ABSTRACT
This chapter examines hackerspaces, fablabs and makerspaces as a grassroots innovation movement because there is considerable activity outside formal institutions and because their networks are committed to exploring the social possibilities of bringing tools to people. This chapter introduces the global growth, since the early 2000s, in hackerspaces, fablabs and makerspaces and discusses their potential roles in pathways for sustainable developments. It explains the background to the emergence of hackerspaces, fablabs and makerspaces, and then analyses the different framings associated with these workshops. An important framing for workshops is commitment to principles of free software, hardware and peer production. Spaces supportive of workshops, and where resources and opportunities for development are provided, are found in grassroots movements, educational institutions and interest from business and government. The chapter considers the spaces where support and development of the workshops has been obtained, followed by three illustrative examples of workshops. It also discusses pathway dilemmas confronting this movement.
