A room of one's own is all that writers might need to write, but what about innovators? What do they need? Gomake Makerspace in Visakhapatnam seems to have found the answer to this because this 2,200 square feet space houses a whole lot, like a kitchen — where they tinker with food, a heavy-duty area — where metal and woodwork is done, easy access to different kinds of tubes, pipes, wood and metal through their stockpile, a textile area with sewing machines, a chemical area where cold casting and 3D printing is possible, a general area where people can work away on their laptops and so much more! Though the soft launch was in June 2019, it all began much before that for Ramaseshu Botu, the ideator and founder of the space.
After living in the US for 11 years, during which he pursued his Master's in Environmental Health and Occupational Safety from the University of Texas and worked with corporates for five years, he moved to Visakhapatnam in 2014. After visiting cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai, he decided to focus on the pollution problem by creating effective protective masks. "There were cheap solutions but my experience told me that they are not effective enough. I wanted to make cartridge-based masks," says the 34-year-old. He worked on it for 18 months and has even applied for a patent, and in the meanwhile, the tools he purchased to make the mask grew into Gomake Makerspace. "I have always been inclined towards tinkering, so I wanted to open the space up for public and that's how it all started," explains the Srikakulam-born inventor, who adds, "Vizag has enough innovative minds to make the most of this space."
Students from Oakridge International School have already visited the space for a project they are working on in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the youngster, who was brought up in Kenya, is hoping that other schools might see the merit in visiting their space too. Another noteworthy point to add is that all the furniture in the space, including the interior work and logo (both the digital and physical one in the space) are in-house productions. Now, how cool is that! As the space is equipped with everything that an innovator might need, their infrastructure has enabled them to conducted as many as 20 workshops last year including one on e-bike building and welding. They are even offering restoration and custom solutions for those vehicle owners who are looking for it. "Just like it takes a village to raise a child, it takes holistic development to be an all-rounder. And an experimental space like ours allows you to broaden your tunnel vision," avers Ramaseshu.
Scenes from the space
If you want to find out more, check out gomake.live
