Workshop on EUD for Supporting Sustainability in Maker Communities

Abstract

Recently, there has been a proliferation of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) communities that can be generally included in the larger all-encompassing maker movement: Hackerspaces, FabLabs, Transition Town groups etc. Made possible by the new horizons opened by digital fabrication and the Internet, the maker movement has a great potential to foster sustainable living by supporting innovation in this field, facilitating its appropriation and propagating its practical use. However, technology-driven maker communities are often perceived as places for tech-savvy people and have difficulties to attract wider audiences. In this workshop, we would like to discuss how can EUD concepts support sustainability in maker communities by ensuring wider scale access to digital fabrication, supporting user innovation and leveraging knowledge sharing across communities.