Last night’s Vibe Coding meetup at Bamboo Royal Oak reminded me why these gatherings matter so much. It wasn’t just about code. It wasn’t even just about AI. It was about people—showing up, sharing what they’ve learned, and working through the real-world challenges of building with new tools.Hosted by David “Stock” Baird, the night kicked off with the origins of Vibe Coding, recent updates, and a breakdown of best practices. But the real magic came in the conversation that followed.<hr><h2>The AI Gap Isn’t About Tools—It’s About Clarity</h2>One of the biggest talking points of the evening came from a shared frustration: AI-assisted coding tools like Cursor are powerful, but they can just as easily work against you if you’re not intentional.Several attendees mentioned that AI often:<ul><li>Creates multiple, conflicting approaches to the same task</li><li>Changes code outside the requested scope</li><li>Breaks existing functionality while “improving” it</li></ul>The group’s solution? Treat AI like a junior developer who’s eager but needs clear direction:<ul><li>Plan from multiple levels. Start with a high-level project vision and define expected outcomes before writing a single line of code.</li><li>Use user stories. Frame features from the perspective of the people who will actually use them.</li><li>Get specific with prompts. Include relevant context, existing architecture, and precise requirements when asking for changes.</li></ul>In other words: clarity in your own thinking translates to clarity in the code AI helps you produce.<hr><h2>Renaissance City LaunchPad: Building Tools for Builders</h2>I had the chance to present the Renaissance City LaunchPad, a project I’ve been shaping for the past year. The idea is simple but ambitious—give communities the ability to own and operate their own digital infrastructure instead of relying on one-size-fits-all platforms.It’s more than just software. It’s a cultural shift and a support ecosystem for community organizers and builders in this city—one that helps them take full advantage of emerging tools to truly build for their communities.That means:<ul><li>User-owned data profiles</li><li>Event hosting, RSVPs, and QR check-ins</li><li>AI-powered event recaps and documentation</li><li>Badging and recognition systems for engaged members</li><li>An open-source foundation that communities can extend themselves</li></ul>The LaunchPad exists to close the knowledge gap—to give non-technical community organizers the power to build with the same tools that engineers use, without requiring years of coding experience.<hr><h2>The Barefoot Dev Philosophy</h2>The philosophy behind this work comes from a story shared by a local Rust community leader. It’s based on the “barefoot doctors” in rural China during the 20th century—city-trained doctors who brought essential medical knowledge to rural villages so they could care for themselves.As Barefoot Devs, we can do the same for technology:<ul><li>Bring practical, usable knowledge into communities</li><li>Teach people how to use and adapt modern tools</li><li>Leave them better equipped to build and maintain what they need</li></ul>The goal isn’t just to ship an app—it’s to create a cultural shift in how communities think about and use technology.<hr><h2>Why This Matters</h2>Communities like Vibe Coding Detroit are perfect testing grounds for these ideas. At this event, I met people building for book clubs, neighborhood news, and creative collectives. Each project is different, but the underlying need is the same: accessible tools, shared knowledge, and a culture of collaboration.That’s what the Renaissance City LaunchPad is for. That’s what TheBarefoot.Dev is for.If you’re building for your community—or want to—reach out. Let’s close the gap together.<hr>📎 Learn More &amp; Get Involved:<ul><li>Join Vibe Coding Detroit → <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://vibe.builddetroit.xyz">https://vibe.builddetroit.xyz</a></li><li>Follow <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://thebarefoot.dev">TheBarefoot.Dev</a> for more recaps and resources → <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://thebarefoot.dev/blog">thebarefoot.dev/blog</a></li></ul>

