Third World Compute

This material exploratory project utilizes both the limitations and the abundance of resources, employing alternative processes to create "non-big-tech" objects.
The work is deeply inspired by our personal experiences of consuming and reinterpreting discarded goods from so-called "First World Countries."

This includes everything from the iconic Philippine Jeepneys and the ukay-ukay thrift culture filled with US surpluses, to Australia’s discarded tech found in HMR stores, trash shipped from Canada, "chop-chop" multicabs rebuilt from Japanese parts, the endless influx of cheap goods from Chinese e-commerce marketplaces, and the indigenous process of managsa—scavenging and collecting drift objects carried by typhoon waters.

While the term "Third World" might be inappropriate in today’s post-bipolar and now completely "battle royale" global landscape, we reclaim the term here poetically. We use it to honor the makers, crafters, and everyday workers who resolve complex problems through grit and sheer material resourcefulness.

Ultimately, this project is a reaction against Big Tech and capitalism’s obsession with the "scale-up" model. Instead, we pause to look closer, proving that there is an inherent magic in small, localized, and low-tech objects.