The Rural Design Collective in Port Orford, Oregon, is a not-for-profit professional mentoring program with a local focus designed to help motivated, creative people begin an independent career on the Internet. They learn to work remotely using collaborative tools and social-networking sites, and are required to meet production deadlines and interact with their clients one-on-one either using online communication tools or by conducting on-site meetings. The program is focused on teaching and using open source technologies.