Mobile tech lab turns creative ideas into marketable products
Taking technology to rural areas - Makers Village helps budding entrepreneurs create innovative, unique products from everyday materials.
WHAT do you get when you take a mobile technology lab, full of the latest product design equipment, into the heart of rural Zululand?
The answer is keen crafters with a platform to easily turn their creative ideas into marketable products.
Among other poverty zones in the country, Khula Village near St Lucia was included in the Makers Village programme of making technology available to those who would not otherwise have had such exposure.
Working with both rural schools and communities, the idea of the mobile technology lab is to teach crafters and potential entrepreneurs how to use such machinery as laser cutters and 3D printers to turn an idea into a marketable product
From key rings to plant pots, anything is possible with the machinery in the mobile lab and any materials, including cardboard and concrete, can be used when creating such products.
This means roadside litter can be turned into a creative design and sold as a unique souvenir to holidaymakers.
Based at the Veyani Cultural Centre, lab operators and designers spent last week helping Khula Village’s crafters establish a marketable brand for their wares. Pre-selected trainers were taught how to use the machines and for what purposes.
The trainers will then pass on that knowledge to others so crafters can create their own products.
The Makers Village mobile lab will return to Khula Village every six weeks, each time passing on more knowledge.
The idea is to eventually leave some machines at Khula Village where crafters can book a time slot to make their products.
The availability of such advanced technology will afford them the opportunity to create innovative products unique to their area, thus increasing their business and improving their outlook.
