# Introduction

## Mapeo is a free, easy-to-use, open source set of tools for collecting and mapping information.

Mapeo was built by [Digital Democracy](https://www.digital-democracy.org) with and for earth defenders to easily document environmental & human rights information and to collect data about their land. It was designed to work in entirely offline environments, is highly customizable, and built on a decentralized peer-to-peer database that allows communities to own their own data.

![Mapeo used to document illegal activities in Northern Ecuador, supported by Alianza Ceibo and Amazon Frontlines.](https://3796244665-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MYBEBKX0wx5_bwmCf0q%2F-MgHvqLht2m0PsCSiV-h%2F-MgI33JiiL_PizPTogjD%2FAC-Siona2-1024x683.jpg?alt=media\&token=62d5274a-6c06-4496-87c7-05a1ce1a2680)

## About this Guide

This site provides an introduction to the Mapeo tools and a collection of training & technical resources to support Mapeo users.

The site is divided into the following sections:

* **Overview**\
  Basic information about the Mapeo tools
* **Quick Start Guide**\
  Instructions for installing and testing Mapeo's default functionality
* **Complete Reference Guide**\
  A complete collection of resources on planning & implementing projects using Mapeo and customization of the tools

### Use of this guide

Digital Democracy would like both Mapeo and the Mapeo reference materials we develop to help communities find ways to support **autonomy**, **accesibility** and **collaboration** in their projects. We know that people accessing this online resource will have diverse interests, goals, needs, and technical literacy. For this reason, there are a variety of paths to access information and levels of details users may be looking for. All pages in this guide can also be [saved in PDF format and printed for use offline](https://docs.mapeo.app/complete-reference-guide/troubleshooting/saving-and-printing-mapeo-reference-materials).

*Feel free to make use of these resources under the creative commons license terms:* [Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

**Translation**\
We strive to make our tools & resources accessible and available to communities in their local languages. If you'd like to contribute to translating this guide, please see the section on [Translating Mapeo](https://docs.mapeo.app/complete-reference-guide/customization-options/translating) to learn how to get started.

#### Open Source Development

Mapeo and all of Digital Democracy's technical development is open source. Visit the [FOR DEVELOPERS](https://docs.mapeo.app/for-developers/mapeo-repositories) section for more information.

*Mapeo is a project of Digital Democracy, a non-profit organization that partners with earth defenders to co-develop technology for social justice. For more information on Digital Democracy, and how to support our user-centered co-development process visit* [*our website*](https://www.digital-democracy.org)*.*