Closing the Knowledge Gap: Vibe Coding @ Bamboo Royal Oak – August 11, 2025

📍 6001 Cass Avenue, Detroit – July 22, 2025What happens when you put 30 founders, a microphone, and an open invitation to dream big in one room?You get Black Tech Saturdays Pitch Day—a full-day experience that started with a sound bath and ended with some of Detroit’s most powerful grassroots ideas taking center stage. No gatekeepers, no barriers—just people building for the people.This wasn’t your standard pitch competition. There were no slides, no sharks—just raw ideas, community-centered vision, and a room full of support.<hr><h2>🛠️ The Spirit of Building From the Ground Up</h2>From reimagining education and financial access to reinventing transportation and creative expression, the themes that emerged throughout the event were clear:<ul><li>Access over exclusivity</li><li>Purpose over profit</li><li>Real-world impact over hypothetical scale</li></ul>Founders weren’t just pitching products. They were pitching lived experiences, hard-earned lessons, and solutions for the problems they saw in their own neighborhoods.Whether it was a wearable speaker inspired by Detroit’s musical legacy, a mobile cultural activation unit built from a shipping container, or an AI-powered manifestation app rooted in healing—every idea had a heartbeat.<hr><h2>🏆 Top 5 Winners of the Pitch Competition</h2><h3><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="ksGOyBtVzEzOJgTMnCzNSFpERwCXUapITUY profile-card-one-to-one__profile-link inline-block v-align-middle truncate" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcedes-antoniya-preston-csm-106760162/">Marcedes</a> Preston – Celer Energy</h3><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="ksGOyBtVzEzOJgTMnCzNSFpERwCXUapITUY profile-card-one-to-one__profile-link inline-block v-align-middle truncate" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcedes-antoniya-preston-csm-106760162/">Marcedes</a> shared a powerful story: a pregnant woman stranded between hospitals with no nearby EV charging station. Her pitch introduced Celer Energy’s Tillium system, a solar-powered, fast-charging battery platform using hybrid solid-state technology and microgrids. It’s designed for safety, resilience, and emergency use—solving critical infrastructure gaps in vulnerable communities.<hr><h3>Daniel Easterly – 40 Acres App</h3><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielqeasterly/">Daniel</a> presented 40 Acres, an app that lets users invest $100 into Detroit real estate projects while learning about Bitcoin and ownership. His vision blends fractional property investing with financial literacy, turning real estate from a wishlist into a wealth-building tool for everyday people.<hr><h3>Keyon Clinton – 1% Better</h3><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/keyonclinton/">Keyon</a> spoke about closing the digital health gap for elders and underserved communities. His pitch focused on teaching seniors how to use digital tools like telehealth and social media through the Advancing Better Health Equity Initiative, combining care, confidence, and community training to make technology more inclusive.<hr><h3>Donvan Kirk – Creator Connect</h3><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnavankirk/">Donvan</a> pitched Creator Connect, a marketplace app where users can hire local creatives through a real-time map interface. The app helps creators gain visibility, book gigs, and access creative opportunities—all while working within their clients’ budgets. His pitch emphasized the potential of tapping into a $2 trillion global creator economy.<hr><h3>Kwaku – Container</h3><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwakuoseibonsu/">Kwaku</a> introduced Container, a mobile creative activation unit—literally a 20-ft shipping container transformed into a cultural installation. Artists reimagine the space to tell their stories, and the container is placed in underrepresented areas to amplify Detroit talent. His pitch detailed a partnership with Visit Detroit and a city-wide tour launching this fall.<hr><h2>🔄 Keep Building: This Is Just the Beginning</h2>The pitch competition doesn’t stop here.Every week leading up to the Digital Empowerment Summit, founders can submit virtual pitches for a chance to win $1,000 weekly microgrants. The summit will culminate in $100,000 in total funding awarded to community-driven innovators.This structure isn’t just about funding—it’s about visibility, accountability, and iteration. Each pitch is a step forward, a public commitment, and a seed for something bigger.<hr><h2>💬 Closing Thoughts</h2>July 22nd reminded us that the strongest ideas don’t always come from incubators or investor decks. They come from lived experience. From the need to fix something now, not later. From the courage to pitch your idea, even if it’s not “perfect.”Detroit showed up. The community listened. And the next generation of builders made their voices heard.This is what local innovation looks like—messy, meaningful, and powerful as hell.

