What is the name of your organization?
Cooperative for Education
What is the name of your solution?
Guatemala Technology Program
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Empowering Indigenous Guatemalan communities with technology access and skills through sustainable computer centers using a revolving fund model.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
San Lucas Sacatepéquez, Guatemala
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
GTM
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
We aim to solve these key problems related to technology education in rural Guatemala:
Marketable Skills: In Guatemala, 60% of entry-level jobs require computer skills, with demand expected to grow. Yet, in some rural areas, none of the students have used a computer. Without marketable job skills, they are destined to repeat the cycle of poverty.
The Digital Divide: A significant gap exists between urban and Indigenous rural populations. A study by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Microsoft revealed that 71% of urban populations in Latin America have internet access, compared to 37% in rural areas, often preventing rural students from acquiring the skills to compete for jobs.
Sustainability: When technology is provided, a lack of proper training and support often leads to outdated, inefficient equipment that does not help the community in the long term.
Empowerment: Without computer access, students lack the tools to pursue entrepreneurship or access government resources, limiting their ability to shape their own futures.
Gender Inequality: Through the integration of our Technology Program with our Rise Youth Development Program—which focuses on evening the playing field for girls—we are helping bridge the digital divide for Indigenous women.
What is your solution?
Cooperative for Education’s Technology Program establishes computer centers in Guatemala’s most remote areas. Donors provide the initial investment to equip classrooms with recent-model computers or laptops, while CoEd staff collaborate with local contractors and schools to renovate and secure these labs. Computers are networked and installed with Microsoft Office, Scratch programming, and RACHEL, an offline educational content server—enabling students to learn advanced applications, office systems, and programming essentials.
The curriculum incorporates best practices from Cambridge Education, while aligning with IC3 GS5 standards and Guatemala’s national curriculum. Students receive at least 60 minutes of hands-on instruction weekly. New computer teachers receive 70 hours of training in their first year, covering curriculum, pedagogy, and technology management, plus 56 hours of continuing education each year to ensure they remain current with the latest standards.
CoEd computer centers use a revolving fund model for sustainability. Each year, students pay a small fee (about $3/month). The fees go into a revolving fund that covers ongoing operating expenses (including computer teacher salaries) and equipment upgrades. After approximately six years, enough money has accumulated in the fund to replace the computers, ensuring that students in these communities have access to high-quality technology education for generations.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
CoEd’s Technology Program predominantly supports Indigenous Maya youth ages 13-15 living in rural communities in Guatemala’s Western and Central Highlands. Their families often live on less than $4 a day, unable to afford the direct costs of education nor the opportunity cost of keeping children in school when they could be working and contributing to the family’s income. Indigenous students in rural Guatemala face a lifetime of poverty, discrimination, and illiteracy. Youth in these communities face constant pressures to leave school and can fall victim to dangerous circumstances such as child labor, child marriage, and migration north (including all the risks inherent with a dangerous migration, such as the very real risk of human trafficking).
By bringing computers to these students, they will stay in school longer: An analysis of dropout rates at 24 schools before and after receiving a computer center demonstrated that the program decreases dropout rates by 35%. Students also gain skills to obtain professional jobs, increasing their earning potential. According to a survey of program graduates, students who get jobs in the formal sector earn an average of $15/day—a 275% increase over the typical $4/day wage of a day laborer in rural regions.