I sat in the audience listening to Stephen Black (https://maith.world/) share his story — and what struck me most wasn’t the tech itself, but how he’s using it. This wasn’t a startup pitch or a VC-backed roadmap. It was the real-life journey of someone who’s been walking the path of a barefoot developer long before we put a name to it.
Back in 2015, AR wasn’t something you could just do. It was expensive. Clunky. You needed developers, 3D artists, Unity pipelines, and teams just to move a digital Christmas tree a few feet. Stephen saw the writing on the wall — but instead of waiting for permission, he started experimenting with what he could do.
He created Bubiko, a character born from a paper doll and a shared vision with his partner: Let’s be known for AR. That clarity carried them across borders and into workshops, exhibitions, and all kinds of collaborations — often built from scratch, with no budget, just conviction.
Fast forward to 2025, and Stephen can now do what used to take a team — alone. With just a QR code and a smartphone, he’s placed AR exhibitions in greenhouses, restaurants, cafes, cultural museums, and even funeral homes. The tech has finally caught up with the vision. No more drift. No more app installs. Just presence.
What resonated most with me — as someone thinking about how technology shows up in communities — is how intentional his use of AR is. He’s not trying to sell you an NFT or drop a filter. He’s building meaningful experiences tied to real-world locations. He’s turning waiting rooms into galleries, cups into portals, and wedding expos into digital storytelling spaces. He’s learning by doing, and sharing as he goes.
That’s thebarefoot.dev in action:
📍 Using what’s available — a phone, a QR code, a public space
🗭 Focusing on utility, not hype — tourism, education, art, food, local business
🌱 Building slowly, testing constantly, and proving the value through real interactions
🤝 Offering tools that others can replicate, without needing permission or perfection
Stephen’s work reminds us that powerful tech doesn’t need to be loud. It just needs to be present, in the right place, at the right moment, with care.
“AR used to be something you watched happen. Now it’s something you can do — and something you can offer others.”
That’s the kind of shift we believe in at thebarefoot.dev — and I’m grateful I got to witness it firsthand.
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