Gearbox International Foundation

The organization supports and facilitates the creation and operation of "makerspaces" in developing regions of the world that are empowering local communities to develop tools and technologies that serve the needs of the poor. Over the course of 2018, the organization delivered programs providing ongoing technical, management, and financial support to a makerspace in nairobi, kenya, that helped them both improve their internal operations and significantly scale up their training and outreach activities.we managed three technical support programs in partnership with the autodesk Foundation and stanford university. Via their impact residency program, we sent one of the makerspace's lead engineers to autodesk's pier 9 facility in san francisco for four months, where he learned how to run a world-class prototyping facility. While there, he also developed a low-cost, easy to maintain cnc pipe bending machine that is accessible to kenya's informal manufacturers. These artisans make up over 70% of non-agricultural employment in kenya, and most earn less than $2 per day and have little or no education. Use of this new machine became part of a training program at the makerspace that reached 250 artisans in its pilot phase. We also organized a four week placement that sent a stanford graduate school of business mba candidate to nairobi to help the makerspace understand and develop their revenue model, and we collaborated with a stanford class in management science & engineering whose students analyzed the makerspace's user interactions to identify areas for improved service delivery.working with the lemelson Foundation and kpmg, we helped the makerspace conduct a full systems audit to improve their internal processes and financial management. We also provided direct consulting to the makerspace on accounting, legal structure, and board composition. Working with nation of makers, the umbrella group representing makerspaces across the united states, we helped form a data working group to develop impact metrics and reporting tools designed specifically for makerspaces that can be adapted globally.we devoted significant time and resources to researching and developing a new blended finance model for funding capital intensive projects like makerspaces in developing countries that can provide the necessary real estate and equipment infrastructure in a way that maintains nonprofit ownership of community assets. We also made $93,049 in grants to support the mission and operations of the makerspace in nairobi.with the help of this funding, the makerspace was able to serve 41 regular members. They also launched a new training program called Gearbox academy with 76 students. This is a mastery-based program introducing kenyan makers to new workshop technologies, robotics, automation, and digital design, among other topics. They also launched a training program called 2jiajiri specifically to conduct outreach to low-income, informal artisans and manufacturers who may not be able to access the makerspace otherwise. Alongside training in design and fabrication (some of which is provided onsite via a mobile classroom), this program provides training in life skills, business, and access to finance to allow participants to grow their incomes, with a focus on women-led microenterprises. The program launched with 250 participants in its initial pilot, and is engaged to continue with 500 more in 2019.in addition to working directly with low-income users, the makerspace's mission is to help designers and engineers develop tools and technologies that serve the needs of the poor. Fifteen teams were granted access to the makerspace to develop their prototypes, including a glove that translates sign language to audible speech, a system of flashing lights that can protect livestock from lions, a chicken brooder than provides updates on a farmer's flock via sms, a milk chiller that runs on biogas, a technique to convert water hyacinth to clean cooking fuel, a solar-powered cart for street vendors, a foot-activated water tap to prevent the spread of disease, a technique for harvesting drinking water from the atmosphere, a machine for processing waste vegetation into livestock feed, an affordable and portable device for diagnosing neonatal bacterial meningitis, a non-invasive tool for diagnosing malaria, a distribution center for female hygiene products in slum communities, a fetal heart rate monitor, a technique for 3d printing surgical models for non-invasive training, and a stackable hydroponic growing solution for farming in regions with depleted soils that aims to slow deforestation.