3:15pm // Makers in Monrovia
Makers in Monrovia is an ongoing effort to build ties between community and technology through the establishment of a mini-makerspace at iLab Liberia, a community-driven technology hub in Monrovia, Liberia.
A successfully funded Indiegogo campaign helped provide a variety of tools, components and materials to use during a 7-week stay at the iLab where Zane Cochran taught free Arduino-based physical computing classes, Python programming, and DSLR photography. In addition to an initial deluge of interest from participating students, the community in Monrovia showed and outpouring of support as students developed their own innovative projects which the exhibited during a public open house.
Despite the many technical challenges Monrovia faces as it continues to recover from its 20-year civil war, community-centered efforts like Makers in Monrovia continue to help create strong bonds between members of the community as the principles of creative thinking and problem solving inherent to making continue to spread.