Tolocar. On the Road Again

To develop the maker community, support STEM education, and empower local communities to create practical solutions with their own hands—ranging from prototypes and furniture to repairing items and transforming public spaces.

TOLOCAR in Chernihiv

In July 2025, NGO Eco Misto, together with Chernihiv Polytechnic National University, received a TOLOCAR mobile makerspace for long-term use. It became the fifth mobile workshop in Ukraine to be handed over to local organizations.

TOLOCAR is a mobile workshop on wheels equipped with tools for woodworking, metalworking, digital fabrication, 3D printing, rapid prototyping, and repair. Thanks to its mobile format, modern technologies can be brought directly to areas without a permanent makerspace.

Together with NGO “Platform Ostriv” and NGO “Okhtyrka Youth Center,” we completed six major hands-on interventions and over 20 workshops.

From Solar Energy to Digital Fabrication

One of our team’s largest project interventions was building a solar power station at the Peremoha Center. It marked an important step toward the space’s energy resilience.

We also introduced participants to a variety of maker practices. During the “To STEAM Through Making” workshop, educators and instructional designers from across the region worked with laser cutting, CNC milling, and 3D printing. At the “St. Nicholas Digital Workshop,” participants navigated the entire digital fabrication cycle—from digital file to finished Christmas decorations.

At the same time, making wasn’t limited to digital technologies. During a clay workshop, participants mastered hand-building techniques, while our team simultaneously began assembling a 3D printer for clay printing.

Repairing, Upcycling, and Giving Things a Second Life

The Peremoha Center hosted a series of recycling workshops for children and teenagers. Participants learned about the issue of plastic pollution and used a heat press to upcycle plastic bags into new materials.

During Repair Café, we restored 12 vintage lamps from the former Peremoha Cinema, giving them a second life in the Center’s coworking space. Additionally, thanks to TOLOCAR, we repaired bicycles during the Velotoloka event for the Repair Together volunteer camp.

Building Solutions for Communities

TOLOCAR was not just about learning—it was about creating tangible solutions. At the youth center in Anysiv, together with NGO “Pivnichna Horlytsia,” we hosted a community planning workshop: participants mapped the space, built a scale model, and designed a utility structure for storing firewood and tools.

The final intervention was a workshop at the “Berehynia” children and youth club. Together, we furnished the space using open-source furniture designs from Platform Ostriv’s guide “How to Implement Basic Shelters?”, while also installing a bicycle rack and an anti-parking bollard.

More Than a Workshop

Throughout the project, TOLOCAR became far more than just a vehicle with equipment—it served as a tool that brings people together around practical creativity and co-creating change.

Digital fabrication, handcraft, repair, upcycling, spatial design, and energy solutions—all these practices demonstrate that modern technologies can be accessible, and that communities have the power to create the solutions they need on their own.

Today, TOLOCAR continues to operate as a permanent access point to modern technologies for schoolchildren, university students, educators, and local residents across the Chernihiv region.

• TOLOCAR handed over for permanent use to NGO Eco Misto.
• Over 190 participants completed hands-on TOLOCAR workshops.
• Constructed a 12 kW solar power station.
• Assembled the first 3D printer for clay printing.
• Crafted a series of open-source furniture for the “Berehynia” youth club.