Inspiring Examples in Action
Last updated
Last updated
Today, we face global environmental and food challenges that demand innovative and, above all, sustainable solutions. Maker spaces and fab labs provide a platform where, through digital tools, we can adapt ancient knowledge to meet current needs, turning knowledge and technology into powerful allies in the fight against food waste.
To make these solutions accessible and adaptable, it’s essential to have spaces where communities can create, experiment, and implement these advancements. Maker spaces and fab labs have become community innovation hubs where people from diverse disciplines and knowledge levels collaborate to develop sustainable solutions. In the context of food waste, these spaces offer an ideal environment to design and test ideas that transform waste into resources, promoting sustainability and ecosystem regeneration through digital tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, and sensors.
Here’s a list to explore how Fab Labs are transforming the food system and promoting a circular economy. Each topic includes examples to inspire you to implement these practices in your classroom and turn it into a mini-living lab!
With these devices, we can turn the classroom into mini weather stations or observation labs! Using sensors, it’s possible to measure factors such as sound, temperature, light, or water conductivity, among others. By incorporating these sensors into practical activities, we can create workshops where students learn to investigate and analyze environmental data. This way, they see how their findings can contribute to environmental awareness and support informed decision-making in the community. It’s a great opportunity to inspire students to take action and, together, make the world a better place!
Here are some examples:
Powar Steam (Innovator from the Foodshift 2030 Project) promotes environmental education through the Powar climate simulator and the P-Bit, a device that allows students to measure humidity, temperature, light, and other environmental parameters. The data they collect helps to understand and improve sustainability practices. Throughout the workshops in this book, you’ll see how to apply it in different learning scenarios.
Smart Citizen Kit (Fab Lab Barcelona): This kit enables students and communities to monitor air quality and other environmental conditions by using IoT sensors. It is an excellent tool for helping students understand the importance of data in environmental conservation and the design of sustainable practices. The project is based on open-source technologies like Arduino, allowing citizens and communities to collect information about their environment and make it available to the public through the Smart Citizen platform. Here we share an introductory webinar where you can explore the basic components and functionalities of the Smart Citizen Kit and here we share with you a documentary about the project.
Imagine implementing projects where students collect organic waste from the community and transform it into new materials or products. This approach not only teaches about recycling and sustainability but also develops technical and problem-solving skills. Here are a few examples to inspire you to turn the classroom into a digital fabrication lab:
Remix the School (Fab Lab Barcelona): This initiative by Fab Lab Barcelona aims to transform educational centers into social digital innovators. The project provides STEAM-based (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) learning experiences, promoting circular economy and sustainability. Through workshops and hands-on activities, students and teachers learn to design and create biomaterials from food waste, fostering creativity and critical thinking.
Remix El Barrio (Fab Lab Barcelona): Originating in the Poblenou neighborhood of Barcelona, this project seeks to create a local ecosystem of "Food Waste Material Makers." The initiative brings together designers, artisans, and the community to co-create products and experiences from food waste, promoting a circular economy at the neighborhood level. Participants identify waste flows from local markets and restaurants, transforming them into new products using digital and artisanal fabrication techniques. In this e-book (Available in Spanish only), you can find more information about the project, and here is a link where you can explore some of the experimental recipes created in the project. Give them a try!
It’s possible to print with food waste! From the Fab Lab Barcelona video channel, we share this tutorial by Eduardo Chamorro, where he reveals the ins and outs of using the 3D printing machine safely and effectively with #biomaterials and #paste.
Cook.3D (Ruhr West University, Fab Lab Hamburg): At Ruhr West University, Gaia Di Martino leads this project, using 3D printers to create food, which promotes waste reduction by efficiently utilizing food materials. It’s a new way of rethinking the lifecycle of food products.
Look Ma No Hands (Innovator of the Foodshift 2030 Project) is another example of how we can print using food waste pulp. This is a research project, but here are some videos from Fab Lab Barcelona that could be useful for your classroom implementation.
