can lah!
Hello you! If you’re reading this, you must have acquired one of our handy can openers. We hope this gift can help you to open cans for consumption and doors for discovering other assistive gadgets — this page will help you do just that!
Read on to find out how SalvageGarden makserspace works with assistive tech, what “assistive tech” really is, and why making it cheaper is such a big deal.
Assistive tech? Like, robot arms?
Well, yeah, if the robot arm enables someone without an arm to do stuff they can’t originally do, that’s a piece of assistive tech right there. You see, assistive tech (or AT) is anything that can help people with disabilities live independently. Many people kinda focus on the “tech” bit, but in reality something as simple as tactile door labels is also AT. It can be hardware, like assistive utensils, or software like Seeing AI — or a combination of both!
Wait, so why make stuff that already exists?
While robo-arms and bionic eyes are cool and super helpful, they often retail at high prices. This is the same for other non-prosthetic assistive devices, like Braille e-books and hearing aids. Not many people who need it can afford them, so people like us use and make open-sourced ideas as an available alternative. Because no one owns open-sourced stuff, it can be used, modified and shared by anyone; which means helpful devices become widely available to those who seek independence but have little budget for it! Check out our current projects, you’ll see what we mean. ^-^
Okay, but what about this can opener? It's already cheap and widely available.
Remember how we mentioned open-sourced ideas just above? The great thing about open-sourced AT ideas, is not only it can be customised, it also saves people with disabilities time and energy when it comes to obtaining a mass-marketed assistive device. Instead of combing shops, online stores, waiting for shipment, buying and testing just to find the perfect device, people with disabilities can just approach us. We’ll modify it according to their request, print it, and huzzah! It’ll be done in half the time of the original process.
If you want to make some to distribute, you don’t even need to own anything! Just borrow a 3D printer, download the template, and start making. You can start with these can openers 😀
CAN I help you guys?
That would be awesome!! We want to keep what we do free and accessible to as many people as we can in Singapore, SEA, and wherever else people need our help. To keep our ideas, 3D printers and makerspace up and running, you can donate to us:
Or if you have tools, gadgets, equipment that are looking for a new life, that would also be really helpful!
And if you want to reach out to us for a request or a visit, you can always get to us through our Linktree.
Behold, The End!
To celebrate, here’s a fun video for you 🙂