Pipas Labs Creative Tech Kits

Pipas Labs

Pipas Labs Creative Tech Kits

Creative tech kits for marginalized youth that foster learning, creative expression, and access to a more diverse, equitable future.

Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

BRA

Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit

In Brazil, 20 million children live in poverty, with Black and Indigenous youth disproportionately impacted by educational inequity, digital exclusion, and systemic neglect. In favelas across Rio de Janeiro, where Pipas Labs operates, public schools often lack basic infrastructure—let alone creative or technological learning opportunities. Girls and young women, in particular, face compounding barriers to accessing STEM education, with only 15% of tech jobs in Brazil held by women. Despite the promise of educational technology, most solutions assume stable internet, private space, and prior digital literacy—conditions rarely met in the communities we serve. In Brazil, nearly 40% of low-income homes still lack broadband access. Globally, over 250 million children are out of school, and millions more are in classrooms without meaningful learning opportunities. Pipas Labs addresses these structural gaps with hands-on creative technology kits that blend electronics, coding, and art using low-cost, culturally relevant materials. Our kits integrate identity, play, and self-expression while teaching future-ready skills, even in low-connectivity or informal learning environments. By reaching those historically excluded from technology, we aim to diversify who creates it, and help shape a more inclusive, imaginative digital future.

Pipas Labs is a creative technology education initiative that uses hands-on kits to teach electronics, art, and coding to children and adolescents in marginalized communities. Each kit contains all the materials needed to build a culturally grounded, interactive project—such as an illuminated kite, a sound-making cardboard guitar, or a wearable carnival mask—while introducing core concepts in circuits, sensors, and block-based programming. Designed for low-resource environments, the kits combine digital technology, analog craft, and physical computing. They do not require internet or computers and are supported by printed guides and training materials for educators. Some advanced kits include a custom-designed microcontroller, which enables learners to connect physical components to programmed logic and bring their creations to life. Optional use of mobile or tablet screens enhances interactivity but is not required. Pipas Labs also offers teacher training and classroom integration support, enabling schools and organizations to deliver engaging STEAM learning with minimal infrastructure. The experience is culturally relevant, joyful, and intuitive—empowering young people to build real skills, confidence, and creative agency through making. More than 3,000 kits have been distributed across Rio de Janeiro in partnership with schools, NGOs, and public technology centers. https://youtu.be/4uUMJZDraUY

Pipas Labs serves marginalized urban communities in Brazil, particularly Black, Indigenous, and low-income youth living in favelas and other underserved areas. Young people in these communities often contend with systemic barriers to quality education, creative enrichment, and future-oriented skills. In many public schools, resources are scarce, arts and technology are absent from the curriculum, and learning environments do not reflect students’ lived experiences. Girls and young women face additional barriers to participating in STEAM education, and youth often grow up seeing technology as something built elsewhere and by others. Pipas Labs changes that narrative. Each kit includes all the materials needed for young people to create original projects—like illuminated kites, expressive carnival masks, and magical box guitars—while learning the fundamentals of electronics, programming, visual art, and storytelling. They engage with both digital and analog techniques, combining technical skill with personal expression. The impact is both personal and systemic. The kits build concrete skills in electronics, coding, art and design, as well as creative problem-solving, while also nurturing confidence, curiosity, and self-expression. They open pathways to continued learning, economic inclusion, and creative leadership, helping young people become active contributors to a more just, expressive, and innovative future.