Medina

One of the mantras of the maker movement is “Do it Yourself” (DIY), to do instead of to buy or to fix instead of to put on the trash. But this kind of philosophy isn’t new. In several places of the world the communities do themselves what they need, sometimes because this is part of them…

Moroccan Center of Innovation and Social Enterpreneurship (MCISE)

A few hundred meters away from the walls of Medina of Rabat I found a very special place. There is a group of people looking for opportunities to change the life of their fellows. The Moroccan Center for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (MCISE) started in 2012 with of 17 people who wanted to change the…

{code}bridge

In the most of the previous posts, I’ve talked about physical spaces. Today my focus will be on something less tangible, but with a huge importance in our world: data and information. {code}bridge is an organization which incubates civic initiatives. Geographically, it is in Cape Town and Durban, but its work spreads for all South…

The Old Biscuit Mill and The Woodstock Exchange

Woodstock is the district of Cape Town in which artists and creative people chose to be. The environment, with its several craft shops, restaurants, bars and art galleries, has motivated several companies to install its offices in the neighborhood. I’ve visited two places in Woodstock, The Old Biscuit Mill and The Woodstock Exchange, and these…

Workshop 17

Cape Town’s premier shopping complex, the V&A Waterfront is located between the city center and the Green Point World Cup stadium, with an amazing view of Table Mountain. In 1988 it has started the development process of the historic docklands which, in the XV century, received the first ships of the Dutch East India Company….

FABLab Namibia

Namibia is a big country with savannas, huge dune deserts and a small population. In its capital, Windhoek, I’ve found a well-equipped fablab with a lot of well-succeeded programs. The idea of FABLab Namibia emerged in 2012, after some visits in fablabs from Kenya and South Africa. Then, after planning and get funding, the FABLab…