Nicaragua's First School for Rural Entrepreneurs

Bright Students, Promising Futures.

2010-06-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

This month I thought I would do a special blog entry writing exclusively about the students of La Batsilla Agricultural School who are, afterall, the protagonists of this educational programme. The following profiles are of five determined and ambitious students who have stood out for their achievements in the last few months, and are clear about what they would like to accomplish in the future.

Wilmer is a seventeen-year old First Year Student from Mancotal village in the Jinotega department, where he lives with his parents and his five older siblings. Back in May two students, including Wilmer, were chosen to represent La Bastilla Agricultural Technical School in the Municipal Mathematics Olympiad. Wilmer performed outstandingly and finished in Second place! Other than Maths, Wilmer enjoys learning about the coffee cultivation process at La Bastilla, and would like to pursue further studies in this field, eventually becoming an Agricultural Scientist and running his own coffee estate. Asked about his opinions about the technical school, Wilmer replied, “The school offers great opportunities, the staff are very capable and we can learn lots from the business areas about how to make the most use of resources in the country [Nicaragua]”.

Yesica , sixteen, is a Second Year student from Jinotega city where she lives with her parents and her three younger sisters. Her favourite subjects are English, History and Maths. In fact she is even studying Accountancy at weekends, simultaneously to pursuing her agricultural technical studies at La Bastilla, and was the other student who did us proud by representing the school in the Municipal Mathematics Olympiad. Of the school’s seven business areas, Yesica is keen on the dairy business and tourism. Following graduation in eighteen month’s time, she would like to continue onto university, but being the multi-tasker that she is, Yesica would like to work at the same time to gain experience, and eventually become an Agricultural Scientist. In Yessica’s opinion the school “provides a good opportunity for us youngsters and for our families by helping them to advance too. What we can learn here is incredible. What I’d like to see more of, though, is the students themselves being more proactive and to see us leading the project more”.

Nelson, twenty, is from the village of Pantasma in the Jinotega department, where he lives with parents and two sibblings (he has nine sibblings in total!). The classes that Nelson enjoys the most are Pest Management, Cattle-rearing and Grain Production. Nelson is another very mature Second Year student. After finishing his studies at the school he plans to find a job in the coffee industry. With his experience it shouldn’t be too difficult for him to find his dream job, as he is currently doing an internship at La Bastilla Coffee Estates’ coffee processing plant. The position started off as a summer assignment but management were so impressed with Nelson’s performance that he was offered a part-time position during term time too. Nelson’s key responsibilities at the coffee processing plant include treating the “honey water” (contaminated water) produced in the process, monitoring the bio-digesters, and quality control. What does Nelson think about the educational programme on offer at La Bastilla? “It’s given me a good opportunity to study and after studying we’ll have better employment opportunities and be able to better ourselves.”

Darwin, seventeen, is a Final Year or Third Year student from Pantasma where he lives at home with his parents, two sisters and grandmother. His favourite subjects are Agro-industry, Dairy Production and Cooperatives - he is actually the President of “Tecnipan” the student run bread-making cooperative. After graduating at in December, he hopes to work in agronomy or tourism in order to gain experience and raise funds to fund higher education. At the end of last year Darwin was one of ten students selected by Emprendedores Juveniles (a local organisation that promotes entrepreneurship amongst youngsters) to take part in a national oratory contest. Each student was given eight days to prepare a speech lasting between five to seven minutes on road safety. Darwin describes the lead up to the competition as “eight days of sacrifice” as he would often go to sleep at 10 or 11pm and wake up at 2 or 3 am to research the topic and allow sufficient time to study for his classes so that his perfect grades did not slip. The sacrifice paid off as, whilst Darwin narrowly missed out on First Place in the competition, he was a runner-up, winning a shiny new Compaq Presario laptop, and was also put forward for a two-year scholarship to study Industrial Engineering Quality Control at Georgetown University in the US. Whilst he was not offered a place in the end Darwin is extremely positive and puts his achievements down to La Bastilla Agricultural Technical School: “Thanks to this school I have learnt to see life in a different way. It has also opened doors for me, made me become a young man with a business mentality – an entrepreneur.”

