Whether you’ve built a home water filter from plastic bottles, crafted a bike-powered phone charger, or figured out a way to fix a broken chair with string and a spoon—what you made matters. And even more powerful than building something useful is sharing it with others.
By documenting and posting your DIY project online, you help spread low-cost, local innovation—and contribute directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.
DIY Innovation: The Hidden Engine of Progress
Grassroots innovation is often overlooked, but it plays a vital role in sustainable development. Around the world, makers, repairers, and everyday problem-solvers create low-tech solutions that meet immediate needs. These ideas, when shared, multiply their impact.
In India alone, the National Innovation Foundation has catalogued over 315,000 grassroots inventions developed by farmers, schoolteachers, mechanics, and students. Many of these involve locally sourced materials, repurposed tools, and creative engineering—not software.
And a study by Nesta UK found that over 57% of surveyed adults had engaged in some form of DIY or self-built repair activity within the past year, highlighting the untapped scale of citizen innovation (Source: Nesta – Leading Innovation).
Why Sharing Your DIY Project Matters
- Scaling Ideas: One homemade solar oven or compost bin idea posted online can be replicated by thousands across the globe.
- Democratizing Innovation: DIY project sharing helps close the gap between invention and access—especially in areas where industrial infrastructure is limited.
- Preventing Redundancy: Sharing lessons learned (including what didn’t work) helps others build smarter, faster.
- Building Community Resilience: Simple inventions—like water collection systems or low-cost cookstoves—can help communities adapt to climate change, improve health, and save money.
Where and How to Share Your DIY Projects?
You don’t need to be a professional maker or influencer to share your creations. Any space where people gather, online or offline, can be a platform for spreading ideas.
You might choose to:
- Post photos and instructions on a community forum or blog
- Share videos demonstrating your build process
- Present your solution at a local workshop or maker event
- Upload sketches or designs to a digital library or knowledge hub
- Even discuss your process in group chats or social media communities
The key is to explain clearly, be open about what worked and what didn’t, and make it accessible to others. The more people can understand and replicate your project, the greater the impact.
How to Do It Well?
- Explain Clearly: Add photos, materials, cost estimates, and tips.
- Be Honest: Share both successes and mistakes. Others will learn either way.
- License Openly—Your Way: Choose a sharing license that matches your comfort level. You can allow full reuse and modification (e.g., Creative Commons Attribution), or set limits (e.g., non-commercial use only). The goal is to make your project accessible without compromising your values or intentions.
- Encourage Feedback: Invite comments, tweaks, or remixes—collaboration fuels innovation.
How This Supports SDG 9: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure?
SDG 9 calls for sustainable, inclusive innovation that works for everyone—not just those with access to labs or venture capital. When you share your homegrown solution, you help achieve this goal in real terms.
Target 9.5 of SDG 9 specifically calls for building research and innovation capacity in developing countries. Your tutorial on building a rocket stove or repairing a fan from e-waste can be the accessible knowledge someone else needs to do the same (Source: UN SDG 9).
Innovation doesn’t always come from labs. Sometimes, it comes from garages, sheds, or kitchen tables. And when you share what you’ve made, you spark real change.
Build it. Document it. Share it. Your DIY project could be the solution someone else is waiting for!
