— Network
The global Fab City network
Cape Town as a node in a planetary experiment.
Fab City connects cities committed to becoming locally productive and globally connected. Cape Town pledged in 2026, joining 60+ cities — from Barcelona to Shenzhen, Detroit to Seoul.
— The Cape Town ecosystem
Three scales. One network.
Fab City Cape Town's role is to connect capabilities that already exist — and create opportunities for them to work together around real local challenges.
Filter by tier · hover a partner ring to reveal collaborations · Cape Town
Global
— Framework, knowledge and global networkContinental
— African makerspace and innovation ecosystemCape Town + Western Cape
— Local partners and collaboratorsMenzies Design Lab, UCT
Research, design and prototyping
→make-a-thek
Libraries, making and repair — with Global Innovation Gathering and Africa Makerspaces
→Repair Café Cape Town
Repair and circular practice
→Fashion Revolution South Africa
Circular textiles and local production
→ARC of Franschhoek
Living laboratory and regeneration
→Technology & Knowledge Partners
— Open hardware, sensing and global knowledge infrastructureLocal by design, collaborative by nature, planetary in purpose.
— What the network is doing
Where partnerships become experiments
These are the tangible collaborations emerging from the network — real work happening across partner organisations.
ARC Observatory
Environmental observation, open sensing and data at the ARC of Franschhoek.
Partners
Circular textiles & local uniforms
Natural materials, repair culture and local production — from school uniforms to community garments.
Partners
Library making & repair
Public libraries as nodes for community making, repair and circular practice across the Western Cape.
Partners
Open environmental sensing
First open Smart Citizen environmental sensing nodes for Cape Town — air quality, temperature, humidity, noise.
Partners
— The challenge
Locally productive by 2054.
Every city. Every material. Every loop closed.
The Fab City challenge: every pledged city produces 50% of what it consumes locally by 2054. Not just food — materials, energy, knowledge, goods. Cities shift from PITO to DIDO: sharing knowledge globally while producing locally.
Today
Products In, Trash Out
Import goods → consume → export waste
2054 goal
Data In, Data Out
Share knowledge → produce locally → close loops
— Global nodes
A growing global network
56 cities, regions and territories have pledged to produce locally what they consume by 2054. Every marker below is a verified official Fab City Network member. Full list at fab.city.
— Network People
People connecting the network
Fab City Cape Town connects people and capabilities across the Western Cape, Africa and a global network of practitioners.
Network Lead
Kirstin Wiedow
Fab City Cape Town ↗Network building, distributed innovation and collaborative programmes across Africa and the global maker ecosystem. Founding lead of Fab City Cape Town.
Fab City Cape Town — local connecting point
LinkedIn ↗Global Fab City Network
Tomàs Diez
Fab City Foundation ↗Founder and Executive Chair of Fab City Foundation. Connecting cities, distributed production, open knowledge and the global Fab City movement.
Fab City global network — Cape Town
LinkedIn ↗Global Innovation Network
Geraldine de Bastion
Global Innovation Gathering ↗Global community building, digital innovation and connecting grassroots innovators, makers and technologists across regions.
Global grassroots innovation — Cape Town
LinkedIn ↗Continental Network
Joseph Agyina
Africa Makerspaces ↗Maker ecosystem development, community innovation and connecting makerspaces across Africa.
African maker ecosystem — Cape Town
LinkedIn ↗Continental Network
Andrew Lamb
Africa Makerspaces ↗Open making, humanitarian innovation and strengthening distributed maker networks across Africa.
African maker ecosystem — Cape Town
LinkedIn ↗Research + Design
Yusuf Vawda
Menzies Design Lab · UCT ↗Design research, open technology, fabrication and student-led prototyping at UCT.
Research, design, prototyping
LinkedIn ↗Circular Design
Safiyya Karim
Fashion Revolution South Africa ↗Circular fashion, transparency, repair, local production and fashion education.
Circular textiles, repair, local production
LinkedIn ↗Living Lab
Reghard Goussard
ARC of Franschhoek ↗Landscape regeneration, experiential tourism and the development of ARC as a living laboratory for experimentation in the Franschhoek valley.
Place, landscape, ARC Observatory
LinkedIn ↗Technology + Open Hardware
Jinger Zeng
Seeed Studio · Shenzhen / Global ↗Open hardware, agile manufacturing and technology ecosystems — connecting Fab City Cape Town with Seeed Studio's sensing, connectivity and global maker capabilities.
Open hardware, sensing, connectivity
LinkedIn ↗Become part of the network
Whether you are a researcher, maker, institution, or city — there is a place for you in the Fab City network.
Get involved →