Self-Sustainable Education in Paraguay

For two days, the Cerrito Agricultural Hotel/School that Fundación Paraguaya administrates in Benjamín Aceval, was the venue for the international “Cerrito 2018” meeting, supported by the Social Innovation initiative of CAF (Development Bank of Latin America) and IDRC Canada. In being held at Cerrito Agricultural School, students were able to showcase the skills they are learning in rural tourism and hospitality, including catering, hotel management, and tours around the grounds of the school and of the surrounding wetlands.

The event - which has been organized for the second year in a row - was attended by business leaders, representatives of the public sector, civil society, companies, social entrepreneurs and international leaders, in a meeting that sought to consolidate itself as a space for the creation of innovations and strategies for the elimination of multidimensional poverty in Paraguay and the region.

“All of us the attendees are working in very similar communities in a situation of vulnerability, not only in Paraguay, but also the United Kingdom and the United States, among other countries,” said Martin Burt, Director of the Fundación Paraguaya, at the beginning of the Cerrito 2018 meeting. He also said that poverty should not be measured solely from the monetary stand point, and that the change to get out of it is to create a path that brings together all sectors, with participation and motivation.

Among other aspects, Cerrito 2018 sought to consolidate the Fundación Paraguaya as a benchmark at the international level in the fight against poverty and social innovation, as well as raising awareness of the Poverty Stoplight methodology as a practical and useful tool to fight multidimensional poverty.

Participants reported a successful conference, and enjoyed the attentiveness and professionalism of the students in the logistics at Cerrito Agricultural School.