The goal of the work presented in this paper was to provide an alternative method to improve the acoustic conditions of classrooms in public schools in low-income contexts by designing, fabricating, and testing low-cost and modular acoustic panels. The panels used are shaped with Origami-patterns, and they were made of waste cardboard sheets collected from the urban waste stream. The exploratory work combined physical prototyping and simulation using Pachyderm, an acoustic simulation plugin for Rhinoceros-Grasshopper. While prototyping focused on assessing fabrication workflow, simulation focused on determining Reverberation time of three types of three-layered Origami-based panels. Fabrication results showed that all panels were easy to produce with simple tools. The simulation confirmed that panels with a denser pattern decreased Reverberation time between 27% to 48% for 125, 250, and 500 Hz frequencies. Further research will explore increasing panels layers and adding alternative and recycled materials to test sound absorption. The solution presents promising results for low-income contexts with a high need to improve the physical conditions of classrooms and other buildings.