Location: Arampampa &
Asanquiri, Potosà Setting: Rural
Established: 2005 Staff: 16
Subject Areas
Youth and Education: Communication,
Social Leadership, Cognitive Learning, Complimentary Learning, Counseling, Personal
and Professional Development, Teaching, Technical Agricultural Training
Environment: Water
Pollution, Water Systems Management, Sanitation, Energy, Resources,
Conservation, Environmental Health, Risk Management, Environmental Education,
Environmental Planning, Organic/Sustainable Agriculture
Community Development: Community
Empowerment, Building Social Capital, Social Work, Social Responsibility, Power
Production, Famine and Food Security, Infrastructure Development, Education
Human Rights: Poverty,
Social Justice, Land Rights, Legal Issues, Equality, Environmental Law,
Community Action
Organization Objectives
Save
the Children aims to support the empowerment of rural communities that have the
skills and abilities needed to improve their lives and reduce rural-to-urban
migration. It offers extremely poor, rural youth with the opportunity to obtain
a quality education in technical agricultural skills. Its goals are to:
- Maintain an
alternative education center in the highly isolated
- Provide technical
training workshops and seminars for youth in relevant agriculture and
livestock subjects, a training formation course that results in a
certification or degree in agriculture and livestock production
- Implement
workshops and classes focusing on social themes, general production
methodologies, and basic skills such as municipality management, basic
accounting, administration, and group and project management
- Include
general personal development subjects such as rural sociology, the state
and society, culture, leadership, gender equality, self-esteem,
environmentalism, health, and HIV/AIDS prevention
- Support and
stimulate agriculture/livestock and alternative production projects
(carpentry, artesanÃas, and community
services) throughout the municipality’s 36 communities
- Provide
small financing (loans or grants) for community production projects
- Enhance the
Academic Agriculture and Livestock Program through increased enrollment
and diversification of curriculum
- Develop
production project initiatives
Program Information
1. Agriculture and Livestock Degree Program - Academic
Support
The center’s degree program seeks to provide local
youth with technical skills and official certification to improve their
community through efficient agriculture and livestock development. Enhancing
these local industries will consequently lead to improved living conditions for
students, their families, and their communities. In addition, there should be a
resulting decrease in the percentage of youth that emigrate
to urban areas.
Opportunities
- Academic Administration
- Develop agriculture and livestock courses as
well as general skills training courses
- Administer exams
- Guide student’s lab work
- Assist in work projects
- General Administration
- Manage paperwork, address absentee issues,
handle grade recording
- Provide support for students that are unable
to complete the course
- Streamline enrollment procedures, provide
library management
- Offer greenhouse support
- Conduct inventory reviews
- Assist in developing contracts with other
institutions
- Aid in general policy making
- Support vendor services, accounting, etc.
Requirements
- Intermediate Spanish
- Experience in agronomy, sociology, sustainable
development, alternative production, marketing, small business ventures,
and/or related areas
- Experience in similar or related projects to those
mentioned above preferred
- Ability to take initiative in an organization with
limited resources
- Basic understanding of Quechua would be extremely
useful
- Open-minded; demonstrates cultural sensitivity, creativity,
and patience
2. Agriculture and
Livestock Degree Program - Production Projects
Production
projects are an essential part of the center’s academic training activities and
development in the 36 communities that make up the
Opportunities
- Analyze, propose, and administer livestock and
agriculture production projects
- Research the possibility of introducing new and/or
improving current agriculture and livestock production, such as the
production of quinoa, lupinus, vegetables, etc.
- Research the market and physical resources needed to
find the best products to produce
- Evaluate the possibility of introducing microfinance
initiatives to offer financial support for agriculture and livestock
farmers
- Explore sustainable energy options, such as solar
tents
Requirements
- Intermediate Spanish
- Experience in agronomy, sociology, sustainable
development, alternative production, marketing, small business ventures,
and/or related areas
- Experience in similar or related projects to those
mentioned above preferred
- Ability to take initiative in an organization with
limited resources
- Basic understanding of Quechua would be extremely
useful
- Open-minded; demonstrates cultural sensitivity, creativity,
and patience
Program Supervisor (All Programs)
Luc
Mattheji is an economist from
Note: Responsibilities offered to each participant
will be proportionate to their level of experience. Participants who are new to
development work may predominantly support and assist current project agendas,
while those with much applicable experience may be able to assume greater
responsibility. Research projects are strongly encouraged by this organization
to support each program’s objectives because minimal resources are currently allocated
for research.
Working Conditions
The
Approximately 60% of the
participant’s work will take place in the small community of Asanquiri in the
Potosi Municipality of Arampampa. Arampampa is one of the poorest regions in
all of
Asanquiri is home to a handful of
families that are all subsistence-based farmers and is the site of the Save the
Children CECTFIA Center (a large classroom and a boarding home for the students).
The Center has two small offices with a computer, printer, photocopy machine,
and small library. The Center has the capacity to house 40 youth per
year.
- A wing with a medical center, including housing for
the nurse and a living room
- Housing for the director, equipped with a meeting
room and office
- A large classroom for skills training courses
- General housing for visitors working in the
community, including a kitchen, three bedrooms and an additional room for
personal space or work
- A wing with two furnished dorm-style rooms with 20
beds and a kitchen
- A conference room with a mini-library, audio/visual
room, and small office
- Two bathrooms, two solar showers, a solar tent, a water
tank, a stable, and a greenhouse
In addition, participants have
access to the Arampampa municipal facilities that are 8km from the
The academic year lasts from
February to December. However, administrative and technical work takes place
throughout the year. Vacations are during Carnival, New Years, and Christmas.
Organizational Background
The
Center was constructed in the 1990s, and initially functioned as a space for
workshops and meetings for local unions. Centro CECTFIA began its academic
programs in the Municipal of Arampampa in May 2006 by offering an agricultural
and livestock degree to the local youth. The Center has been very successful;
it has been able to increase the number of student participants, as well as further
develop infrastructure. Initially the Center hosted 15 Quechua students, comprised
of four women and 11 men. The students lived in dormitories since the distance
from their homes and communities was so far from the Center.
Save the Children - CECTFIA offers Quechua
youth (ages 20–25) from the Arampampa Municipal and its nearby communities an
opportunity to earn a degree in agriculture and livestock. Its principal goal
is to serve youth in the region that have no access to education or who are
forced to migrate to large cities to seek work and a better life—something that,
more often than not, is an unrealistic dream rather than a real solution to
their life in poverty. Many youth migrate to large cities or other countries,
including
A
portion of the academic part of the Center involves proposing and implementing
agricultural, livestock, and artesanÃa projects.
Through these projects, the Center aims to provide technical support for the
other 36 Arampampa communities.
About Save the Children’s Clients
The
zone produces wheat, potatoes, some corn, and raises small animals for family
consumption. There are 24 schools for the 36 communities; the majority of
students only attend until their second or third year of elementary school
(girls usually attend even fewer years). In addition to the lack of schools,
most students have to walk a few hours each way in order to continue their
studies up to the 6th grade. To finish elementary school (8th grade) and
continue onto high school, youth have to leave the municipality, which means
moving away from their family and home and immigrating to a more economically developed
region. Few students have the opportunity to do this, and for those who are
able to move away, the split frequently leads to the deterioration of the
family and the continuation of local ways of living.