The Chameleon School

The Chameleon School is a mobile school that provides access to schooling for nomadic children by letting the schools come to the children rather than the other way around. This allows for the children to learn how to read and write during a livelihood in constant motion. Most of the families involved live without any connection to the villages passed by and where the languages spoken differ from their indigenous language, which essentially decreases the accessibility to education for the children. Furthermore, a majority of the parents are illiterate and education can thus provide an escape from a life in isolation, allowing for new relationships to be built with the surrounding villages and local communities.

The Chameleon School is the third proposal within a larger project framework titled MovingSchool developed by Architects Without Borders Denmark. The school is adaptable according to the surroundings, leaving a minimal footprint on landscapes and climate, hence the name ‘Chameleon’.

The Chameleon School is a mobile, multifunctional and demountable unit with respect for local construction and craftsmanship. The school is built in collaboration with local construction workers and draws on knowledge and experience of researching and experimenting with local materials and building customs. The school is built from locally accessible materials such as eucalyptus, bamboo, and tarp.

Watch the short video about our work with the Chameleon School.

DEVELOPMENT TARGETS

• To dismantle the intergenerational transference of poverty by providing children from poor families access to education.
• To develop and test a mobile school that is easily dismantled, transported and built.