Finally, but by no means least we come to eighteen-year old Escarleth, also from Pantasma where she lives at home with her parents and three of her five siblings. Escarleth is in Final Year and her favourite lessons are Cooperatives, Cattle-rearing and Agro-industry. Last year, Escarleth came a close Second to Darwin at the school level oratory contest run by Emprendedores Juveniles. Whilst she did not quite make it to the national competition, her excellent grades ensured that she was given a second chance by USAID who visited La Bastilla, amongst other schools, also in search of the best students to put forward for the two-year Industrial Engineering Quality Control scholarship at Georgetown University. After several months of interviews, tests and assessments centres, Escarleth received the great news a few weeks ago that she was one of ten students from the whole of Nicaragua to be accepted onto the programme, and will be leaving in August to start the course in September. Whilst the school is obviously sad to see such an intelligent student leave without obtaining the agricultural technical certificate (she would have graduated from the school in only six months time) all the staff and her fellow students are extremely happy for her and proud of her. Reflecting on her two-and-a-half years of studies at the school Escarleth says “it’s an opportunity that hardly anyone has. When I started we just had four walls. Now everything has changed. This school teaches you the skills to make a future for yourself, as nothing in life comes free. Since I’ve been at the school I’ve had the opportunity to see so many things, go so many places and to win prizes. If it hadn’t been for this school I would never have been given the opportunity to go to the US.” After studying in the US Escarleth plans to return to Nicaragua to work in a field related to her studies and experiences, and more than anything she dreams of opening her own hotel. I have every faith that she and all the motivated students at La Bastilla Agricultural Technical School will succeed in their future endeavours.

Fifteen Minutes of Fame - let´s hope it lasts longer than that.

2010-05-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

Hola everyone! This last month has been abuzz with activity, very much like the school beehives which are finally starting to produce golden delicious honey, though not quite enough to start selling yet.

Following the Easter holidays, in order to complement the coffee plant business La Bastilla Coffee Estates organised a series of workshops for the students on how to cultivate different variations of coffee plants. Whilst stimulating, this was a challenging process which required a lot of patience. Nonetheless, overall it was a highly productive session.

La Bastilla was fortunate enough to recently have a London-based schools Environmental Advisor, not only visit, but volunteer for a week. Students from both the agricultural technical school, and the primary-regualr secondary school in the community, were treated to presentations on environmental conservation. The talks not only served an educational purpose but allowed for cross cultural exchange, with the students creating posters, sending messages and photos to new friends in schools around London. It is hoped that this will lead to a twinning project between schools in London and in La Bastilla.

It seems that more and more people are becoming aware of the educational project in La Bastilla, and the technical school is starting to attract more local attention, including media attention. I was extremely suprised a few weeks ago to be approached, whilst I was in Jinotega with a final year student, by a local tv channel who had learnt that two girls from La Bastilla were in town and wanted an interview. Though slightly confused at this unexpected request we consented and talked about the self-sufficient educational model and exciting new developments at the school. I have to admit, I was disappointed that I was unable to watch my fifteen minutes of fame on tv later that night, as by the time the show aired at 10pm, the electricity had been switched off for the day at the school. However, I have been assured that my Nicaraguan silver screen debut successfully aired, as I have since been stopped in the street by strangers (who seem to know all about me) wanting to talk to me about the project. Whilst it is great that information about the educational project is reaching the masses, I am still adjusting to my newly found fame.

Last weekend La Bastilla Ecolodge was invited to attend the first ever Northern Regional Tourism Fair in Esteli. This was a two-day event with over 150 companies and organisations, each given their own stand to publicise their businesses. We took advantage of this opportunity to promote not just the the ecolodge, but the other ventures of the school, including the student-produced handicrafts, and of course the self-sufficient education model. Other than establishing new contacts, generating new clients for the ecolodge and the school, the event was an important educational experience for the six students who participated, learning not only about the tourism industry but also teaching them to communicate and sell to strangers, thus building their confidence.

What a month!

