During the first few months of the pandemic, when a lot of products, especially personal protection equipment (PPE) in healthcare settings, was in short supply or completely unavailable, a lot of people in various makerspaces mobilized to invent and produce replacements they could build quickly. Our own Communautique (coordinators of this year’s Fab City summit) were part of that effort with echofab and their design and production of a visor
Some topics you might have seen once in a while over the last few years: a movement to simply give money to people in need instead of thinking-up complex programs and going through NGOs; frugal innovation and Jugaad (“a colloquial word in India, which refers to a non-conventional, frugal innovation, often termed a ‘hack’”) as inspiration for western DIY; giving people back their agency, empowerment.
A very ambitious project of community-driven development Very interesting project to follow, and
Known as CAPÉ, the Coopérative pour l'Agriculture de proximité écologique brings together more than 150 certified organic farms and more than a hundred other members across Québec. As its name says, it is involved in making Québec agriculture more ecological, as well as promoting the short circuit, in physical proximity, but also, and especially, social proximity with the consumer; the CAPÉ represents the majority of Québec farms offering organic baskets.
It’s starting today so perhaps it’s getting a little late for readers to free-up some time to participate but Felipe Schmidt Fonseca, a PhD researcher at Northumbria University, is launching a very interesting online co-design lab which will run all month.
