In the community of Quebrantadero, during the summer of 2022.En la comunidad de Quebrantadero, durante el verano de 2022.

Hackeo Comunitario

Before building anything, we sat down to ask what technology was.Antes de construir nada, nos sentamos a preguntar qué era la tecnología.

A worksheet from the sessions. The printed question reads, what changes would you like to see in your community in 2090. Underneath, in a child's handwriting: con mas campo, mas animales, mas plantas, mas personas. Green fingerprints and a letter m stamped in orange and red.
worksheet, 2022hoja de trabajo, 2022

Hackeo Comunitario started as a conversation.Hackeo Comunitario empezó conversando.

What is technology?¿Qué es tecnología?

  • where is it?¿dónde está?
  • who makes it?¿quién la hace?
  • who does it work for?¿para quién funciona?
  • does it have to be a computer?¿tiene que ser una computadora?

Over three sessions we sat with children and young people turning them over. There was no right answer. We wanted to open technology up, look at it another way, and imagine what else it could be.Durante tres sesiones nos sentamos con niñas, niños y jóvenes a darle vueltas. No había respuesta correcta. Queríamos abrir la tecnología, mirarla de otra manera e imaginar qué más podía ser.

Imagining 2090Imaginar el 2090

Then we suggested they imagine their community many years ahead.Después les propusimos imaginar su comunidad muchos años hacia adelante.

What changes would you like to see in your community in 2090?¿Qué cambios te gustaría ver en tu comunidad en 2090?

A drawing of 2090. The words mas plantas fill the sheet in green and purple marker. A rocket leaves an orange trail, a ringed planet and stars sit at the top right, birds cross the sky, hills are covered in green crayon and a flowering vine winds up the right hand side.

drawing by one of the participants, 2022dibujo de una de las participantes, 2022

More land, more animals, more plants and more people appeared. Robots appeared too.Aparecieron más campo, más animales, más plantas y más personas. También aparecieron robots.

But not just any robot.Pero no cualquier robot.

They thought about what the robots could do, what they should not do, and what it would make sense to have them there for.Pensaron qué podrían hacer, qué no deberían hacer y para qué tendría sentido tenerlos ahí.

What could a robot do here?¿Qué podría hacer un robot aquí?

Water the plants. Cook. Clean. Carry things. Talk.Regar. Cocinar. Limpiar. Transportar cosas. Conversar.

They also thought about what it could not do. One of the answers was simple: a robot could do many things, but it could not feel.También pensaron qué no podría hacer. Una de las respuestas fue sencilla: un robot podía hacer muchas cosas, pero no sentir.

A worksheet from the sessions. The printed question reads, what would your robot be able to do, what would it not be able to do. The handwritten answers say it could do what any person can, water plants, cook, clean, talk; it could not feel emotions; it could turn into means of transport; it is shaped like a duck; it controls everything with its mind.
worksheet, 2022. The answers are kept as they were written.hoja de trabajo, 2022. Las respuestas se conservan tal como se escribieron.

Hacking can also mean askingHackear también puede ser preguntar

  • Here, hacking was not breaking into a system or breaking something.Aquí, hackear no era entrar a un sistema ni romper algo.
  • It was losing the fear of technology.Era perderle el miedo a la tecnología.
  • Opening it.Abrirla.
  • Asking where it comes from and who it works for.Preguntar de dónde viene y para quién funciona.
  • Changing it.Cambiarla.
  • Inventing something else with it.Inventar otra cosa con ella.
  • And doing it from where we are.Y hacerlo desde donde estamos.

What kept growingLo que siguió creciendo

The sessions ended, but the questions carried on. Between 2024 and 2025 they grew into Saberes y Circuitos, robotics, computing and open hardware workshops with children and young people in Atlacahualoya, Joaquín Camaño and Quebrantadero. In 2026 they grew into a community computer and 10 portable ones.Las sesiones terminaron, pero las preguntas siguieron. Entre 2024 y 2025 crecieron en Saberes y Circuitos, talleres de robótica, cómputo y hardware abierto con niñas, niños y jóvenes de Atlacahualoya, Joaquín Camaño y Quebrantadero. En 2026 crecieron en una computadora comunitaria y 10 compus portátiles.