent so that matchmaking can turn into something that makes the world better."
A year hence, DemocracyLab continues to connect the project to a steady stream of volunteers.
"My personal philosophy is to learn by doing and to inspire others to do the same. Like DemocracyLab, the climate tech handbook is always willing to support those who want to build a portfolio while helping make the world a better place."
Jacob has partnered with the DemocracyLab community for years, starting with Hey Duwamish and Mapseed. When he’s not busy writing grants for climate tech organizations, he’s hacking on the Handbook. If you would like to volunteer with Jacob's amazing team, apply here.
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Written by: Aradhana G; Thank you for your feedback, Chloe C and Mark F.