Bricolage

Bricolage is the practice of creating something from whatever materials happen to be at hand — duct tape, pool noodles, velcro strips, PVC pipes, household fabric scraps, bent sponges — rather than purpose-designed parts or specialized tools. The term, from Lévi-Strauss via design theory, is central to disability and DIY assistive-technology research because people with disabilities frequently improvise low-cost, situated solutions to unmet accessibility needs: cutting a yoga mat into footplate grip, sewing a custom wheelchair cushion cover, or repurposing a kitchen tool as a gripping aid. Bricolage sits below 'light fabrication' on the Ladder of DIY Adaptation and is often overlooked in formal AT research because it produces no documented artifact, yet it represents a highly accessible and widely practiced form of making that demonstrates user creativity and agency.