Currently in Urabá Antioquia there are approximately 9,000 hectares of cocoa planted. The Association of Cocoa Producers of Chigorodó (Acefuver) is one of the most important, as it brings together nearly 240 cocoa producers from the Urabá and Chocó regions.
Víctor García belongs to this association, born in 2013 with the aim of ending intermediation and fighting against low cocoa prices. It is currently made up of more than 80% of the population victim of forced displacement, as well as indigenous people and mothers.
More than 42,000 homes and businesses in the municipalities of Apartadó, Girardota and Barbosa are covered by Claro fiber. From now on, its inhabitants can access the Internet with a higher speed, television and fixed telephony.
García remembers that in the first meetings there were sub-groups (people who suffered from forced displacement, peasants, indigenous people, women, etc.) who were very divided and did not even speak to each other. However, the passage of time managed to connect his lens. “Now when they get together, they talk to each other. For us it is very satisfying because our intention is to generate synergy between the communities, so that they do not see each other as enemies or competitors, but rather as valuable strategic allies to generate the development of our territory” , explained García and added: “They understood that through the association an impact is generated, very advanced objectives can be achieved and that we all form a large cocoa family”.
Thanks to this work, many families affected by the conflict have dreamed again, because they have realized, through their work, bet on the development of the territory and generate greater opportunities for their families and friends.
In addition, their cocoa has earned them national recognition, for the quality of the grain they have been three consecutive years among the 10 best in the country. And they have been recognized internationally for doing work that promotes peace in the region. “A Swiss organization gave us an award called Undertaking Peace for the good work we do to generate peace in the territory. Talking about peace is due to the synergy we have, because we are in harmony with the environment, with nature and with people,” García clarified.
Throughout this process, the use of technology has been vitally important. “He had great relevance in our territory, because cocoa usually grows in the most remote parts of the territory. Thanks to technology, we have been able to stay in touch with our producers, provide them with up-to-date information, improve communication and help them with courses, conferences and training,” said Garcia.
Likewise, it gives them access to email, social media and digital marketing, since more than 60% of their customers have learned to use digital platforms, which has allowed them to reach different places in the world. nationally with their products and internationally.
The impact of technology is largely due to strategies such as Claro por Colombia’s “Travesía por Colombia”, the company’s sustainability strategy, which aims to advance the commitment to connect all Colombians and transform the lives of the inhabitants of the different municipalities, students and teachers of the department of Antioquia with coverage, access, digital ecosystems and social inclusion.
Coverage: All municipal capitals of Antioquia are connected
Currently, Approximately 42,186 homes and businesses in the municipalities of Apartadó, Girardota and Barbosa are now covered by fiber, which allows them to access the Internet with the highest speed, television and fixed telephony. The company also serves Bello, Caldas, Copacabana, Envigado, Itagüí, La Estrella, Marinilla, Medellín, Rionegro and Sabaneta with these services.
Así la totalidad de las 108 municipal cabeceras de Antioquia ya cuentan con internet móvil 4G y 4.5G, lo que lo que sus habitantes lo cuentan con mayor capacity y velocidad para conectarse desde sus mobile teléfonos y acceder a las miles de oportunidades que trae consigo technology. Actions have also been taken to strengthen the capacity of the network in tourist municipalities and where there is growing demand in different seasons of the year.
Moreover, over the next three years, Claro will connect 63 rural towns in Antioquia to 4G mobile internet, positively impacting more than 41,938 area residents.
“We are convinced that technology is a tool capable of transforming lives. Our goal is to improve the quality of life of Colombians by guaranteeing the best connectivity and coverage. With the arrival of fiber and 4G mobile Internet in these municipalities and rural communities, we contribute to the development of the inhabitants of this department who now benefit from the advantages of being connected to access studies, work, health and online leisure,” said María Consuelo. Castro, manager of Claro for Colombia.
