School's out and the future beckons
The Colombian project 'Education for the future' in Santander started in 2014 and has now ended. The project has educated 100 young people and produced 200,000 new coffee plants in the Santander department.
100 young graduates
The 'Education for the future' project in Santander started in 2014, in partnership with the EFICO Foundation. Since then, 100 students aged between 15 and 25 have completed their studies at the Florentino Gonzales Rural School in the Colombian department of Santander. Their diploma in agricultural technology is recognised by SENA (the national training service).
The young people have already put their new skills into practice, with 200,000 coffee plants now growing in Colombian soil.
Time to take stock
65% of participants in the project want to continue working in coffee cultivation. 2% of them want to study at university to extend their knowledge. 30% of participants want to continue to study, but in an area unrelated to coffee. Just 5% no longer want to work in agriculture. This excellent result is motivation for Collibri Foundation to continue its work in Colombia. Watch this space!
A better future
The 'Education for the future' project in Santander involved both practical and theoretical training in coffee cultivation, but it also focused on team work, networking and gender equality. 40% of the participants were women (the figure for a previous project in the same region was just 12%). Francy was one of them.
If we want to give young people a future in a rural environment, then creating favourable conditions is vital. So 100 young people and their families were supported by coaches (26 in total) to help them manage conflict in a peaceful way.
