Academic Secondment: WeCanMake

WeCanMake is a CIC based in south Bristol with a growing pipeline of community-led homes for delivery. They have a developed a novel decentralised model of housing construction, combining bio-based and circular (reused and reusable) materials with small scale digital fabrication techniques. The process embeds community skills training, transferring knowledge and wealth to residents.

There is an urgent need to scale this production. WeCanMake are developing an innovative approach to material sourcing that will build community wealth and create low carbon futures through localised material sourcing and production. They have recently acquired space for a materials hub, which will supply and distribute local bio-based materials for use in construction projects in Bristol. The Hub would become a new kind of urban learning centre, open to trades and the public to engage and learn about the processes involved in local sourcing, salvage, and reuse.

The secondment will aim to examine the feasibility of creating a community resource for home construction, identifying the challenges and opportunities, establishing priority areas for future research.

WeCanMake is a CIC based in south Bristol with a growing pipeline of community-led homes for delivery. They have a developed a novel decentralised model of housing construction, combining bio-based and circular (reused and reusable) materials with small scale digital fabrication techniques. The process embeds community skills training, transferring knowledge and wealth to residents.

There is an urgent need to scale this production. WeCanMake are developing an innovative approach to material sourcing that will build community wealth and create low carbon futures through localised material sourcing and production. They have recently acquired space for a materials hub, which will supply and distribute local bio-based materials for use in construction projects in Bristol. The Hub would become a new kind of urban learning centre, open to trades and the public to engage and learn about the processes involved in local sourcing, salvage, and reuse.

The secondment will aim to examine the feasibility of creating a community resource for home construction, identifying the challenges and opportunities, establishing priority areas for future research.