Hackerspaces as Small-Scale Production and Repair Networks for Low-Cost Open Hardware FOSSASIA Summit 2026

FOSSASIA Summit 2026 Sunday, 8 March, 2026 9:00 AM (Asia/Bangkok) To Tuesday, 10 March, 2026 7:30 PM (Asia/Bangkok)

Info Featured Schedule Speakers Exhibition

Hackerspaces as Small-Scale Production and Repair Networks for Low-Cost Open Hardware<ul><li>I’ve spent much of my life teaching people who were convinced they were “not technical” how to build and fix things. </li></ul><ul><li>Again and again, I see the same pattern: when people learn together in a supportive hackerspace, they explore, tinker, and find topics and projects that they find meaningful. If others also find it meaningful, this can often lead to products that can be sold. Many can make a living on the resulting small business. Open hardware is ideal for such community-oriented projects.</li></ul><ul><li>I will share what I have learned from hackerspaces around the world about how these communities function as inspiration for learning, for production, and for repair networks.</li><li>I will also share how I have helped many hackerspaces get started</li></ul>Workshop Description: <ul><li>Hackerspaces do not begin with expensive tools or perfect governance. They begin with people who want to learn and share together. People encourage each other to explore. People help each other build and fix things. Over time, these spaces often evolve into small but powerful production and repair hubs, with low-cost open hardware at its core.</li></ul><ul><li>This workshop draws from experiences teaching and visiting hackerspaces worldwide to explore what makes these spaces actually work.</li></ul><ul><li>I’ll share about designing open hardware that beginners are not afraid to build, that tolerates mistakes, and that can be repaired locally using commonly available parts. </li></ul><ul><li>We’ll look at documentation and teaching practices and see how workshops and events act as powerful accelerators that improve both hardware and community.</li></ul>The core outcome of the workshop is practical. Participants will work individually or in small groups to create a clear, step by step plans for starting a hackerspace, or for evolving an existing one into a stronger production and repair space. This plan will cover:<ul><li>How to start with people, not equipment</li></ul><ul><li>How to choose organizational and decision-making options</li></ul><ul><li>How to attract newcomers</li></ul><ul><li>What tools and practices matter</li></ul><ul><li>How to support local building and repair</li></ul><ul><li>How to connect with other spaces as part of a distributed network</li></ul>By the end of the session, participants will leave not only with ideas, but with concrete plans they can take home and adapt to their own local context. The focus is on supportive communities that encourage everyone to explore meaningful activities, with open hardware as a powerful idea for creating projects that sustainably benefit those who create them, and as well as those in the surrounding community.