Belt loom for blind people
Designed and developped in Fab Lab UNI
It’s an innovative and low-cost loom where the wood panels are replaced by plastic circles which enable blind people to change the colors of the weaving and to easily select a thread to make drawing with a Braille code.
As a result, it is easier to learn and to use and the productivity to make craft belts is increased by 4, by blind people such as sighted person.
Technologies used
Laser cutting- What’s the project story?
I value a lot the traditions and know-how of indigenous people, my family being part of it, so when I discovered the digital fabrication with the first Fablab of Latin America created in the University where I teach architecture and design, I decided to be trained and to applied it to Peruvian craft to make it accessible to everyone. After getting an unexpected but rewarding and international success with an easy to use and cheap (open-source) loom I designed for kids, I was ready to go further by meeting the challenge to offer it to blind people. En Peru, 70% of blind people are extremely poor so I was looking for a way to empower them to create and sell craft.
- How the workshop was useful?
The Fablab UNI was a great support to provide me with the time and resources necessary and the network of makers also helped me to make it real.
- What’s the project’s greatest success so far?
Blind people are using it and the belt made are sold in the markets.
- What’s your vision for the project & next steps?
To spread the word so that every blind people can have access to it if they want to and to democratize this Peruvian ancestral know-how widely with the other tools I designed :
- Foot loom that I showed in Miami Maker Faire:
-
Desk loom really accessible to anyone to start with craft practice
- How anyone interested can contribute to the project?
Help me to communicate and to train users! ;-)