Mapping local initiatives using maps.me

20 May 2018. Seoul, South Korea.

On a short trip to Laos I realized that mapping small local initiatives can be done using maps.me instead of using sites like kindmankind.net or its successors.

Kamiel has to do a visa run every three months and this time he went to Lao DPR. While he was on a short bicycle tour he encountered ladies weaving on the side of the road, with a traditional loom. Fascinated by their craft, he alighted and watched how the women created wonderful cloth that they also sold there. They would probably sell it at the night market in the tourist center nearby, but knowing the psyche of tourists, they would be much more inclined to buy it right here, straight off the loom as it were.

So Kamiel added the project as a location on the popular mapping app 'maps.me'. If other travelers navigate this area, they may see the "weaving" pin and perhaps decide to check it out. We don't know which mapping app will be most popular. https://www.openstreetmap.org/ could turn out to be a better option, but we do believe that mapping small local initiatives can really benefit them.