Grassroots Innovation at Work: A Recap of Black Tech Saturdays Pitch Day

In a world where most tech stories begin with venture capital and coding bootcamps, Rochelle’s story begins with something different: spirit.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rochelle-s-a484662a/">Rochelle Stevenson</a> is a writer, healer, and founder of SOLAS COPIA Temple of LIGHT—a nonprofit devoted to sound healing, spiritual retreats, and holistic therapies rooted in ancestral wisdom. She’s never worked in tech. But today, she’s teaching herself how to bring these experiences online, build digital tools, and explore new models for sustainable growth using emerging technology.This isn’t just about learning to code. It’s about reclaiming sovereignty over your vision.<hr><h2>🌱 A Vision Rooted in Healing</h2>Rochelle’s goal is as bold as it is beautiful: to build a digital temple that supports holistic healing in the physical world.Through SOLAS COPIA Temple of LIGHT, she’s designing spiritual retreats, sound-based wellness sessions, and community-rooted therapies. And she’s not stopping at services—she’s asking bigger questions:<blockquote>“How do I use Web3 to make these experiences sustainable?”</blockquote>This exploration of new tools isn’t about hype—it’s about building something sacred that lasts.<hr><h2>💡 From Writer to Blockchain Winner</h2>Rochelle recently won first place in a non-coder blockchain design competition hosted by Story Protocol. Her entry? A 40-page visionary concept that wove together archetypes, alchemy, and retreat design with spiritual intention. The project was a poetic blend of storytelling, systems thinking, and holistic design.<blockquote>“I just wrote from the heart. I didn’t know code. But I knew how to communicate a vision.”</blockquote>That clarity of purpose, matched with creative expression, is precisely what the next evolution of the internet needs.<hr><h2>🔧 Learning to Build Without Dependence</h2>Rochelle is also charting her own path into tech—learning to use AI tools, understand APIs, and build interfaces herself. She’s teaching herself how to develop online spaces that support her nonprofit’s mission without being dependent on developers.<blockquote>“I don’t want to just hand this off to someone else and not know what’s happening. I want to understand it—so I can grow with it.”</blockquote>This mindset of curiosity and ownership is what sets her journey apart.<hr><h2>🧭 Making Tech Spaces More Inclusive</h2>Rochelle also spoke about how difficult many tech events are for those without a technical background. The language can feel alienating, the sessions too dense—and many brilliant people are left behind because the doors weren’t opened wide enough.Her story is a reminder that we need better onramps for community-centered innovators—especially those working at the intersection of spirit and technology.<hr><h2>💌 An Invitation to Others Like Rochelle</h2>If you are a:<ul><li>Healer, artist, or spiritual worker trying to understand tech</li><li>Nonprofit founder navigating growth while building your digital presence</li><li>Creative visionary looking to bring your ideas online</li><li>Community builder who believes tech should uplift—not overwhelm</li></ul>Then you belong here.Barefoot Dev is here to walk with you—from spirit to stack.<hr><h2>🛠️ What’s Next</h2>We're building resources to support creators like Rochelle:<ul><li>Workshops on AI as a creative assistant and project manager</li><li>Templates for product specs and nonprofit business plans</li><li>Open-source starter kits for wellness-focused platforms</li><li>A collective blog to amplify your stories and help others follow your path</li></ul>And most importantly, we're building a network of people who share knowledge freely, without ego, jargon, or gatekeeping.<hr><h2>✨ Get Involved</h2>Reach out to: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:john@thebarefoot.dev">john@thebarefoot.dev</a> and.. 🛠️ Submit Your Project to be featured on our blog 🎙️ Want to tell your story? Let's record it. We'll transcribe, summarize, and help you turn it into something you can share.🕯️ Join Our Weekly Circle every Monday from 5:30–6:30 PM — a space to ask questions, share progress, and get support as you build your vision with AI, Web3, and spirit.<blockquote>This is how we walk each other home—through spirit, code, and community.</blockquote>

From Spirit to Stack: How Rochelle Stevenson Is Building a Healing Platform with AI and Web3

At our latest VibeCoding session, developers are bringing ideas to life with a shared mission: build tools that empower community. Here are a few standout projects in the works:<ul><li>📜 Woodbridge Community Blog One attendee is building a neighborhood news blog using Markdown and Git, preserving local stories and surfacing historical context around urban renewal and development.</li><li>📚 Community Book Club App Another builder is developing an app for a neighborhood book club—designed to operate with the community in mind. It’s a perfect Barefoot Dev use case: local tech that strengthens social fabric.</li><li>🏛️ Local Politics Transparency Tool A third project focused on demystifying local politics. The goal? Make information around policies, representatives, and civic decisions more accessible and actionable.</li></ul>These projects are more than code—they're blueprints for community power. Stay tuned as we support and share progress from each.

🛠️ VibeCoding Project Highlights – Building for Community

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More from the Barefoot Dev

Closing the Knowledge Gap: Vibe Coding @ Bamboo Royal Oak – August 11, 2025

Grassroots Innovation at Work: A Recap of Black Tech Saturdays Pitch Day

From Spirit to Stack: How Rochelle Stevenson Is Building a Healing Platform with AI and Web3