Martin BURT for “The Self-Sufficient School”
Organisation : Fundación Paraguaya
Country : Paraguay
Scale of the project : International
Educational level : Vocational training
Videos :
Who is Martin Burt?
Martin Burt is founder/CEO of Fundación Paraguaya, an NGO devoted to the promotion of entrepreneurship among the world’s poor. He is also co-founder of Teach a Man to Fish, a global network that promotes “education that pays for itself”. In addition to his work in civil society, Martin has served as Vice-Minister of Commerce and was elected Mayor of Asunción. A Visiting Professor at the University of the Pacific, Martin has received the Inter-American Development-Bank Microfinance Award for Excellence in Social Responsibility, the Outstanding Social Entrepreneur Award from the Schwab Foundation, the Skoll Foundation Social Entrepreneur Award and he is committed to the Clinton Global Initiative.
What is The Self-Sufficient School?
A “good” education is considered one of the best routes out of poverty. However, in most developing countries, technical/vocational education is neither good nor readily available to youths from chronically poor families. This makes it very difficult to break the cycle of inter-generational poverty.At its San Francisco Agricultural School - a co-ed boarding farm/school for youths aged 15-19 in Cerrito, Paraguay - Fundación Paraguaya (FP) developed the Financially Self-P Project from 2002, a new model of technical/vocational education which provides high-quality, affordable education to chronically poor young people, without relying on government subsidies, long-term donor support or costly school fees that exclude the poor. The school transforms young farmers into financially successful “rural entrepreneurs” by integrating the teaching of traditional high school subjects with the running of 17 small-scale, on-campus rural enterprises.
By helping to run these enterprises, students gain technical and entrepreneurial skills, which are in demand in the local market, are marketable across multiple sectors and are valuable throughout entire careers. At the same time, these enterprises generate enough income to cover 100% of the school’s operating costs, including depreciation - about US$ 300,000 per year. The school’s success is measured by the fact that 100% of school graduates are productively engaged within four months of graduation and by the fact that the school has been 100% financially self-sufficient since 2007.
Future perspectives:
This year UNESCO selected the Financially Self-Sufficient School model as a “best practice in youth policies and programs.” In addition, over 20 institutions in Latin America and Africa have adopted the model or are preparing to do so. As this replication process proceeds, this “education that pays for itself” will enable very large numbers of young people worldwide to overcome chronic poverty.
Featured partners and stakeholders:
Featured partners and stakeholders:
Avina Foundation, Skoll Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Peery Foundation, Nike Foundation, Opportunity International, FAMA, La Bastilla Coffee Company, ORSA Paper Company, CARE, Christian Children’s Fund and small community-based organisations in Latin America, Middle East and Africa.
Pictures :
