WHY MAKE (IN INDIA)?

Asking all the boring questions

Makerspaces

Makerspaces, generally collaborative working spaces equipped with basic engineering workshop tools (for carpentry, soldering, molding, cutting etc) but also with incoming experimental technology such as 3D printers as well as sewing and craft supplies.

They provide access to such spaces and technologies at nominal cost or for free.

Often involve an educational component. Since the inception of the first FabLab in Pune as a

result of the collaboration between MIT and IIT Kharagpur in 2002, many non franchised makerspaces have emerged across India.

Who makes

Is making an educational activity, an innovative act, an entrepreneurial culture or a political statement?

Why Make? DIY making cultures emerged in

response to: Disengagement with STEM subjects Consumerism and mass production An urge to learn and physically explore

What is made?

An emphasis on hobbyist technology making:

Use 3D printers, laser cutters, sewing machines and other tools

Making fun science and art projects with LED lights, metal, wood, cloth – fabrication

History and legacies in community science centers for children, artisanal cultures

Labor, hierarchies and making Issues of focus: sustainability, health, food,

consumer technologies Understanding ‘detournement’ – the path to hell

is paved with noble intentions Who is being “taught” making? Students,

engineers, Makerspaces as gendered and class specific How sustainable is making and running a

makerspace? The underbelly of making – pirate makers,

craftsmen, women, blue collar work

Make in Indi a

What can making do for a community and country?

In India, what do makers view as their contribution or role socially?

Given the massive investment and rising government and academic interest around social justice hackathons, innovation sprints as well as makerspaces (FabLabs and others), how can we assemble a coherent picture of the movement?

Make Zine ™? Integrating within existing practices vs disrupting?