A Foothills makerspace is making a name for itself.
The Diamond Valley Sustainable Living Centre, opened in late 2023, is a 2,800-square-foot facility where community members can come together and flex their creative muscles.
The organization is new, but according to co-founder Larry Kapustka, the idea isn’t.
“Well, makerspaces have been around for quite a bit now,” says Kapustka. “There are at least three, I believe, in Calgary, but they're all over the world now.”
Diamond Valley’s contribution to the growing makerspace scene features tools that community members might not have sitting around at home, like a 3D printer and a cutting-edge laser cutter.
“The idea is that people can come in, once they've got a membership, they have access to the equipment,” he says. “The way we're working it is that people can come in, once they've been given a little bit of training on safety procedures, what the rules of the game are, they're given access to the equipment.”
Using a giant laser cutter might sound daunting, but a thorough safety briefing and demonstration by the makerspace’s team puts one’s mind at ease. After they’re up to speed, Kapustka says members are free to use most of the equipment whenever they’d like.
“They can come in 24/7, work on their own projects," he says.
The centre, which is volunteer-run and supported largely through donations, has a wide variety of equipment outside of the famed laser cutter and 3D printer. Members have access to sewing machines, woodworking tools and much more, in addition to a team of experts to lean on.
As one of the organization’s founders, Kapustka brings an impressive resumé to the community: he is the former chair of the Turner Valley Oilfields Society and earned a Ph.D. in plant physiological ecology from the University of Oklahoma.
As a botanist, Kapustka shares his decades-long experience in horticulture with members of the organization, including through sustainable gardening workshops.
Opportunities abound
The Diamond Valley Sustainable Living Centre provides many people with many educational and creative opportunities. Members can work on their personal projects and, for the entrepreneurial spirits in the Foothills, professional ventures.
“The other opportunity is for people who might have an idea for a business,” says Kapustka. “They haven't really figured out how to do it yet, so they can come here. It almost works as an incubator. They can come in, test it out.”
Kapustka has seen many people work on bringing their business ideas to fruition at the centre.
“Most people's ideas for a business aren't grounded really well,” he says. “So they might find out, ‘This is really a lot of hard work that I wasn't expecting,’ or ‘Do I really want to do this for the next 20 years to make a living out of this?’
“On the other hand, they might find, ‘Ah, this is really going to be neat.’ So they can get their feet on the ground, get running, and then as they expand, they can buy their own equipment and their own space and they can have a going business.”
The centre is filled with tools and creations, but since space is limited, the team must sometimes pick and choose what items it takes in.
“One of the challenges we have is to make sure this isn't a transfer station for people to drop off their junk,” says Kapustka. “So we've got a little policy that before we accept something, whoever is going to be doing that should make an assessment: Is this something we can use? Is it something we could repair? Is it just so far gone, or would it cost so much to do it?”
If it can be fixed, it should be fixed, says Kapstka.
“As an example, in our place, we had a dishwasher that went out,” he recalls. “That part cost more than a new machine, plus the service.
"So our economy, in many ways, is made for this throwaway activity. That's one of the things we're trying to change here. Let's see if we can do things smarter, not use as much material and reuse what's possible. That's a major theme of all of this here.”
New members welcome
The Sustainable Living Centre, which is always accepting new members, has two membership tiers.
“So we find people who have certain skills, they can fit our little skills matrix, and then we can invite them to become a member,” says Kapstka, referring to the invite-only membership. “What that means is that we ask them to donate about 25 hours a year of volunteer work, and that covers their membership.”
Then, for the standard makerspace membership, Kapustka says the basic is $50 a month. For seniors, students or people who just don't have an income, it's $30 a month.
“Once you've been approved by someone who's watched you do your work, and you know you can trust them to not destroy things, and clean up after themselves, for that $50 a month, you get 24/7 access to this, and to use the equipment.”
The equipment is available at all times for the most part, with some added restrictions on the 3D printer and laser cutter.
Kapustka says joining the makerspace is well worth it.
“That's really pretty small,” he says about the membership fee. “They go buy any kind of coffee every other day, and that's more than that.”
Kapustka says the makerspace has been a hit with the community, and he and the rest of the team are grateful for the support, donations and positive reception they’ve received.
“A lot of this equipment was donated, almost all this lumber has been donated.”
The centre’s place in the community goes beyond simply creating things. Kapustka says the makerspace helps people in many ways.
“So, we have one gentleman that was here today, his wife died maybe three or four weeks ago,” he says. “Pretty lonely man. But now he's got somebody to come and talk to, and play with these different things.
“So I think he helped build that ‘OK, he's out of the house, he's not moping, he's making new friends.’”
Younger generation
Outside of the makerspace, the organization contributes to the community through initiatives such as Sprouts, a summer day camp, and Connections Nature School, an outdoor education program for children ages three to six. Participants can learn more about nature while accessing the makerspace for fun and safe activities.
With youth-focused programs like these, the Diamond Valley Sustainable Living Centre hopes to foster the spirit of sustainability in future generations.
Kapustka is looking forward to what’s to come for the newly-opened centre. He’s got big plans for the future.
“In the summer, one of the things we're working toward is having sort of an outdoor market here where we'll make space available for some of the local folks who may be artisans of some kind.”
The upcoming summer market will be an opportunity for local creators to showcase their products in a cost-friendly manner, without having to deal with fees and complications posed by many other markets.
“It's $500, maybe $1,000 to buy a little booth at a major market, and you sit there and no one buys your stuff, and you're frustrated, ‘Why did I spend all that money?’ So we'll have a much lower price than that, it'll be very affordable, and then whatever they sell, they keep that revenue," he says.
“Whatever you sell goes into your own pocket. You don't have to worry about the finances of any of it, you've bought your space and that's it. The whole idea about all this is to build community.”
The centre provides many services, and ultimately those services work towards building a stronger and more sustainable community that inspires people to create.
“You come in, you have access to this, and you have the opportunity to meet people and get ideas. Maybe there's a business opportunity that develops, maybe there's an employment opportunity that comes along," he says.
“The idea is to get people connected so that they're in a position to grow personally and to contribute to society.”
