COMFENALCO Antioquia > Entidades Cooperantes > News

“Sowing the future” is highlighted by CEPAL
as a successful social innovation experience

The “Sowing the Future in the La María Indigenous Community” Project was selected by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean – Cepal -, to continue in the second phase of the “Experiences in social innovation” contest, which seeks to reward innovative projects that will contribute to improving the standard of living of their beneficiaries, to generating development conditions and to promoting citizen participation.

874 initiatives from the 22 Cepal member countries were presented, in the areas of health, education, youth, nutrition, food safety, as well as income generation, corporate social responsibility and agrarian/rural development, which was the sector the “Sowing the Future” project was submitted in.

During this first phase the initiatives that will continue in the contest’s second stage were selected and thereby select the semifinalist projects, which will receive a field visit during the month of September.

This project, executed by COMFENALCO Antioquia and financed by funds from the Generalitat Valenciana, the Spanish DNGO Petjades, the Government of Antioquia, SENA, Comfenalco Antioquia and its employees, has the goal of improving the standard of living of 30 families in the La María indigenous community, by strengthening strategies for producing and marketing exotic flowers and foliage.

Acheivements

The project, which should conclude in approximately four months, has had great achievements, including:

Participation from 855 COMFENALCO Antioquia employees, who contributed to the project with a percentage of their salary during 2 years.
Empowering the indigenous community in formulating and carrying out the project.
The structure of the initiative, which was set up as an integral proposal and a sustainable income generation alternative, which goes beyond self-sufficiency.
Conservation and respect for the community’s cultural tradition and the immersion of modern techniques which bring quality standards to its production.
7.500 heliconia plants of 27 varieties and 10.000 foliage plants of 19 varieties were planted.
Training programs implemented for entrepreneurship, planning, accounting, community work, life project, conflict resolution, equality and gender, and theoretical training in subjects like: soils, crops, harvesting heliconias, planting foliage, among others.
Construction of a nursery which allows species to be multiplied and marketed, as well as supplying other members of the community who want to get involved with the project.
The creation of a community savings fund contributing 7% of the first harvest from the plantain plantation. This will be fed with 1% of the sale of flowers and foliage.

Thus, COMFENALCO Antioquia ratifies its social commitment to building a more equitable and inclusive territory.