TOM: Community Solutions for Disabilities
TOM: Community Solutions for Disabilities

TOM: Community Solutions for Disabilities

Tikkun Olam Makers (TOM) empowers communities to design and share open-source assistive solutions that improve daily life for people with disabilities. Bringing together makers and people with lived experience, TOM turns creativity and collaboration into practical devices that enhance accessibility, inclusion, and independence in communities everywhere.

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TOM applies Frugal Innovation and Human-Centered Design principles to ensure every solution is functional, replicable, and affordable.

Its product development methodology emphasizes five scalable stages — identifying a challenge, creating a concept, iterating on a working model, building a prototype, and distributing documented products — supported by a shared global infrastructure and mentorship network.

Founded in 2014, TOM now operates in universities, companies, schools, and community makerspaces across six continents. Each TOM initiative pairs volunteers and Need-Knowers to uncover local accessibility challenges, design assistive tools, and publish them as open-source projects on TOM’s online portfolio.

This open platform has become a worldwide library of inclusive technology, enabling anyone, anywhere to replicate and adapt proven designs. Impact is measured not only by devices created, but by how they improve independence and inspire empathy-driven innovation in every community.

Explore TOM Global, discover TOM Communities, and browse existing TOM solutions.

-https://www.tikkunolammakers.org/

How to get involved

Time: Around 20–30 hours over four weeks, adaptable for events or ongoing initiatives.

5 Steps
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