Meet The LABmobile – A Versatile Workshop Van Making Its Way Around Bulawayo This Week

If you live in Bulawayo or you’re passing by, you may have come across a blue Mercedes Van with the words LABmobile emblazoned upon the front of the car and wondered what exactly this hip-looking van was about.

Well, the LABmobile belongs to Victoria Wenzelmann and for the rest of this week, it will be making stops around Bulawayo. The LABmobile comes with equipment to host workshops on the go. It’s driving from South Africa to Uganda, visiting community hubs, coworking spaces, (digital) cooperatives and other places of community innovation in 10 countries over 7 months.

Victoria and the LABmobile will be hosted by the TechVillage until Friday and you’ll be able to see the workshop van at the following events:

Monday Afternoon
Venue: The TechVillage Innovation hub
Time: 1530hrs to 1900hrs

Activities:
Screening of Digital Africa (1hour video)
Open Web Discussions
Data detox kit sharing and discussions.

Tuesday Afternoon
Venue: NUST American Space
Time: 1430hrs – 1700HRS

Activities:
Drawido Workshop (1hour)
Bare Conductive Workshop (1hour)

Wednesday Afternoon
Venue: The TechVillage Innovation Hub
Time: 1430hrs – 1730hrs

Activities: Building of the Afroduino

Friday
Venue: National Arts Gallery
Time: 1530hrs – 1900hrs
Activities: Screening of Africa Hack trip

The founder of Tech Village explained why they’ll be hosting the conspicuous van over the next few days:

So the reason why we are hosting her is simple….we have long struggled with figuring out a way to take technology and innovation out of the “hub” and out into the community where people are facing and dealing with actual challenges. We believe that innovation should happen at the point were people experience the greatest need….and not in our fancy coworking spaces. We talk about it all the time when we tell startup founders to go out onto the streets and validate their ideas before building, instead or locking themselves in dark rooms and building out cool futuristic tech that no one will use.
The unfortunate thing is that…as hubs and “entrepreneurship” centric organisations…we haven’t taken heed of our own advice….this for us is our first step in figuring that out, taking technology and innovation out and into the community
Takunda Chingonzo – TechVillage Founder