Growing up in the remote, arid terrains of Dapaong in northern Togo, Lalle Nadjagou was always fascinated by technology and design. 鈥淚n my childhood I used to try and make electronic cars and planes because I would see the airplanes in the sky and think, 鈥榟ow can a person do that?鈥欌�� the 22-year-old told me. 鈥淪ince I was repairing radios and things, I saw how the motherboards and things functioned and it made me want to create my own projects.鈥�
Perched on a table outside the doors of WoeLab鈥�woe聽is the聽Ewe word for 鈥渄o it鈥濃�攚hich sits in the shadow of Lom茅 University and flanked by a barber and local drinking spot in Togo’s coastal capital, he is working on his newest electronic creation: a miniature 3D printer. Nadjagou is part of the latest cohort at WoeLab, the first technology incubator and fabrication lab in the country, which is home to various local start-ups, designers and entrepreneurs.
The organization, founded in 2012 by Togolese architect S茅nam茅 Agboginou, is on a mission to promote urban renewal in the west African nation with a focus on creating sustainable technology in a local context and by utilizing the local environment. WoeLab’s members have identified a unique material to help achieve this: electronic waste. Members of the WoeLab community have invented the world鈥檚 first 3D printer made almost entirely from e-waste, built computers with discarded electronics inside plastic jerry cans, and are in the process of repurposing a discarded fridge to house a work station. 鈥淭he concept for WoeLab is to make 鈥榣ow鈥� high tech,鈥� Agboginou said. 鈥淭o develop very high tech projects but with what we have in our hands. Projects which are not high cost and that every person can have and projects which are adapted for our culture.鈥�
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