Zamorano: Model of Education and Development
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AMÉRICAS
C O URTESY ZAMO RAN O (5 )
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n the early 1940s, a foreign entrepreneur was inspired by the amazing geography, hospitable climate, and welcoming spirit of Honduras to fall in love with the country and build a dream there. Samuel Zemurray, a US citizen who was president of the United Fruit Company at one time, had a vision of benefitting students from Honduras and the entire region by building a high-level agricultural school. At Zemurray’s request, US scientist Wilson Popenoe, a capable and likeable ambassador of good will in Central America, began building the school. He chose a 3,700-acre farm in the Yeguare Valley that once belonged to the Zamora family, originally from Spain, and there he established what in 1941 became the Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School. Popenoe was the first director of the school. The teaching philosophy and lifestyle at the Zamorano school became one of academic excellence combined with pragmatic action and the concept of Pan-Americanism. Today, 68 years later, Daniel Myer, the director of general curriculum and a specialist in aquaculture, says that Zamorano is unique for its combination of theoretical and applied teaching. “Here we put students into field experiences that are very similar to real life. Using the ‘learning by doing’ method, students acquire skills and gain trust in themselves as they prepare to face and find solutions to future challenges.” These concepts have been part of the education of almost 6,000 graduates who are now working all over the world. Zamorano graduates can be found today in places like Laos and Ethiopia, working on rural development programs. Zamorano has become an educational center at the service of the Americas and the entire world, and its students are preparing for the global challenges of environmental sustainability, production, competition, and the fight against poverty. “A Zamorano degree is a passport to universities in the United States and for getting into specialized work,” says one recently graduated student.
The university is located approximately twenty miles from the capital city of T egucigalpa in a rural area where it is possible to engage in agricultural work and come to understand its associated problems and needs. The campus benefits from local watersheds, natural forests, and gardens. In fact, it is registered in the World Organization of Botanical Gardens. The campus also houses the Wilson Popenoe Library with more than 18,000 books and magazines and the Paul C. Stanley Herbarium with 300,000 classified species and insect collections. But it’s not all “study, study, study.” In addition to the classes and special conferences, students enjoy sporting events and parties, and the famous Zamorano Fair brings in people from all over the country. Women have become increasingly interested in agriculture. While the first six women started school in 1981 and only four graduated in 1983, currently 33 percent of
the student body is made up of women who share equally with men in the world of study and experimentation. “Excellence that comes from experience” is the idea that Zamorano shares with the surrounding communities, providing them with training in matters related to agriculture, rural tourism, and education for development. The institution participates in exchanges with several universities in the United States and is registered as a not-for-profit corporation, which means there are tax benefits for businesses and corporations that support its programs. Since the primary focus is agriculture, it offers courses in agricultural science and production, agro-industry, agro-business administration, and environmental sciences. With seven agro-industrial plants, science laboratories, its own fields for farming, and clean and modern facilities, Zamorano is a model agricultural school that promotes local and regional development. It also created ecological awareness and a concern for using and recycling materials in a way that respects the environment. “The students can get partial or complete financial aid,” says Luis Mauricio Salazar, the director of communications for Zamorano. “Most of the students are from Latin America. They live on the campus, and 30 percent of our professors do as well. The idea of Pan-Americanism is promoted, and people share their experiences and create
Zamorano is a living laboratory, where the marketing, production, and processing that is learned in the classroom is applied to actual jobs. Students participate in three main areas of concentration: agriculture, animal husbandry, and processing plants
bonds of friendship that last, thanks to the alumni association whose members network with each other to exchange information related to science, labor, or business,” explains Salazar. Sixty percent of the students come from rural areas and are of indigenous origin, so their native language may not be Spanish. Despite the diversity of race, nationality, religion, and culture, however, the students share the same objective: to receive theoretical and practical training for every aspect of agricultural work. “It’s a school where you are encouraged to be active and to reach your aspirations,” says one young student who is hoping to have his own business in the food industry and who knows that education and training are key in a globalized and competitive world. Zamorano provides cognitive instruments and specialized information, but it also trains young people to assume responsibility and leadership, molding them into rural promoters and educating them for the development of their enterprises and businesses. The school’s outreach extends to Guatemala, Bolivia, El Salvador, Panama, and Ecuador. Its network is particularly expansive in Central America and it has been successful in getting governments and businesses alike to participate in projects. Thousands of students have benefitted from the entrepreneurial vision and scientific vocation they have acquired at the Zamorano school. With this education, they have been able to realize their personal, professional, and family goals and support the wellbeing of future generations. —Adriana Bianco
Zamorano has become an educational center at the service of the Americas and the entire world, and its students are preparing for the global challenges of environmental sustainability, production, competition, and the fight against poverty AMÉRICAS
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