In this time of burgeoning climate crisis, there are numerous ways that makers can create and amplify, communal resilience and climate adaptability. In part, these solutions come from the ingenuity of the makers, like creating machines to purify water, recycle plastic, and so on. However, much of this effort is wasted on reinventing wheels, and fails to effectively scale most of the myriad viable solutions already out there.
Under the United Nations OCHA, the Cluster Framework cites eleven domains that need to be addressed in a disaster, such as sanitation, shelter, and communications. Across nearly all of these domains, there already exist viable, open-source schematics or solutions that can be produced by makers almost anywhere in the world. If the solution was only a matter of having a plan, then we would be in a very different situation right now.
We need a system that addresses the following:
Connect makers and makerspaces together at scale.
Connect regional groups of makers to the formal disaster response infrastructure.
Connect regional groups of makers with training and resources to scale, and implement, the solutions developed in challenges.
The scope of the crisis we are facing is unprecedented. We simply do not have the time to see which solutions organically thrive under market conditions. The Global Makers Challenge group know better than most that there are viable solutions out there, and there is great benefit in supporting these solutions. In turn, we need the ability to weave the global maker community together into groups large enough to coordinate action at scale. Additionally, there must exist the ability to push the viable solutions we find out into the world quickly. These solutions can then be iterated and improved upon freely, so they can be adapted to changing contexts and challenges. Finally, we need the ability to connect this network of resilient makers with the formal emergency management apparatus, or else most of that capacity will be wasted when it is needed most. I expand on this summary in the short pdf attached. Thank you for your consideration.
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