[leovonl]

Having grown up in Brazil, where computers and parts are expensive - and in a time where the country was recovering from a galloping inflation and a failed attempt from the government to cut it back by freezing everyone's saving accounts - I can very strongly relate to this.

In fact, I think most brazilians of my generation which share same taste for building things are used to prototyping things with "a lot of duct tape" and reusing parts by disassembling unused/old toys, small machines/appliances, etc, and reusing what they can to make something new.

About the "gambiarra" term, it has a lot of connotations associated (some bad), but it also carries an idea of "subverting the original intent of the designer" or "subverting the intended usage of the parts/pieces". Which is why it fits perfectly in the idea of "hacking" for repurposing and recycling.

[fiatjaf]

The term "gambiarra" should always come with its related "bambo", which means floppy, or not solid enough.

[chicob]

Portuguese guy here.

The 'desenrascanço' culture in Portugal has two sides to it, because on one hand people do appreciate the art of finding quick hacks on the fly ('desenrasques'), but on the other it just overlooks thorough planning and design.