Brotes

We are a civil association that promotes, from design, different initiatives for the construction of a socially and environmentally sustainable community.

Since 2016, we have brought together independent projects from industrial designers and sustainability enthusiasts: MUTAN, PETIT, Alquimétricos, Compostate Bien, Plasticando, and Estación Compost. Together we take on the challenge of finding original solutions that give new meaning to post-consumer materials.

Brotes is the meeting point for institutional, governmental, business, and academic projects and actors, both locally and internationally. We are a space for reflection and innovation, building systemic and circular solutions to specific socio-environmental problems. We promote Sustainable Products, offer Services with Impact, and practice Open Culture.

The Alquimétricos project focuses on the development of educational proposals accessible to the most disadvantaged sectors of the population. We develop educational toys, open educational resources (OER) aimed at hands-on learning in the STEAM field, and promote the maker culture, taking advantage of the material and symbolic resources and needs of each community.

Fernando Daguanno is Alquimétricos' project fouder. He has designed the original connector system, as well as the different production processes, and core brand concepts. 

For the past eight years, Fernando has trained over 1100 school teachers and informal educators in around 150 workshops in 50 cities of 10 countries around the World, including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and Panama. 

Fernando leads the Alquimétricos program and Alquimétricos products development. Along with a team of interdisciplinary collaborators, he has designed a set of three end-user building kits, the Alquimétricos Kit Zero educators' box targeted for schools, and is now creating a new product aimed at HR and corporate training. He also led the Alquimétricos LAB online repository creation.

He graduated from an electronics technical school and has a strongly systemic approach. Last year he completed a post-degree course in toys and games design at the FADU-UBA University.

Fernando is a maker, educator, artist, and open-source advocate, and his work in Alquimétricos has gained recognition from Creative Commons, the UNESCO Open Education for a Better World program, the Red Bull Basement Hacker residency, and the MIT Media Lab Lifelong Kindergarten's Creative Learning Lemann Institute fellowship program, among others.

The team lead has a full-time dedication to the Alquimétricos project. 50% of the lead and team time is devoted to sustainability, mainly product and service sales, fundraising, and revenue operations execution. The other 50% is focused on impact operations, institutional and community development, and new product and content design. 

The LEAP Project will strengthen our impact operation, helping to understand and systematize the Alquimétricos program deployment in the territory. Until now this was executed in a more intuitive and tailor-made way. We expect to build a method that allows us to understand better the program deployment dynamics, reach, strengths, and weaknesses, and to create a tool that helps us communicate and support our intentions to the new social organizations with objective indicators showing impact and setting actual expectations.

The supporting team is designed to cover the different program challenges, including the pedagogical, social, operational, and logistics aspects. The team is composed of educators, social scientists, community leaders, content creators, and fundraisers. The objective is to deploy the educational solution while measuring the impact and results on the children and their families, articulating with the local community organizations and leaders, and searching for ways to make the project sustainable in time.

Based on an already systematized work methodology, the support team works collaboratively, following the logic of the project in its entirety with the belief that teamwork generates better results both within and like the Alquimetrics project.

A key aspect of the program deployment is based on the alliance with the social organizations. Alquimétricos never works alone but synchronized with one or more institutional and/or territorial partners that already have relevant and up-to-date knowledge of the local dynamics, opportunities, and pains. Without this interaction, it would be virtually impossible to find the right window of feasibility and to operate freely and safely in the settlement.

Alquimétricos aims to democratize hands-on STEAM learning in vulnerable communities through DIY didactic toys and open educational resources.

Excepting some specific cases like Peru and Uruguay, the 2022 Math PISA test results show a decrease in performance from the 2018 results. Probably correlated to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Latin American region shows almost 100 points (20%) lower performance compared to the average of the OCDE countries. 

The Alquimétricso LEAP Program will focus inside the borders of the Buenos Aires city (the wealthiest and most populated Argentinian district), which usually performs in PISA tests somewhere between the national and the OCDE averages. Even with relatively high results for the region, the city's human development is very unequal between regions. While some public schools in mid-class neighborhoods have given results worthy of the OCDE international areas, the so-called "villa miseria" (shanty settlements) suffer from structural social tissue damage such as lack of basic sanitation, gang and institutional violence, drug consumption and traffic issues, alcohol abuse, among others human rights violations. 

At least half of the population of these areas is migrant. Mostly coming from other states or neighboring countries like Paraguay or Bolivia looking for better living conditions, a great part end up living in precarious conditions and augmenting the settlement's populational density. At least 3% of them identify themselves as belonging or descendants of a native nation, but most of them aren't recognized by the rest of the porteño society as white people. The cultural gap, lack of legal documentation, and social prejudice force job informalities, low income, tensions with the law, and structural difficulties that pass from generation to generation stressing the living conditions and reducing social mobility. 