With tools like automation systems and alternative cultivation techniques (hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics), we can develop solutions that maximize the efficient use of water, space, and resources. In this way, local food production becomes a viable, accessible, and sustainable activity, integrating into urban life and bringing the experience of growing food closer to citizens. The following examples show how these initiatives can inspire the implementation of urban agriculture projects in educational and community settings, promoting sustainability and active environmental engagement. Here are some examples:
Acuapioneers (now Green in Blue): This project develops hydroponic, aquaponic, and aeroponic cultivation systems that enable local food production. These systems save water and reduce space use, fostering sustainable production practices in urban environments. You can find the files to replicate these systems at this link and some ideas for school adaptation on this YouTube channel.
FabCamp Challenge 2024 (Fablab Jogja Indonesia): In this event, students and communities collaborated to tackle sustainability challenges through digital technology, creating prototypes for urban agriculture systems and waste management. It’s an inspiring example of how educational communities can come together to address local challenges. You can find more information here.
Cook.3D (Ruhr West University, Fab Lab Hamburg): At Ruhr West University, Gaia Di Martino leads this project, using 3D printers to create food, which promotes waste reduction by efficiently utilizing food materials. It’s a new way of rethinking the lifecycle of food products.
Look Ma No Hands (Innovator of the Foodshift 2030 Project) is another example of how we can print using food waste pulp. This is a research project, but here are some videos from Fab Lab Barcelona that could be useful for your classroom implementation.
Eco Practices Guide from (RFF Labs in France): The French Fab Lab network, RFF Labs, has developed a detailed guide of eco-friendly practices, covering everything from air quality sensor workshops to building vermicomposters and hanging gardens. This guide provides resources for implementing projects on an individual or collective level, promoting sustainability and the circular economy.
Marymount School (Fab Lab Marymount México): Students built a solar fruit dryer using digital fabrication tools, promoting food utilization and waste reduction. This initiative demonstrates how waste can be transformed into useful resources while encouraging sustainable consumption habits. Developed as part of meaningful learning, this project allowed students to design, 3D model, and fabricate a solar dehydrator using laser cutting technology and 3 mm MDF, assembled with a tab-and-slot technique.
The dehydrator, designed as a box with internal trays, is intended to dry fruits, vegetables, and aromatic herbs through solar exposure. Its goal is to provide a practical and accessible solution that enables each student, both at school and at home, to produce healthy snacks or ingredients for infusions, thereby reducing food waste. Over 7 to 8 class sessions, students worked on digital modeling using the Onshape platform, completing a functional design with approximate dimensions of 20 cm long x 20 cm wide x 7 cm high.
This project not only reinforces technical and creative skills but also fosters values of sustainability, innovation, and resource efficiency, showcasing how technology and education can integrate to transform the food system and waste management into a more conscious and responsible approach.
On these pages, you will find resources and information to build a collective solar dehydrator or a small solar dehydrator at your school. You can also contact the teachers responsible for the project at the email: wgaona@marymount.edu.mx or via Telegram: https://t.me/wgaonar. They will be happy to share their experience and ideas.
Naifactory (Innovators of the Foodshift 2030 Project): Naifactory is a transdisciplinary creative studio specializing in eco-design strategies and sustainable solutions to promote the circular economy within creative industries. Naifactory also offers introductory workshops on biomaterials!
Emma Picanyol, a Catalan fashion designer and pattern-making expert, and former student of Fabricademy an innovative six-month program blending digital fabrication, textiles, and biology developed a collection of designer handbags made from corn husks, combining creativity and sustainability. Discover her inspiring journey and how she took eco-design to the next level in this interview.
Roberto Broce, an alumnus of the Master in Design for Emerging Futures (MDEF), is a biological designer and materials researcher from Panama, based in Barcelona. His innovative project Myke Board aims to revolutionize the surfing industry by replacing traditional plastic with mycelium, a natural structure similar to fungal roots. This initiative not only promotes sustainability but also reimagines the future of materials in sports.
Organic Matters is an innovative thesis project developed by Laura Freixas during the Master's in Design for Emerging Futures (MDEF) in 2020. This project explores the potential of organic biomaterials from a local perspective, transforming waste into new opportunities through circular design.
By implementing these examples in classrooms, we’re not only teaching theory but creating hands-on learning opportunities where students can see the direct impact of their actions on the environment and society. These projects show that with innovation and collaboration, each of us can be part of a sustainable revolution. Are you ready to be part of the change?
