Culture, Vision and Values

What you can expect from our culture and distributed work environment.

Vision, Strategy, Key Results

Vision

Thriving Communities 

ChatGPT Image May 20, 2025, 04_49_44 PM.png

Strategy 

Advancing Sustainable, Reliable, Affordable Energy through resilient Community Owned Microgrids. We build and operate these microgrids and teach others how to do the same. 

Future.jpeg

Key Results 

Completed

Now

Next

Later

Collaboration Tools

Overview

This page contains useful tips for working at NFE and for various tools we use. These tools can be found at dashboard.NearlyFreeEnergy.com

Email and Celandar with NextCloud 

Email and Calendar 

Documentation with Bookstack 

Wiki / Documentation  

Kimai for Time tracking 

Time tracking 

Company Website with Wordpress 

Website 

Group Chat with Matrix and Element 

Group chat 

Code Repository with Gitea 

Version Source Control 

Customer Help desk with Freescout 

Customer Help desk 

CRM with Espo 

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 

Project Management with Plane

You can access plane here and their documentation. 

Video Calls with Jitsi

Jitsi is an important part of GitLab’s strategy for communication between team members. As such, extra care needs to be given to ensure the safety and integrity of data. For how to use Jitsi, refer to their official documentation

Scheduling Meetings with Calcom

Most of our work is asynchronous but we'll occassionally need to meet with each other and with external stakeholders. This is what Calcom is for. It's Free Software like most of our tools so you can search online for more information on how to use it. Here's how you can set up your NFE account. 

In Nextcloud Calendar, hover over the link icon to the right of the calendar in question, e.g. Personal, and you see an edit icon. Click the edit icon:

image.png


You'll see a pop-up like the following. You will want to click the + for "Share link" and then clck the resulting clipboard icon that copies the link to the clipboard:

image.png


Then, you'll want to go to your Cal.com pop-up for configuring CalDav and paste the link:

image.png


Then continue the process of connecting to your Nextcloud calendar via CalDav, confirming event creation:

image.png


Complete the remaining steps. You can leave video settings for later. Confirm your availability times. Add a profile photo / avatar.

Values


Collaboration

We are better Together: If you want to go quickly, go alone but if you want to go far, go together

Curiosity

Always learning, frequently questioning and listening. 

Community 

Default to Openness. We want to learn and build in public so that others who care about what we are working on can also learn and consider contributing to our mission. They'll be a few things that need to be private like our customers contact information but we aim to be open about how and what we are working on. So when in doubt, just share it.

People first

Relationships count most, invest in them. We want to give reach other room to center our lives around family and friends, not our jobs. 

Managers of One

People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed. What it means to be a manager of one. 


Culture - how we work

Most of our work is asynchronous, this is the best way for people in different timezones, schedules and places to effectively collaborate. The people at Gitlab wrote a good guide on asynchronous work, please go read it. 

Here's some tips from Aaron

NFE is a Social Venture!

Our Identity

We, Nearly Free Energy (NFE), operate as a social enterprise — a mission-driven business committed to providing affordable, sustainable energy solutions while generating profit in a responsible and inclusive manner.

Our Purpose

Nearly Free Energy exists to:

Our Core Principles

We are guided by the following values:

People-Centered Impact

We prioritize the needs, dignity, and aspirations of the communities we serve. Our solutions are co-designed with our users, and we strive to create long-term value and inclusion.

Environmental Stewardship

We commit to environmental sustainability in our products, services, and operations — advancing renewable energy efficiency solutions to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Financial Sustainability

We operate for profit to ensure our longer-term viability. We reinvest earnings in innovation, infrastructure, and impact — balancing financial returns with social outcomes.

Transparency and Accountability

We share our goals, progress, and challenges openly with our stakeholders. We maintain integrity in our dealings with customers, employees, partners, and investors.

Community Partnership

We build local capacity and respect local knowledge. We collaborate with community organizations, public agencies, and other enterprises to maximize shared value.

Governance and Decision-Making

Reporting and Learning

Our Long-Term Vision

We envision a world where energy is:

Till every community can sustain their energy needs.