After buying my first 3D printer in 2018 and printing the usual assortment of desk toys, I decided to print my own folding-book charkha, a collapsible version of an Indian spinning wheel. I’d dabbled in spinning before, once making a drop spindle from a judge’s gavel, but the uniquely rich history of the charkha and its delightful ability to fold up and hide on a bookshelf piqued my interest anew.
Homespun Revival
It’s no exaggeration that Gandhi was a big supporter of the charkha, even going so far as to bring his own spinning wheel to public meetings, spin while giving speeches, and even spin while jailed for civil disobedience.
For Gandhi, the charkha was the center of a web of cottage industries that radiated from this humble craft, and he believed a revival of hand-spinning would turn the tide
