Multiple nodes does help; not sure if there is an open channel in your community like a open public meshtastic channel has

Check out this here for the necessary software to get started👇

https://unsigned.io/guides/2023_01_14_Making_A_Handheld_RNode.html#tools

Imo reticulum has much more potential, but (for right now) meshtastic has a easier on-boarding process

We'll get a smoother reticulum setup, way faster/better than meshtastic, prob in less than 6-12 months