The south side of the city finds its limit by the Riachuelo River, a highly polluted and inaccessible region where most settlements are located. A juxtaposition of "villas" covers most of the river banks, replicating a combinatory of the social deficiencies before mentioned in an almost fractal scheme. Nearly half a million people live in this context (almost 20% of the capital city's stable population), with hardly any access to quality education, sports, cultural, or healthy recreation offer. 

Outside the Buenos Aires City bubble, the main cities' peri-urban areas suffer from comparable conditions mirroring similar or worse scenarios around the Global South, like the Brazilian "favelas" or the Colombian "comunas". 

The objective social deficiencies burden that the children born in the villas bear adds up with the lack of perspective they face. Many have cognitive or communicational difficulties due to growing up in harsh environments. This situation will probably lead to low academic performance for most of them, reducing the opportunities to cut the cycle and pushing them toward the system's borders.

The Alquimétricos concept started in 2015 as an independent sabbatical project aimed at building geodesic structures but its DIY nature showed special potential in contents with a lack of other hands-on STEAM learning resources. Specifically, we discovered that the fact that the object itself could be easily reproduced solved many problems and created a certain level of interest and engagement hard to achieve without other expensive resources. 

The Alquimétricos project was developed taking into account the social challenges involved in vulnerable communities, aiming to create an accessible and engaging environment that could help to motivate and familiarize the children and teenagers with basic technology, science, and arts concepts. 

We designed a generic geometric module that can serve as a hub where the users can insert rods into and build up structures. The hub must be made out of a flexible material and it needs to have two inline perforations per axis. The sticks are threaded through both holes, creating tension between them and locking the link. 

This module is freely shared as an open-source educational resource and can be easily handcrafted using very simple tools and recycled materials, low cost or recycled materials. It can also be produced by digital fabrication means like laser cutters, vinyl-cut plotters, or CNC routers. Last but not least, it can be mass-produced by other systems like die-cutting or plastic injection. Collateral Open Educational Resources and the brand usage itself are shared in a radically open scheme that even allows commercial use of the materials. 

Rooting in the Constructionism and the Creative Learning perspectives, we iterated the product design and surrounding instructional materials like blueprints, tutorials, and teachers' guidelines to configure a building and learning system that offered the lowest possible entry-level, a wide variety of possibilities, and that could be able to interact with furthers layers of complexity and possibilities such as electronics, pneumatics, hydraulics, mechanics, and more.

To reinforce the low entry point and create a community around the project, we shared it fully open using the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 international license scheme and trained as many teachers as we could. The organic viralization of the project was slight but has faced many acceleration spots during the years, attached to an increase of public exposition due to social sharing, massive events, or focal activities like participation in congresses or expositions.

During the 2020 pandemic year, the project received around USD40,000 in grants to develop the https://alquimetricos.cc/lab online platform, a repository where we could systematize eight years of diverse field experience. There, the teachers, children, and families can find tutorials and educational proposals to get to know and play with the Alquimétricos system. Through this tool, Alquimétrico's core team can share its experiences, insights, and new developments. At the same time, the public can post its individual or collective experimentation results. 

About 35,000 children participated in over 250 educational and recreational sessions supported by private and public initiatives since 2016

The project was born and grew away from academic and structured environments, and the deployment of the workshops and activities have mostly been one-time encounters in a highly diverse regional and characteristic framework. Since the pandemic, we have been able to conduct longer and deeper training instances, regular toy invention courses, and other educational and recreational formats in which we could perceive the learning and adoption curve of larger groups of children and teachers.

No systematic approach was able until the past year when we joined efforts with different social organizations to deploy weekly Alquimétricos activities in their educational support spaces. These are usually informal spaces aimed to contain and scaffold the educational difficulties that most children of these communities face, along with basic needs observation.

In 2024 the plan is to intensify the observation of the community environment with the help of social scientists who may identify and document the starting point situation, evolution, and results in the group of children, as well as correlate their observations with the information obtained from their families and school teachers. Apart from that, we deployed a fundraising team that is constantly looking for resources to make the project sustainable for the teachers and collaborators and allow us to maintain the program running in the future.

Something that we can observe objectively is the Alquimétricos LAB platform website and social media metrics, which can help us identify the indicators in the user's behavior and engagement level. The number of teachers and families that go through most of the training courses is at least 30%, and it is highly correlated with access to the basic resources to handcraft the Alquimétricos connectors. 

Preliminary observation suggests that the Alquimétricos practice generates engagement and interest in the STEAM fields not only among children and teenagers but also generates certain involvement from families and teachers too.

This assumption is based on the commitment that last year’s pilot demonstrated, apart from the experiences and evidence gained in previous years’ initiatives and programs.