2010-03-27T16:43:00.000-07:00

So a month has passed since my last blog entry, and what an eventful month it has been! Two school-related elections have been held in an equal number of weeks. First, following a week of impassioned speeches and heated debates, the students elected members of the Student Committee, comprising a representative from each of the three year groups and a President. The following week the parents spent a morning at the school to attend a large meeting with students and staff to express their concerns and opinions, discuss the academic and business performance of the school over the first year, and to elect new members of the Parents Association. It was a very positive morning, and dates were set for the remaining three meetings of the academic year.

Speaking of academic, this year a number of new classes have been introduced at La Bastilla Agricultural Technical School. Firstly, the school is fortunate enough to have a Peace Corps volunteer living in the community who is now teaching English twice a week. Secondly, a part-time teacher has been recruited to teach Topography to Third Years, making the most of the equipment generously donated to the school by La Bastilla Coffee Estates. Finally, First Years are also now receiving Business Studies classes. To complement the Business Studies course the school is planning on inviting local entrepreneurs to give presentations to the students over the year.

The entrepreneurial spirit is certainly high at the school at the moment, with students from Third Year recently forming bread-making and handicraft cooperatives. The initial funds were generated by selling excess food from the boarding school to builders who were constructing the new hotel cabin. The cooperatives are still very much in the early stages. However, the students plan to use the profits to purchase school materials and save the rest for their graduation ceremony at the end of the year.

In school businesses news, we welcomed our first litter of piglets into the world on 27th February (which just so happens to be the same day I entered the world twenty-five years ago). Since then, three pigs have given birth to thirty-seven piglets. Unfortunately, since the new arrivals are weak and vulnerable, several have died from infections or hypothermia. Even more depressing, one of the expectant female pigs died this month from a uterine haemorrhage, representing a huge loss to the school in terms of the costs of rearing the pig, and the lost income that the sale of her piglets would have generated. However, every cloud has a silver lining. Through the vet who carried out the autopsy on the pig, the school has gained a new regular client for the egg business.

Over the last month we have been working extremely hard here at La Bastilla number crunching and planning for the start of the new financial year in April. Whilst the business budgets for Year Two were prepared in January, it was decided that they should be revised since they had been prepared without the inputs and expertise of the new Production and Assistant Production Managers. Having completed the plans, we are optimistic that the profitability of the school businesses will increase significantly compared to Year One. Nonetheless, substantial efforts from both students and the project team will still be required to ensure that business targets are reached and that the positive forecasts become a reality.

New year, new students, new Project Officer

2010-02-16T12:23:00.000-08:00

Hi! My name is Rebecca and I have taken over from Alex as the new Project Officer in Nicaragua, so beautiful La Bastilla will be my new home for the next year.

I can’t believe it has already been three weeks since I arrived! The first week was relatively quiet around here without the students who were enjoying the last week of their summer holidays. All that suddenly changed, however, in week two when the new school year started. This year we welcomed twenty-seven new students into First Year, bringing the total number of students across the three year groups at La Bastilla Technical School to fifty-eight. This is a significant increase from last year’s total of thirty-five students, though, there were only two year groups last year. There are a lot of new faces about and new names to learn but I’m getting there. All the students and staff arrived enthusiastic and ready for the new school year to begin. What a positive start!

As you are all probably aware we have seven school businesses now: coffee plants, egg production, pig-rearing, beekeeping, a vegetable garden, dairy produce, and an eco-lodge. I’ll take you through the main developments since last time.

One of the first activities the students got involved in this school year was to start making terraces on the relatively steep hill where the vegetable garden is based. The idea is to provide some areas of flat terrain so that managing the area and growing our products, especially our treasured frijoles (beans) – the main ingredient in most dishes we eat at the school, becomes easier and more efficient.

With regards to the dairy business, unfortunately only two cows were bought in December, instead of five as planned, due to difficulty finding enough good quality cows. However, we are expecting the delivery of our remaining cows by the end of this month.

