Vocational learning project ‘Sembrando Futuro’ was handed over to the community to continue local production
Cienaga, August 17, 2022
* After five years of very important contributions from a variety of partners in support of a productive initiative to grow bananas, the project’s final phase has successfully concluded with the delivery of the infrastructure and the planted hectares to the community of
The final phase of the ‘Sembrando Futuro’ (Planting Future) project has culminated with great success. The project is a self-sustaining farming initiative that provided technical training for 513 students in their last three years of high school at the Humberto Velasquez Garcia Departmental School, in the district of Prado Sevilla, in Zona Bananera.
“This project started over five years ago with a joining of many forces, and today we are handing over two very productive hectares of banana trees, a packing machine, and a biosafety hut. Our association has been providing technical assistance, with inputs that can help the crop grow well,” indicated Jose Zuñiga, executive president of ASBAMA.
‘Sembrando Futuro’ began in January 2017, and was developed thanks to key contributions made through a partnership between Asociacion de Bananeros del Magdalena y La Guajira, ASBAMA; Drummond Ltd.; Bananeros Unidos de Santa Marta, BANASAN; Fundacion Amigos Forjando Futuro, FAFF; and Fundacion Social de Tecbaco S.A., FUNDEBAN. In addition, with the purpose of integration between the Colombian army and the community, Colonel Hector Reyes acted as representative of the Official Reserve Officers of the Colombian Army.
Representing Drummond Ltd., Alvaro Daza, Community Relations Coordinator for Magdalena, highlighted, “we have consolidated our contribution to education with ‘Sembrando Futuro.’ We are pleased to hand over 2 hectares planted with bananas and all the infrastructure to keep it going. I would like to invite the directors of the school, and the educational community in general, to take care of these crops and maintain them, in benefit to future generations.”
The project included education and technical training in growing and managing bananas as a self-sustainable agricultural business, while it also contributed to rescuing the traditions of the region’s banana-growing sector and passing them on to new generations. There was also an additional component in terms of soft skills associated with emotional intelligence, strengthening the ability of each student to effectively interact personally and professionally and thus helping them develop life skills. This component was led by the BANASAN Foundation and the Chamber of Commerce of Santa Marta.
For Claudia Marcela Rivas, representative of the Amigos Forjando Futuro Foundation, “the purpose of this project has been basically to promote love for the land in the students. And also to give them opportunities – because there is a lack of educational opportunities – so these kids can have a better future.”
During the project, these young people who live in rural areas received training in growing, processing, and exporting bananas. The final result was a reaffirmation of the banana-growing culture for these young people, helping them gain an appreciation for agriculture.
Related to this, ose Fernando Bob, the teacher at the Humberto Velasquez Garcia School who coordinated the initiative, said that this project has been extremely important for the students, their families, and even the school itself: “Some of the mothers have told us their sons and daughters are now talking to their dads. Previously they saw their fathers as workers who came home sweaty, tired, and with their hands stained with bananas. But, after having worked here on the project, they can now understand why their dads are important, and why their dads work on that farm. (…) It has really helped pull people together.”
In addition, the teachers who participated in the process acquired long-term knowledge about producing and marketing this fruit. The goal is for this knowledge to produce long-term financial benefits for the group.
High school senior Isabel Escorcia joined the project for a year, along with her sister and mother. She said, “I have really loved it, because ever since I was little I have loved everything that has to do with nature, so for me this takes me back to when I was little (…) Almost my whole family has been involved in the program (…) It has been like a trip into the past, because we come from a place where you see more people working the fields than working in other places.”
At the start of the program, all the partners managed programs for technical coordination based on a physical and chemical assessment of the soil, prepared the ground, and helped build drainage systems, as well as purchasing and installing a variety of implements for the crop maintenance work.
Jose Francisco Zuñiga stated that now that the ‘Sembrando Futuro’ project will be in the hands of the Humberto Velasquez Garcia School community, they hope “this will be a new start for the school, and for this crop, so they can really take full advantage of it. But, above all, I hope they can continue this vocational learning and improve aspects such as production, and generate value added for the community through growing bananas.”
With the plantation now in the hands of the beneficiaries, a contribution has been made to the vocational education of the young people in Zona Bananera; and a significant contribution has also been made to the region’s agricultural sustainability and food security.
