Our goal of creating an open source product and growing a community of users to spread the power of fermentation is becoming more tangible every day. There have been a number of milestones along the way, the most recent of which was this workshop where we teached an existing community how to make their own future fermenter using digital manufacturing techniques, and then to learn how to use it by making tempeh together, so that the group could then integrate it into their practices and explore other uses.

For this workshop, we teamed up with the Ateneu de Fabricació de Grácia (AFABG) and La Cuina del Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA). Together we built our open-source project from our website, using the machines available at AFABG. We soldered and assembled the electronics, machined the wooden cabinet using the CNC milling machine and 3D printed the parts needed to put it all together, all without any prior knowledge, but with guidance from us and the AFABG team. Because the Cuina collective built the machine themselves, they could understand it completely and in the future, they will be able to repair it, upgrade it and give it a longer life cycle.

In the second part of the workshop, we demonstrated the use of the fermenter by making tempeh together, which allowed us to introduce the fermentation process and the magic that the fermenter can bring to any culinary practice. Together we discussed why and how to ferment at home, and its impact on our planet, our health and our communities.

We are delighted to have been able to demonstrate the holistic vision of the project during this workshop which touches on open source, digital manufacturing, circularity, fermentation, the climate and the food crisis. A Huge thanks FoodSHIFT 2030 and Fab Lab Barcelona that have supported us in the realisation of it.