Abundance Federation Dublin — Platform & Data Infrastructure Working Session

This is the second working session for the Abundance Federation Dublin group. After our February meetup we formed a team of four developers and four data scientists who've been working steadily on the platform and the first public AI dataset pilot. We're now looking to grow the team as the work expands.

Where we are

• The Kindness & volunteering platform is live but rough. Profiles, communities, messaging, tasks, quests and incentives all work, but it needs proper attention on both design and architecture before we push it toward a real MVP. Making it easy, coherent and genuinely fun to use matters as much as the engineering underneath — both have to land.
• The first AI dataset pilot (Irish agricultural weed identification, with Transition Year students and adult volunteers) launches later this year. Tooling plans are written; the data team is working through them. The dataset side has real engineering work too — orchestration, pipelines, annotation tooling, and the interfaces volunteers will actually use — so the roles below apply across both teams.

Who we'd particularly like to meet
The work right now would especially benefit from:

• UX designers or design-minded developers who care about making real software feel coherent, easy, and enjoyable to use
• Python / Django developers who enjoy growing a real codebase
• Backend developers comfortable with messy real-world systems
• Database architects — we have decisions ahead that would benefit from experienced judgement
• DevOps people who enjoy quietly making things reliable

That said, this is a broad project and there's room for more than just those roles. Frontend developers, data scientists, technical writers, testers, community organisers, and people who just want to help in whatever way makes sense — all welcome. Come along, see what we're doing, and we'll figure out together where you might fit.
People at any stage of their career are welcome. Experience is valuable, but so is persistence and follow-through — on a project like this, the people who keep showing up are the ones who shape what gets built.

On the night

• A short walkthrough of where the platform and data work are now (warts and all)
• A clear-eyed look at the design and architectural questions we're working through
• Small-group conversations to figure out what's most useful, what's feasible, and who might want to keep working on what
• Pizza, soft drinks, and an optional pub afterwards for anyone up for it

Logistics

• Digital Hub, Dublin
• Wednesday, June 10th, 7–9pm
• Free, in-person, finishing on time at 9pm
• RSVP through Meetup so we can plan numbers

The wider Abundance Federation is a mission-locked civic initiative working on shared digital infrastructure to bring down the cost of essentials over the long term. The platform and the data work are the technical foundations of that — and they'll only be as good as the people who build them.
Come along if you'd like to help shape what gets built.