Access: More than 15,000 Antioquia students benefit from connected schools
In Antioquia alone, they recently connected over 8,000 students to the Internet for free.
Precisely, The education sector is another big beneficiary of the power of technology and connectivity. In the municipality of Chigorodó, in Antioquia, there are more than 80,000 inhabitants and eight educational institutions. One of them is the Agricultural Educational Institution of Urabá with 2,600 students distributed in four educational centers.
Despite the considerable number of students it welcomes for its population, the establishment did not have an internet service allowing students to consolidate certain knowledge and skills online, and teachers to energize lessons.
Now they are very happy and optimistic by being included in Claro por Colombia’s “Connected Schools” program, which provides free internet access to educational institutions in different parts of the country. In Antioquia alone, they recently connected more than 8,000 students belonging to Marco Fidel Suárez and La Misericordia institutions in the Caucasus; The Agrícola Urabá de Chigorodó and Gonzalo Mejía, in Chigorodó, and Liceo Antiqueño in the municipality of Bello.
Claro por Colombia benefits more than 4,080 female students, 5,050 belonging to ethnic groups or minorities and 1,652 students who have been victims of the conflict or who have suffered some type of displacement.
This connectivity will allow them to access educational, virtual and free content to strengthen their skills and knowledge. As explained by Margarita Espinoza, rector of the agricultural educational institution of Urabá, they only had Internet service at the school secretariat. “There was no way to investigate on the internet. Some teachers, if they wanted to make an interactive class, had to record lessons or videos and put them on televisions. This is a very important project for us,” Espinoza said.
For the rector of this institution, the arrival of Claro’s free internet can help them improve the teaching and learning process, “because with interactivity the courses become more pleasant, more dynamic, more proactive. It’s a more collaborative work between students and teachers, knowledge is better built because together the subjects they deal with are greatly enriched, “said Espinoza.
In fact, Marcos, a student at the institution, remembers with nostalgia that at the age of 12 he had his first contact with technology, using a mobile phone and being able to watch videos on YouTube. Now, at 15, he dreams of studying computer science in the future, so the use and knowledge of technology is very important to him.. “Technology has taught me a lot because sometimes when the teacher leaves an assignment, I can research to make the assignment easier,” Marcos said.
Many young people will also benefit from their technical training, since the institution works hand in hand with the Sena so that 10th and 11th graders receive agricultural technical training, which can now be enhanced with the use of technology in their training.
In total, there are already 13 educational institutions in Antioquia linked to this initiative, which benefits 15,688 students. The other institutions connected in 2021 were: Liceo Caucasia and Divino Niño, in the Caucasus; Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento and Colombia, in Carepa; Chigorodó and Los Andes, in Chigorodó; the Currulao, in Turbo, and the municipal headquarters of Carlos Vieco Ortiz San Javier in Medellín.
“With Connected Schools, we are ensuring that educational institutions have a free connection so that thousands of students in Antioquia can access free virtual educational content in their technology rooms to strengthen their skills and knowledge”, said Consuelo Castro, Sure’s manager for Colombia.
With digital ecosystems and social inclusion, access to thousands of free educational content is guaranteed
From Claro through ColombiaThey recommended that all Colombians know the thousands of virtual and free contents of initial education and complementary training for employment and entrepreneurship, with the digital platforms developed by the Carlos Slim Foundation: Train for Employment, Learn.org and PruébaT.
“We seek to generate opportunities so that more students, teachers, principals and parents of public educational institutions across the country are connected and can access a world of possibility. We achieve this through connectivity, access to technology and the generation of digital ecosystems, with the Carlos Slim Foundation platforms such as Aprendre.org, PruébaT and Capacítate para el Empleo, which complement the processes of education and training. Our goal is to transform the lives of Colombians and residents of Boyacá through technology,” concluded María Consuelo Castro, director of Claro por Colombia.
+Content*. A special editorial content of EL TIEMPO sponsored by Claro por Colombia.
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