Goals · draft
The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, plus Misc, each with maker projects that respond to it.
This site is unofficial and not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the United Nations. Goal names follow the UN Sustainable Development Goals (sdgs.un.org/goals); the summaries and project fits are our own. The site is also unofficial for Fab Academy.
Ending poverty depends partly on people having affordable, repairable tools to earn a living. Makers can design affordable equipment for small and home businesses that can be built and fixed locally with open designs.
2 projects: Weigh-and-Price Helper Scale for Home Micro-Businesses; CNC-Milled Flat-Pack Street Vendor Stall
Open SDG 1 · No Poverty →Zero Hunger is about ending hunger, improving nutrition and supporting sustainable food production. Makers can build simple sensing and automation, such as soil-moisture-based watering, that helps small growers use water and effort well.
2 projects: Soil-Moisture Drip Irrigation Controller (Milled MOSFET Board); Solar Food Dryer with Fan and Temperature Control
Open SDG 2 · Zero Hunger →This goal covers healthy lives and well-being for people of all ages. Makers can build playful tools that encourage movement, focus and healthy habits, while being clear that hobby builds are not medical devices.
2 projects: Milled Reaction-Time Trainer Board (XIAO RP2040); Classroom CO2 Ventilation Monitor (Traffic-Light Display)
Open SDG 3 · Good Health and Well-being →Quality Education calls for inclusive, equitable learning for everyone. Makers can create affordable, reproducible kits that schools and Fab Labs build as class sets to teach coding, electronics and engineering by doing.
2 projects: Wi-Fi Classroom Coding Rover (Laser-Cut Chassis); Classroom Pen Plotter for Geometry and Art (Machine Design)
Open SDG 4 · Quality Education →Gender Equality includes ending discrimination and violence against women and girls. Makers can co-design safety and everyday tools with the people who will use them, such as reliable access to menstrual products in schools, and make labs welcoming to everyone.
2 projects: BLE SOS Pendant with Loud Alarm (3D-Printed, XIAO ESP32-C3); Free Menstrual Pad Dispenser with Low-Stock Alert for Schools
Open SDG 5 · Gender Equality →This goal aims for safe, affordable water and sanitation for all. Makers can build simple meters and monitors that help communities compare water sources and check equipment, alongside proper lab testing rather than instead of it.
2 projects: Drinking-Water TDS and Temperature Meter; Rainwater Tank Level Monitor over LoRa (865 MHz)
Open SDG 6 · Clean Water and Sanitation →Affordable and Clean Energy is about access to reliable, sustainable, modern energy. Makers can learn energy budgeting by building small solar and battery-powered devices and seeing how much useful work a panel and a cell can deliver.
2 projects: Solar Cast Epoxy Lantern (3D-Printed Master, Silicone Mould, 18650 + Solar); 3D-Printed Micro Wind Turbine with Power Logging
Open SDG 7 · Affordable and Clean Energy →This goal covers decent work, safe working environments and productive growth. In a Fab Lab, makers can support safe practice with tools that record training and machine use, and build equipment that supports local livelihoods.
2 projects: RFID Machine-Induction Check-in for Fab Lab Tools; Pick-to-Light Kitting Station for Small Workshops
Open SDG 8 · Decent Work and Economic Growth →Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure calls for resilient infrastructure and wider access to technology and innovation. Makers can explore structural design and monitoring with models, and Fab Labs themselves spread access to digital fabrication.
2 projects: Laser-Cut Truss Bridge with Tilt and Vibration Sensing; Clip-On Machine Utilisation Logger (Industry 4.0 Retrofit)
Open SDG 9 · Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure →Reduced Inequalities includes the inclusion of people regardless of disability, age or other status. Makers can co-design affordable, repairable assistive prototypes with users, testing with them rather than for them.
2 projects: Haptic Distance Wristband (ToF Sensor, Vibration Feedback); Laser-Cut Tactile Campus Map with Braille and Touch Audio
Open SDG 10 · Reduced Inequalities →This goal is about cities and communities that are inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, including lower environmental impact such as air quality and noise. Makers can build sensors that map local conditions and give neighbourhoods data to act on.
2 projects: Street Noise Level Meter (I2S Microphone, dB Logging); Bike-Mounted Road Quality and Pothole Mapper
Open SDG 11 · Sustainable Cities and Communities →Responsible Consumption and Production asks us to use resources efficiently and cut waste through prevention, reduction, repair and recycling. Makers can build tools that support composting, repair and reuse, and design products to last.
2 projects: Compost Health Probe (Temperature + Moisture, Low-Power); PET-Bottle Strip Filament Pultruder
Open SDG 12 · Responsible Consumption and Production →Climate Action covers urgent action on climate change and its impacts, including adaptation and awareness. Makers can build monitors that log local conditions such as heat and humidity over time, making local climate trends visible.
2 projects: ESP32 Climate Node: Heat-Index Monitor with OLED and MQTT Dashboard; Cool-Roof Experiment: Twin Laser-Cut Model Houses
Open SDG 13 · Climate Action →Life Below Water is about conserving oceans, seas and marine resources and reducing pollution that reaches them. Makers can build sensing buoys and loggers for lakes, rivers and coasts, testing carefully and leaving nothing behind in the water.
2 projects: LoRa Water-Quality Buoy (Temperature + Turbidity); Shoreline Microplastics Sieve Kit with Phone Microscope Stand
Open SDG 14 · Life Below Water →Life on Land covers protecting forests, land ecosystems and biodiversity. Makers can support local biodiversity surveys with tools like camera traps, used with respect for wildlife, privacy and permission rules.
2 projects: PIR Wildlife Camera Trap (ESP32-CAM, 3D-Printed Housing); Acoustic Biodiversity Recorder (Scheduled Dawn Chorus Logger)
Open SDG 15 · Life on Land →This goal aims for peaceful, inclusive societies with accountable institutions and participatory decision-making. Makers can explore designing for trust, transparency and fairness in small group processes such as club or classroom votes.
2 projects: Tamper-Evident Electronic Vote Box for Clubs and Classrooms; Tamper-Detecting Smart Seal (ATtiny, Cast in Epoxy)
Open SDG 16 · Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions →Partnerships for the Goals is about cooperation, technology sharing and open data across countries and sectors. Makers contribute by building to shared open standards, joining citizen-science networks and documenting their work so others can reuse it.
2 projects: Sensor.Community Air-Quality Node (Join a Global Open-Data Network); Twin-Lab LoRa Messenger (Build to a Shared Open Spec)
Open SDG 17 · Partnerships for the Goals →Projects that build useful maker skills but do not map honestly to a single SDG theme. They stay here until they are reworked or a better fit is found.
1 project: Ultrasonic Radar Scanner (RP2040 + Servo + OLED)
Open Misc →