# 📖 Start Here — Starting a Community Mesh Guide

This book is for people who want to start or grow a LoRa mesh community - from bootstrapping the first nodes to governing a multi-network region.

## 🚀 Starting From Zero

1. [How do I start a mesh network where there are none?](/books/faq/page/how-do-i-start-a-mesh-network-where-there-are-none) (FAQ)
2. [Starting from Zero: Your First Repeater](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/starting-from-zero-your-first-repeater)
3. [Is There Already a Network in Your Area?](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/is-there-already-a-network-in-your-area)
4. [Choosing Your Protocol and Channel](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/choosing-your-protocol-and-channel)

## 📚 What's In This Book

### Planning Your Network

- [Setting Channel Keys and Network Identity](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/setting-channel-keys-and-network-identity)
- [Infrastructure Agreements and Permissions](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/infrastructure-agreements-and-permissions) - Site host relationships, rooftop access

### Growing Your Community

- [Finding Volunteers and Repeater Sites](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/finding-volunteers-and-repeater-sites)
- [Recruiting Repeater Hosts](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/recruiting-repeater-hosts)
- [Onboarding New Members Effectively](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/onboarding-new-members-effectively)
- [Community Events and Meetups](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/community-events-and-meetups)
- [Running Mesh Events and Demonstrations](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/running-mesh-events-and-demonstrations)

### Network Hygiene and Documentation

- [Naming Conventions and Network Hygiene](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/naming-conventions-and-network-hygiene)
- [Network Documentation Standards](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/network-documentation-standards)
- [Handling Network Growth and Congestion](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/handling-network-growth-and-congestion)

### Community Operations

- [Community Governance and Decision-Making](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/community-governance-and-decision-making)
- [Emergency Preparedness Integration](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/emergency-preparedness-integration)
- [Using RegionMesh Geographic Scoping](/books/starting-a-community-mesh/page/using-regionmesh-geographic-scoping)

## ➡️ Related Books

- [North American Networks](/books/north-american-networks) - See what existing communities have done
- [Network Planning](/books/network-planning) - Technical planning tools
- [Emergency Communications](/books/emergency-communications) - EmComm integration with community networks