Reprap and Other 3D printers in Developing Nations

Hi guys,

I was wondering there were any groups working on getting repraps and other 3D printers out to the less fortunate?

I was thinking of more like third world countries and schools. Schools because of the educational opportunities.

Third world countries it would be important because they often times have difficulty getting resources from outside their country. They could print a lot of toys, household items, etc with a reprap.

Any thoughts?

If such organizations exist please pass them along because I would like to donate.

Regards,

Matt

I think RepRaps are better suited for the second world than the third world. Having lived in one of the poorest parts of a third world country myself, I believe that what's more pressing are things like reliably safe food and water, physical security, basic transportation, sanitation, and power infrastructure, and less extractive governance (the root cause of all the previous problems). The OLPC project ran into similar issues. Despite the good intentions, there simply isn't enough infrastructure to support these kinds of high-tech products in much of the third world. The tech will wind up sold for parts or stolen by thieves.