There have been several positive developments with regards to the eco-lodge since the last blog entry. La Bastilla Eco-lodge is now fully registered with the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism (INTUR) which regulates and sets the standards for tourism in the country, as well as advertises on behalf of all registered companies. So anyone who is planning to visit Nicaragua and will be entering via the international airport in Managua, or the borders with Costa Rica or Honduras, should come across our brochures. More exciting news: last week we finished building and furnishing the first cabin at our eco-lodge! Adding to the existing restaurant and two camping decks, the new cabin has two bedrooms which can accommodate up to three guests each, meaning that our solar-powered eco-lodge now has a capacity of twelve guests. Next on the agenda is to build another cabin which will be a shared dorm capable of sleeping up to sixteen guests, which should be ready in May. In the meantime we are focussing our efforts on advertising the eco-lodge so that more people can enjoy the wonders and beauty of La Bastilla.

It looks like I’ve joined the project at a very exciting stage. I am thoroughly looking forward to what lies ahead over the next year, and hope you enjoy hearing about the developments through my monthly updates.

2009-11-18T08:03:00.000-08:00

He all,

Two months have passed and it’s time again that I give you an update of what is going on here in Nicaragua. Things have been moving along quite a bit out here.

For one we have finished out restaurant dining area for the eco-lodge. It turned out much better than any of us could expect. The location is fantastic… on the side of a hill overlooking the valley and coffee plantations. An ideal place to sit, relax and contemplate the beauty of this region. We have had our first guests and a group that had a conference up there. All were delighted and very impressed by the service and location.

Furthermore, we have started the construction of the milking area. Although it construction started a bit later then planned we are well on our way and should have our first group of milk producing cows by December. We will start with 5 cows and slowly expand out herd to about 25 adults in about 2,5 years. This way we will be able to learn by doing and slowly expand our market for milk and create a market for processed produce. Adding value to primary products will provide our students a good insight how to make a business more profitable.

We have also changed our existing pigs. With improving the genetics of our group we expect to create more healthy piglets faster. This will help us reduce costs and increase the profits in this area. To involve the students in the marketing of this product we want to assign each student with a piglet which they have to sell in their communities.

Regarding the academic side of the story we have started a program of integration and community building between the local community, teachers, parents and of course our students. It is still in its early stages but we expect to be able to create a situation in which all noses are pointing in the same direction… improving the education of the future of Nicaragua.

Here in Nicaragua the school year is almost over. In two weeks the students have their last day of classes and they are off for two months. For us however the work does not stop. We are preparing for the new arrivals at the school. In December we are preparing for the entrance exams and in January there will be a couple of days where the potential students will have the chance to live a couple of days at the school to see if they will like it. From this group we will have to choose 20 that will form the new 1st year of the La Bastilla technical agricultural college.

Un Abrazo

Alex

just to bring you up to speed

2009-09-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

Well here I submit the first update of our educational project in Jinotega Nicaragua. The project is well on its way, but the updates have been lagging behind. So this is going to be a quick resume of what has been happening here over the last 5 months.

The school project was initiated in 2005 by La Bastilla coffee estate. It started off as a primary school for the workers of the coffee estate and the local community. In 2008 a new part was added and that was the technical agricultural school. We as TAMTF fully stepped into the project in the beginning of this year and that is how I ended up here.

At this moment we are setting up all our productive units. We are starting off with 7units which should cover all school operating cost within 5 years. At the moment we have 5 units up and running, honey production, horticulture, pig farm, eggs production and the nursery for coffee plants and reforestation. The two that are left is the milk production unit and our eco-tourism business.

We plan to have these last two units up and running by the end of the year. We are planning the build of our milking area this month. For the eco-tourism business we have already constructed two camping platforms and we are currently building our kitchen/dining area. In November we will expand our facilities with some closed cabins for those guests that want some more comfort.

All in all we are very excited about the advances we are making and we can feel and see that changes day by day. The students are also getting more excited by the day seeing all that we are setting up here. For them it is a great opportunity and they are starting to realize that.

I also submit a photo of our 500 ladies providing us with fresh eggs every day and some income as well. We have them inside, but every day we let them out for a little stroll in their pasture area as you can see here.

2009-08-05T03:07:00.001-07:00

Week 1