PanEco

The Amalaka farm school provides the poorest children of Colombia the opportunity of an education and a chance at a better future.

Amalaka is an organic farm in Popayan province in the southwest of Colombia. In this country, ravaged by both civil war and underdevelopment, the Swiss teacher Ana Maria Fankhauser founded a farm school for children of the very poorest, including farmers, refugees and slums dwellers. The goal of Amalaka is holistic education. The school raises the awareness of children and teaches them to live peacefully with people and nature. Teachers follow the Freinet pedagogical principles in which individual accountability, cooperation and communication are the most important elements.

The school children of "Granja esquela" participate in the entire operation of Amalaka. Each class is responsible for feeding animals, working in the garden and baking bread according to a fixed schedule. The produce supplies the school kitchen and the sale of baked goods and vegetables also represents the most important source of income for the school. Amalaka has already set up a farm shop, developed a wide circle of regular customers and now supplies a supermarket. The farm school has become a focal point and catalyst for organic farming in Colombia. Farmers from the region meet here to discuss new methods and to exchange experiences with different seeds.