“Makers” and the Future of Sustainable Industry
In the coming year, the MIU Sustainable Living department will be launching a new class that will introduce students to the “Maker” movement and the growing culture of DIY (do it yourself) technology. Some might ask, “how do electronics, robotics and 3D printing fit into the concept of sustainability?”<!–more–>
When thinking about “sustainable living,” many of us visualize organic farming, natural building and solar energy. However, unlike the “back to the land” movement of the 1970s, the new generation of “tiny house” dwellers and organic farmers depend heavily on digital technology for information, business and community. Do you need to identify an insect that is eating your kale? There’s an app. Is your tractor running rough? A Youtube video can help diagnose the problem. It would be hard to argue that digital information technology hasn’t made it easier for many people to transition to a sustainable lifestyle, despite the obvious environmental footprint of the technology itself.
A 3D printed version of our logo.
“Sustainability” and “Green Business” mean different things to different people. There are those, like primitivist philosopher John Zerzan, who would deny that industry has any place in a sustainable future. Zerzan wrote that “…Never before have people been…so dependent on the machine for everything; as the earth rapidly approaches its extinction due to technology, our souls are shrunk and flattened by its pervasive rule.” Is Zerzan correct, or can technology be used as a tool to build a more sustainable future– not to maintain, but to disrupt the status quo? Proponents of the “Maker” movement would say yes.
Ironically, Maker culture was created as a response to isolation and inactivity of an increasingly digital world. When the idea of “hacking” migrated from the world of computer software to the world of hardware, “making” was born. Maker culture embraces all things “hands-on” and DIY, celebrating the renegade spirit of imagination, exploration and modification found in all great creative endeavors. Making happens in a social environment, where knowledge is shared and ad hoc teams of artists, engineers, farmers and “citizen scientists’ can join forces to create unique solutions to any number of challenges, from programming to woodworking to baking.
Embedded in maker culture are some core ideas that relate to what Peter Diamandis describes in his book Abundance as the “6 D’s of Exponential Technology:”
Diamandis, at the other end of the spectrum from Zerzan, sees technology ultimately as a liberator, not a tool of enslavement. The democratization of technology may in fact be the key to moving on to a “post-consumer” culture. If we (as a community) have the ability to create, customize and repair our technological environment, we gain control over (and take responsibility for) our use of resources.
A broken knob can quickly be replaced by downloading and printing an open-source file
New “desktop manufacturing” technologies like 3D printing can be a part of the democratization of technology. Websites like thingiverse.com are platforms for free sharing of designs that can allow you to print your own part to repair anything from a toaster to a cellphone. As we move from disposable products to repairable products, a whole chain of positive cultural forces take place. Resource conservation, waste reduction and job creation all happen as a result of a local repair-based economy.
The beauty of the Maker approach is that it is not an “either/or” paradigm. It can be adapted to the developed or developing world. It can co-exist with the “back to the land” aesthetic, and even pave the way for more people to be exposed to the idea of sustainability in much the same way that “The Whole Earth Catalog” did for an earlier generation.
The MIU Sustainable Living Department workshop will be opening as a “MakerSpace” later this summer, where students and members of the community can gather to learn, experiment and share skills. The shop will include woodworking and metalworking areas, an electronics lab and a 3D printer lab where people can get hands-on experience with tools and mentoring on projects.
Rich Dana is the Sustainable Living Department's Director of Microenterprise Development. He works directly with students to develop ideas and implement projects. He is a serial entrepreneur, a freelance writer and partner in Plan B Consulting. He has served as an energy specialist at the National Center for Appropriate Technology, President of the Iowa Renewable Energy Association, and lobbyist for the Iowa Farmers Union. At 53, he still likes to climb on roofs and install solar equipment.