Designer · Inclusive Design
M4tch
Tactile Connect Four variant — a game everyone can play.
Singapore · Maker-at-Large
Make
Things That
Make Sense.
The Caffeine-Powered Creative. Technologist for the Common Good.
I'm Saad Chinoy — a maker, systems designer, open-hardware advocate, and biomaker working at the intersection of art, science, and community. For what feels like a lifetime, I've been building tools, spaces, and practices that put technology in service of people — not the other way around.
About
Lab Notebook, Not a LinkedIn.
Equal parts barista, biologist, and systems thinker. I founded SalvageGarden in 2018 as a space where broken things become building blocks — where e-waste becomes educational kit and discarded hardware becomes assistive technology.
My practice lives at the art-science boundary: co-creating tactile games with disability communities, fermenting SCOBY bioplastics, running microbial fuel cell workshops, and building open-source braille printers across Southeast Asia.
I believe open source is infrastructure for democracy. The recipe should always be shared.
Guiding Principles
-
Reflexive Making
Constant questioning of the tool and the result.
-
Frugal Innovation
Maximising utility with minimal resources.
-
Salvage-Design
Repair, reuse, and repurpose over buying new.
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Inclusive Co-Creation
Making with communities, not for them.
-
Open Source as Empowerment
Technical transparency as a social right.
Timeline · 2013 – 2026
A Decade of
Making with Meaning.
Evergreen Projects
Things That
Keep Brewing.
Maker · Tech Salvage
Recreator3D & Polyformer
Building and deploying open-source PET bottle-to-filament machines for hyperlocal plastic recycling — closing the loop between waste and 3D printing material at community scale.
Maker · Bio Making
Kombucha SCOBY Vegan Leather
Growing biomaterial from kombucha culture — fermenting SCOBY into flexible, leather-like sheets as a zero-waste alternative to petrochemical textiles.
Maker · Tech Salvage
The Caffeinator
Upcycled cold brew machine. The OG build. Shown at Singapore Maker Festival 2014 and across Southeast Asia.
Maker · Critical Play
Selfiebooth
Raspberry Pi kiosk. Butt-activated. Exhibited at Maker Faire 2015.
Maker · Bio Making
GutBox ↗
Fermentation controller for the curious home scientist.
Co-Maker · Bio Making
ShroomMonitor (Fluffynator)
Mushroom cultivation monitor built with Cris Silva, Pramo, and Brian at Dinacon 2022. Grown, not bought.
Developer · Tech Salvage
Doodle3D SG ↗
Revives an orphaned open-source project — adapting Doodle3D Transform to run offline or in remote environments via Raspberry Pi, making 2D-to-3D drawing accessible without reliable internet.
Talks & Speaking
A Decade at the
Podium & the Lectern.
Keynotes, guest lectures, panels, and conference talks — open hardware, inclusive design, and frugal innovation, delivered across four continents.
2026
Speaker, with Regina Sipos & Daniel Wessolek
Speaker, with Fadia Elgharib & Salih Mahmod
Speaker
FOSSASIA Summit 2026 (Bangkok)
Speaker
IdeasFest 2026: Vegan Leather Workshop
Facilitator
2025
IAAC: "Activating Communities — Hyperlocal Recycling, 3D Prints, and Inclusion"
Guest Lecturer
Speaker
IASDR 2025 DESIGN NEXT (Taipei)
Presenter
Contributing Artist
Exhibitor
2024
FabCity Challenge 2024 (Mexico): "BiodiverCiudades / Fabricating Equity"
Winner
FOSSASIA Summit 2024 (Hanoi)
Speaker
Design Thinking at SJINML (NUS Enterprise)
Facilitator
Speaker, with Felipe Schmidt Fonseca
Co-Host, with Regina Sipos & Adriana Cabrera
2023
NTU CCA IdeasFest III: "FOOD — Eat. Secure. Sustain."
Lecturer
Wikimania 2023
Attendee / Contributor
"Intimacy with Nature" BioArt Workshop (Singapore Art Museum)
Facilitator
2022
Fab23 (Bhutan Challenge): Open Source Dzongkha BrailleRap
Lead
Murrow Conference on Digital Media Policy
Speaker
Bali Fab Fest Workshop
Facilitator
2020 – 2021
Global BioSummit
Speaker & Lab Lead
2017 – 2019
AfricaOSH Summit (Dar es Salaam)
Delegate
"Path to Designing for Persons with Disabilities" (National Design Centre launch)
Speaker
DOKU:TECH 2017
Speaker
Facilitator, GIG Makerspace
2015
SelfieMirror (ArtScience Late)
Exhibitor
Network & Advisory
The Open-Source
Kitchen Table.
The best ideas are collectively brewed. These are the communities and boards where I contribute and conspire.
Founder & Director
SpudnikLab
Digital equity through hands-on learning FounderSalvageGarden
Repair culture & inclusive making since 2018 Community Council Member · since 2024GOSH Community Council
Gathering for Open Science Hardware
Strategic Board Member · since 2018
Board Member
r0g_agency / SSMLab
Open tech for Africa & AsiaGIG — Global Innovation Gathering
Grassroots tech communities worldwide ContributorFab City Global Initiative
Locally productive, globally connected cities MemberOSHWA — Open Source Hardware Association
Global open hardware standards & community Delegate · since 2018AfricaOSH
Open science hardware across the African continentContact
Let's
Brew a Pour Over.
I'm open to collaborations in inclusive design, open hardware, bio-making, education, and creative tech. If your project has a soul and values the process as much as the product — let's talk.