Objectively, Alquimétricos has raised interest from different public and private institutions, which supported with grants, infrastructure, and communication many of the programs we proposed. 

Until now we lacked the material resources and know-how to deploy a systematic research and evaluation approach. The maturity of the project itself and the profile of the programs we have started to deploy in different territories from Argentina and Brazil suggest the need for a formal approach to the results measurement method.

The partnerships with the local community organizations have raised that need and bootstraped a series of meetings to formulate this new approach to the program, designing an updated strategy capable of running the educational as well as the research aspect of the project.

Strengthening the evidence base of our solution is imperative for several reasons. Firstly, while we have anecdotal evidence of the positive impact of our programs on children and communities, we lack robust empirical data to substantiate these claims. Establishing a strong evidence base is crucial for building credibility with stakeholders, including funders, policymakers, and partner organizations.

Secondly, as we seek to scale our programs and expand our reach to more communities, having rigorous evidence of effectiveness is essential for garnering support and investment. Potential funders and partners increasingly demand evidence-based interventions that demonstrate measurable outcomes and impact.

Moreover, by strengthening the evidence base of our solution, we can continuously improve and refine our programs based on empirical insights. Rigorous research allows us to identify what works, what doesn't, and why, enabling us to optimize our interventions and maximize their effectiveness.

Furthermore, as we aspire to influence education policies and practices at the regional and national levels, having solid evidence of our impact can bolster advocacy efforts and drive systemic change. Policymakers are more likely to adopt and fund initiatives that have been rigorously evaluated and shown to produce positive outcomes.

In summary, strengthening the evidence base of our solution is essential for enhancing credibility, attracting support, refining program effectiveness, and driving systemic change in education. By investing in rigorous research and evaluation, we can ensure that our programs are making a meaningful difference in the lives of children and communities.

In which ways does Alquimétricos help to improve the population's STEAM skills?

Is Alquimétricos a viable solution to improve the population's STEAM skills in a socioeconomically vulnerable context?

Does Alquimétricos help to improve the population's academic performance?

During the 12-week LEAP Project sprint, we anticipate several key outputs that will serve as valuable assets for both our organization and the Alquimétricos solution. These outputs will be instrumental in informing our approach to strengthening the evidence base of our solution and driving long-term impact. Here are the desired outputs we aim to achieve:

1. Research Recommendations and Strategies: We expect to receive comprehensive research recommendations and strategies developed by the LEAP Fellows, tailored to the specific needs and objectives of the Alquimétricos solution. These recommendations will outline the research methodologies, data collection techniques, and analysis frameworks that will be utilized to address our research questions effectively.
2. Framework for Data Collection and Analysis: The LEAP Project will produce a robust framework for data collection and analysis, outlining the key metrics, indicators, and data sources that will be used to measure the impact and outcomes of the Alquimétricos solution. This framework will provide clarity on the data collection process and ensure that our evaluation efforts are rigorous and systematic.
3. Monitoring and Evaluation Tools: We anticipate the development of monitoring and evaluation tools that will enable us to track progress, monitor implementation fidelity, and assess the effectiveness of the Alquimétricos solution over time. These tools may include surveys, observation protocols, assessment instruments, and data tracking systems designed to capture both quantitative and qualitative data.
4. Recommendations for Program Improvement: Based on the findings of the research and evaluation activities, we expect to receive actionable recommendations for program improvement. These recommendations may include adjustments to program content, delivery methods, outreach strategies, and stakeholder engagement approaches to enhance the relevance, effectiveness, and scalability of the Alquimétricos solution.
5. Documentation of Best Practices: The LEAP Project will document best practices and lessons learned from the implementation of the Alquimétricos solution, capturing insights from educators, facilitators, and learners involved in the program. This documentation will serve as a valuable resource for future program iterations and replication efforts, enabling us to build on our successes and address any challenges or barriers encountered along the way.
6. Final Report and Presentation: After the LEAP Project sprint, we will receive a final report and presentation summarizing the key findings, insights, and recommendations generated by the research and evaluation activities. This report will provide a comprehensive overview of the project outcomes and serve as a basis for sharing our learnings with stakeholders, partners, and the broader education community.

Overall, these outputs will provide us with the tools, insights, and evidence needed to strengthen the impact and effectiveness of the Alquimétricos solution, driving positive change in STEAM education outcomes for learners in socioeconomically vulnerable communities.

Alquimétricoss will take the conclusions and suggestions of the LEAP project and then apply them to field work and transmit the results of the processing to different organizations and community leaders to improve the impact of our tools.

Additionally, the conclusions will drive future academic work planned by our project to optimize its impact and development. LEAP will be the kickoff for extensive research into STEAM skills applied to our target population.

