Story
One Request Revealed a Larger Problem
The Menderi was born out of an innocuous request from one friend to another. Dr. Victor Pineda, who suffers from muscular dystrophy and is restricted to a power wheelchair, asked Julia Pope, an avid ceramicist, to design him dishware he could use more independently.
One personal request exposed a larger failure: assistive technology is usually designed around categories of need, not individual lives.
A Bowl, a Bracket, and a Shared Direction
Victor needed dishes shaped around his reach, range of motion, and the way he eats. Julia began experimenting with ceramic forms that could increase his independence. The request was specific. The design problem was everywhere.
As Julia and David Ostro examined other equipment Victor depended on, they found the same problem in a small toggle bracket used to operate his wheelchair. If it breaks, Victor can lose his mobility while waiting for a replacement that may cost thousands of dollars. The same part could potentially be measured, modeled, and fabricated quickly for a fraction of the cost.
For David, a multidisciplinary artist, designer, VFX supervisor, and fabrication studio principal, the problem gave direct purpose to tools he had spent decades developing. Digital modeling, scanning, reverse engineering, rapid prototyping, and fabrication could be applied to needs that healthcare, insurance, and commercial products routinely leave unresolved.
Victor grounds The Menderi in both lived experience and more than two decades of disability-rights leadership. His work spans assistive technology, public policy, and inclusive urban design, from helping develop the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to advising governments and cities around the world. He now serves as executive director of the Center for Independent Living, the birthplace of the Independent Living Movement, and directs the UC Berkeley Inclusive Cities Lab.
Julia connects The Menderi to years of work building technology and communities around complex public-interest challenges. A technology entrepreneur and communications strategist, she co-founded Hylo, an open-source collaboration platform, and helped establish the Consilience Project. Her background in environmental advocacy, political organizing, and public media now informs The Menderi’s programs, partnerships, communications, and platform strategy.
Together, they founded The Menderi with the Victor Pineda Foundation as its founding partner and fiscal sponsor.
Nothing About Us Without Us
Disabled individuals understand what their bodies, homes, work, and routines require. The Menderi pairs that expertise with design and fabrication tools so participants can help imagine, model, build, test, and refine their own devices.
Participants shape every major design decision and learn the tools used along the way.
Design the solution around the individual, not the individual around the solution.
From Personalized Devices to an Open System
Begin with one person. Share what works. Build the network that lets more people participate.
Phase One: Prove the Process
Work with 10 disabled individuals.
Complete the full cycle of co-design, modeling, prototyping, fabrication, testing, fitting, and refinement.
Deliver finished devices and publish appropriate designs and build information openly.
Phase Two: Expand the Service and Build the Foundation
Add project staff, designers, fabricators, and specialized builders.
Expand personalized assistive technology into a broader prototyping service.
Begin another participant cohort as funding allows.
Develop the Open Device Library and test an early Mendr AI prototype.
Establish repository relationships and advance partnerships and research for Humanitarian Kits.
Work with the Victor Pineda Foundation on the organizational and platform architecture needed for the next stage.
Phase Three: Open the Ecosystem
Launch the Open Device Library, Mendr AI, Menderi Community, and Project Crowdfunding.
Connect disabled individuals with models, collaborators, funding, and fabrication support.
Expand personalized services, distributed fabrication, and Humanitarian Kits across regions and borders.