Drupal CMS 2.0, Canvas, Recipes, and Dripyard have changed the economics of Drupal for regional markets. This is the blueprint for building professional Drupal sites at $1,000 to $2,000 with real margin, for LATAM, Africa, Asia, and similar markets that Drupal could not serve before.
A developer who uses AI coding tools daily shares real examples of why autonomous AI agents still need human supervision. From unnecessary technical debt to context pollution to confidently wrong outputs, AI works best when a human is asking the right questions.
For Drupal's 25th anniversary, I built laollita.es—a multilingual recipe site—in 3 days using AI. Here's what modern Drupal can actually do today.
After a job rejection for lacking hands-on experience with specific tools, I demonstrated that systematic "black box" learning methodology can produce enterprise-grade results. Built complete Kubernetes platform with monitoring, security, and real applications in 17 hours over 6 days, leading to community contribution.
Applying Kubernetes orchestration principles to development teams. How technical architects coordinate talent based on what each task actually requires.
Drupal's pricing challenge isn't complexity—it's organization. We're charging commercial software rates for open source expertise, making routine maintenance unaffordable. How do we stay competitive while creating sustainable opportunities for both developers and clients?
Community enthusiasm without systematic support fails to enable authentic global participation. The Federation initiative represents a historic opportunity to move beyond good intentions toward structures that actually enable regional representation and sustainable development in Drupal's global ecosystem.
After DrupalCon Atlanta's packed BOF on Drupal's economic future, it's time for community-led solutions. This post proposes three initiatives: regionalized business-focused DrupalCons, positioning Drupal.org as the expertise hub, and creating a community-driven certification system based on educational standards frameworks. The Drupal Association must focus on current revenue priorities while the community builds this foundation – putting community first, business second, to truly build everything with Drupal.
The IXP Fellowship has officially evolved from an initiative to a functional program, creating structured pathways for companies to hire and mentor inexperienced Drupal developers. Companies completing engagements receive 250 contribution credits per hire, strengthening the Drupal ecosystem's sustainability. Seed EM, Bluefly, Digital Projex, and Digital Polygon are the first participating organizations. The program addresses the catch-22 of needing experience to get hired while broadening Drupal's talent base. Registration is now open at drupal-ixp.site.
Drupal.org has untapped potential to become more than a technical platform—it could transform into a genuine business hub connecting clients with service providers worldwide. This post explores how we can create a system where contribution naturally leads to business opportunities through regionalized partnership programs, globally supported initiatives for new developers, and reimagined events. By acknowledging regional economic differences and embracing the full ecosystem pyramid, we can build a Drupal community where contribution and business growth naturally align.
