Boulder Community Computers is more than a computer shop. It is a step towards a sustainable future.
Co-founded by 25-year-old Eric Jackson and his 22-year-old brother Brian, Bococo is about creating a sustainable, egalitarian community. Located on 23rd and Pearl behind Pete’s Electric Bikes, it also offers free wi-fi, free coffee and couches.
Low-income, poverty and the high cost of education can lead to societal problems due to a digital divide, Eric said.
“Our aim is to bridge that divide, and how we do that is by taking old computers, fixing them up and allowing people to buy them for guaranteed the lowest price or earn them for work-trade,” he said.
One hour of work at the shop earns $10 toward a purchase of anything in the store or any lessons. Lessons range from very basic computer skills to computer coding and programming, and are available on a group or individual basis.
Lessons are also available in Spanish, as they have informally partnered with Intercambio and done lessons for them before. Eric said they are looking to make that partnership more formal.
In this process one can learn about hardware, troubleshooting and computer parts.
“We try to incorporate education into everything we do, specifically the computer refurbishment process,” Eric said. ”Even if you know nothing about computers and you want to come earn one, we train you to do whatever we need to have done.”
Eric said he and his brother grew up on a sort of farmland in Gaithsberg, Maryland, with very few friends.
“But we had computers,” Eric said. “I consider myself self-taught and passionate. I know how the availability of computers has helped me in life.”
Eric said that is why he wants to offer the availability of computers to everybody, no matter their financial situation or technological skill-level.
“You go to Best Buy and see a cable that is $20, and you know it’s worth $.50,” he said.
Cheap used parts are especially appreciated by students.
Vishal Verma, 23-year-old graduate student studying electrical and computer engineering, said he bought a monitor for $150.
“I like that they recycle computers and help whoever needs them, and it’s cheap,” Verma said. “I also really like that you can go there and build your own computer and they’ll help you do that.”
But Bococo has something to offer for more than just the technologically-advanced.
“Some people just want something that works,” Eric said. “They just want to connect with their grandson or they’re a single mom who wants internet for their daughter to do research.”
Serapis Andrade, a 34-year-old who is involved in the further development of Bococo said he wants people to feel welcome.
“We want Bococo to feel like a community,” he said. “We don’t want anyone to feel ostracized because their lack of information.”
Andrade, who has a master’s in linguistics and a bachelor’s in metaphysics and para-psychology, runs an IT company of his own. He said he stumbled across Bococo on Craigslist while searching for computer parts.
“I had never come across a computer place like this,” he said. “We met over coffee and I dove in headfirst. I was made to feel like a part of the community. I felt at home, accepted.”
Andrade said he wants to perpetuate that feeling of being invited in.
“We want them to be able to come in, play around, click here, click there and take something apart without feeling threatened,” he said.
By working toward a community of trade, one where less money is changing hands, Eric said he hopes they are contributing to a more economically-sustainable community in the future.
He said he got the idea from Community Cycles while volunteering there, as they have a similar earning and time-trading system.
Another Boulder network with which Eric hopes to get involved in is the SkillShare Network. Members trade one hour of whatever skill they have for an hour of somebody else’s skill. One can earn hours by giving to someone which can be redeemed from someone else.
Eric said he hopes that by partnering with Community Cycles and SkillShare, people can work for an hour at Bococo and earn $10 towards a bike, or an hour of a Skill Share member’s time.
Brian Jackson also addressed how much refurbishing computers decreases e-waste and therefore is incredibly eco-friendly.
“E-waste itself is very toxic,” he said.
Unfortunately most of it is stockpiled in third world countries which is detrimental to people’s health and the environment there.
Eric explained how re-building computers from e-waste is only one way they effectively reduce it. They are looking to have artists paint computer parts, shells and boxes.
“This reduces e-waste because people won’t throw away a piece of art,” he said. “Then when they get an upgrade we can rebuild their computer in that painted shell.”
Eric and Brian are just beginning to fulfill their vision that was the reason they founded Bococo, but they are committed to creating a sense of community. They said they plan to start hosting periodical movie nights on their flat-screen TV, among other community events.
Anyone is invited to stop by for a free cup of joe, ask a question about a program that would like to be better understood, or drop off some old equipment they’re not using anymore for a tax write-off.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Ana McIntosh at Anna.mcintosh@colorado.edu.
