I’m not going to lie; I had a perception that using mechanical machines and tools every day is such-a bore! I grew up seeing my dad using different kinds of tools every day in his workshop. Whenever I saw my dad use these tools, I used to feel what is so great about working/ making things with these tools; it’s just tiring! But Everything changed after I joined Maker’s Asylum.
The Last Four years here have been a rollercoaster ride. One thing that’s striking at Makerspaces is that every day is a new day of Learning. You come across crazy yet incredible people who make and create Incredible things. I can Still remember my initial days here at Maker’s Asylum, when I struggled to keep up with myself as it was very annoying and tough to cope with since I used to find myself as a pro one day and a loser the next!
Not to brag but Today, I feel like I’m Jack of All Trades and a Master of Making. There is a sense of- achievement in making something yourself, which keeps me on my feet every day. Whenever I look at a new product, I keep deducing the entire process of how to make it and get my hands on it. Today, I enjoy getting my hands dirty by building things that matter. I have had my share of contributions while working on interesting projects like Re-breather, Oxygen Concentrators, Face-shields, Motorised air purifier respirator; and many other community-member projects like Solar panel cleaning system, Art installations, longboard, IoT world map, etc.
My typical day at Asylum revolves around developing creative learning modules for skill-building courses, conducting sessions for young talents, training the trainers, and prototyping. Looking down the memory lane, I remember I began with taking care of the labs, maintaining the equipment, helping the members in their projects, and conducting sessions.
Maker’s Asylum being a maker space, we have a rich network of makers. Working with various kinds of people made me more confident about the skills I possess. Also, working on different types of projects helped me grow as a person. Every problem I encounter today, I consider it a problem-statement that I need to solve and explore multiple avenues to reach a solution rather than jumping into the action without thinking.
My entire journey with Maker’s Asylum has been an evolving journey, I had the space to learn and experiment, which helped me grow as a maker and also helped me to get a view of what it is that I could potentially be doing a few years from now, and I am more than excited to explore how far I can achieve.