After the 12-week LEAP Project sprint, our organization will actively implement the outputs to enhance the impact of the Alquimétricos project and inform future strategic decisions. Here's how we plan to put these outputs into action:

1. Integration into Program Design and Implementation:

• We will incorporate the findings and recommendations from the LEAP Project into the design and implementation of the Alquimétricos program. This includes refining our curriculum, instructional materials, and outreach strategies based on the research outcomes.

• The insights gained from the research will guide us in tailoring the Alquimétricos experience to better meet the needs and preferences of our target population. 

Community Engagement and Stakeholder Collaboration:

• We will actively engage with local communities, educators, and stakeholders to share the results of the LEAP Project and gather feedback. This collaborative approach ensures that our solutions are contextually relevant and responsive to community needs.

• Through workshops, presentations, and feedback sessions, we will facilitate dialogue and co-creation with community members, ensuring their voices are heard and integrated into our ongoing efforts.

Resource Allocation and Funding Strategy:

• The evidence generated by the LEAP Project will be instrumental in attracting funding and support from donors, investors, and philanthropic organizations. We will leverage the research outcomes to demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of the Alquimétricos project, enhancing our fundraising efforts.

• The data and insights obtained from the research will inform our resource allocation strategy, helping us prioritize areas of investment that have the greatest potential for impact. This strategic approach ensures that our limited resources are utilized effectively to achieve our organizational goals.

Capacity Building and Training:

• We will utilize the research findings to develop training programs and capacity-building initiatives for educators and facilitators involved in implementing the Alquimétricos project. These training sessions will equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively leverage Alquimétricos tools and resources in their educational settings.

Documentation and Dissemination:

• We will document the outcomes and lessons learned from the LEAP Project in comprehensive reports, academic publications, and presentations at conferences and workshops. This dissemination effort ensures that the insights gained from our research reach a wide audience of educators, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners, contributing to the broader knowledge base in STEAM education and community development.

Overall, the outputs of the LEAP Project will serve as a roadmap for enhancing the effectiveness, scalability, and sustainability of the Alquimétricos project, driving positive change in STEAM education, and empowering vulnerable communities to thrive in the digital age.

The 12-week LEAP Project sprint holds the potential to yield transformative outcomes for both Alquimétricos solution and the local communities, paving the way for long-term impact and sustainability. Here are the desired long-term outcomes we envision:

Refined Program Design and Implementation: The research findings and recommendations generated by the LEAP Project will inform the refinement of the Alquimétricos program design and implementation strategies. By incorporating evidence-based practices and insights from the research, we will enhance the effectiveness and relevance of our educational materials and activities, ensuring they meet the diverse needs of learners in socioeconomically vulnerable contexts.

Measurable Impact and Outcomes: Through rigorous evaluation and data collection, we will establish clear metrics and indicators to measure the impact of the Alquimétricos solution on learner outcomes, such as STEAM skills acquisition, academic performance, and socioemotional development. By quantifying our impact and outcomes, we will demonstrate the effectiveness of our solution and track progress towards our long-term goals.

Sustainable Scalability: The LEAP Project will provide valuable insights into the scalability and sustainability of the Alquimétricos solution. By identifying scalable models and best practices, we will lay the groundwork for expanding our reach and impact to new communities and regions, ensuring that more learners have access to high-quality STEAM education opportunities.

Empowered Educators and Facilitators: By equipping educators and facilitators with the knowledge, skills, and resources to effectively implement the Alquimétricos solution, we will empower them to be agents of change in their communities. Through ongoing training and support, we will build a network of passionate and committed educators who are equipped to drive positive change in STEAM education at the grassroots level.

Overall, the 12-week LEAP Project sprint holds the promise of catalyzing significant and sustainable impact for both our organization and the Alquimétricos solution, advancing our shared mission of democratizing access to high-quality STEAM education for all learners, regardless of their background or circumstances.

Strategic Growth and Scaling: The insights and recommendations generated by the LEAP Project will inform our strategic decision-making processes, guiding our efforts to scale the Alquimétricos project to reach more communities and learners in need. By leveraging evidence-based practices and best-in-class research methods, we will accelerate our growth trajectory and expand our impact on a global scale.

Increased Visibility and Credibility: By actively engaging in research and evaluation activities, our organization will enhance its visibility and credibility within the education and social impact sectors. The evidence generated by the LEAP Project will serve as a powerful advocacy tool, enabling us to attract funding, partnerships, and support from stakeholders who are committed to advancing STEAM education and empowering underserved communities.

Continuous Learning and Improvement: The LEAP Project will foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within our organization. We will embrace feedback, reflect on our experiences, and iterate on our approaches to ensure that we are always striving for excellence in our work. This commitment to ongoing learning and adaptation will position us as leaders in the field of innovative education solutions.