introduction:
When HONF invited me for a presentation at their new media festival Cells button #2, I thought the best thing I could do is to present the concept of a Fablab. Since a half year I am Fablab manager in Amsterdam, and I have seen a big variety of people doing all kinds of stuff in our lab. From architects to designers to artists, or just whatever people with nice ideas produced a lot of stuff. You can see more than 50 documented ones here.

So what is a Fablab?
A Fablab is a kind of workshop with a few advanced digital controlled production machines. You can compare it with what a factory would have as a ‘research and development‘ department.
The concept of Fablab has been developed by Neil Gershenfeld from MIT during a class 'How to make almost anything'.
Since then, the Fablab has developed into a global network of standardized open hardware setups. People from all over the world are using it to create and develop their own ideas and solutions. Together with FabLab.nl, Waag Society started to introduce the concept in the Netherlands. In co-operation with Picnic, Picnic Jr and Mediamatic with its exhibition space, a promotion campaign started in 2007.
Waag Society offers workshop formats for technical education, but also uses the FabLab as a rapid prototyping facility for their own and their partners’ use.
Furthermore, the lab is open two days a week for the general public to come in and realize their own ideas.
The Open Hardware approach is in line with the Open Source and Open Content (CC) communities.

conclusion:
Since I got really nice responds from my friends in Yogjakarta, my vision is to build a fablab in Yogyakarta, which is hosted by HONF, and open for everybody. The idea is to open the new fablab at cells button #3 next year in august. Fingers crossed…

If you have ideas, suggestions, comments about setting up a fablab in Yogyakarta, or need more info, please drop me a mail to alex [at]waag.org

Alex Schaub

Here a view images what has been done in the fablab Amsterdam

Laser Toasted Bread -> how to make it

Alex’s easter egg lamp -> how to make it

workshop: Send my pet -> how to make it

and some photos of my presentation: