The initiative proposes technological, educational and scientific strategies in the rural areas of the country to generate knowledge transfer and empowerment of the territory, information management and entrepreneurship schemes from agriculture and culture.
“This is an innovative strategy, because it reaches out to regions with initiatives tailored to the needs of the community,” says business manager Tatiana Lopez, director and co-founder of Social Kit, along with Daniela Ibarra, Miguel Yunes, Laura Sanchez and Ximena. Velosa, an alumnus of UNAL Manizales Headquarters.
“Without community participation, project planning is unthinkable; their proposals for ideas and solutions are essential in order to bear fruit.”
“Through our project, we build links between society and science for the social appropriation of knowledge; for this, we create tools drawn from technological development that contribute to enhancing the living conditions of communities,” adds Ximena Velosa, Managing Director of Social Kit.
Among the successful cases are those carried out on the island of Fuerte (Bolivar), where solar panels have so far been installed for sports centers and parks; In addition, some roads have been lit, proposals have been made to improve agriculture in terms of soil care and management for the cultivation of cassava and plantains, and progress is being made in building enclosures for the preservation of fish, an essential product for the safety of your food.
Another example is the “Mujer creadora de poder” project, a commitment to empower and strengthen the company with businesswomen from Villamaría (Caldas) and Borraci (Cauca), where through weaving and cultivation in urban gardens, it seeks to promote its craft business as a business opportunity.
In Tolima, virtual exchanges took place between Colombian and Spanish youth organizations to promote the “Ibague Cultural and Youth Route” project. There, they sought to promote artistic expressions such as theatre, music and culture as a sustainability of community work, to build youth policies in caring for the circuit’s heritage.
Nexusnet is a commercial initiative that proposes, through the creation of events, conferences and the results of national and international research, technological and scientific solutions in the responsibility of water, energy and food, that can be replicated in different scenarios in the country.
Thus, it seeks to build bonds among the same community to generate a social appropriation of the area that pursues the common good, taking into account empowerment based on lived experiences to feed the designs of the social group, made during visits to the rural areas of Caldas and Tolima.
To achieve these goals, an accompanying path is implemented, analyzing the context and reality of the area, then meetings or dialogue tables are held with adults, youth and children in business meetings to listen and propose solutions such as decision-making (society governance), and from there generating knowledge transfer and project implementation planning.
“The goal is to create viable technological strategies so that they persist in society, developing learning processes in the population themselves, so that they benefit from these technological inventions and not just offer a product,” concludes Daniela Ibarra, Cultural and Administrative Director. From Social Kit.
