Vigyan Ashram has various training facilities for young people to learn self-sufficiency and rural technology development. Students in the Design Innovation Centre and Fab Academy students can use the Fab Lab facilities for prototyping and to learn skills related to digital fabrication and electronics. Students must work on projects that benefit the local community and the ashram.
Vigyan Ashram Fab Lab, Pabal, India, 2017
Fab Charter at Vigyan Ashram Fab Lab
Fab Charter at Vigyan Ashram
Komal, for example, was prototyping a frugal-innovation design for a vegetable cooler.
Students work with local farmers on rural technology development, such as adapting Chinese-manufactured rice harvesting equipment for local conditions and prototyping other agricultural tool designs.
Sensors are used in various ways to discover appropriate use cases and in knowledge building.
Renewable energy projects include solar trackers, solar cookers and biogas digesters. Sensors are often embedded to facilitate use and development.
Prachi was working on sophisticated prosthetic prototypes for local stakeholders. Precious Plastic recycling extrusion prototype at Vigyan Ashram Fab Lab, India, 2017Solar cooker at Vigyan Ashram, India, 2017Technology Demonstration Park, Vigyan Ashram, India, 2017
Vigyan Ashram Fab Lab
Fab Academy students working on a 3D scanning exercise at Vigyan Ashram Fab Lab
Sandeep leading a demonstration for Design Innovation Centre students at Vigyan Ashram Fab Lab.
Sandeep was learning all the digital fabrication tools and techniques so he could set up his own fab lab and innovation centre in his own locality, especially for people with different physical abilities.
Vigyan Ashram
Vigyan Ashram is located near the village of Pabal in Maharashtra, about 70 km from Pune. It’s a quiet, rural locale where the young people live on site, work on their duties and projects, have routines for shared meal times in the canteen, as well as meditation, prayer and lecture times.
Vigyan Ashram, Pabal, India, 2017Looking towards the village of Pabal from Vigyan Ashram, India, 2017
See another Gallery on Vigyan Ashram here and a blog post about the Fab Lab here.