What is the name of your organization?
municipal montessori educational institution
What is the name of your solution?
Cafelab Colombia
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
STEM, Technology, and Bioeconomy for Rural Education
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Pitalito, Huila, Colombia
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
Colombia
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
Rural coffee-growing communities in Colombia face a social, educational, and technological crisis that limits youth development. Sixty percent of children and young people lack access to adequate technology, and school dropout rates reach 30% in some areas due to limited opportunities and a disconnect between schools, communities, and local industries.
Furthermore, the coffee industry produces thousands of tons of waste annually without effective reuse strategies, wasting resources with great potential for the circular economy and sustainable development. Globally, coffee production generates 23 million tons of waste annually. In Colombia, the lack of innovation in waste management exacerbates environmental and economic problems.
The digital gap, the disconnect between education and production realities, and the underutilization of coffee waste further widen the opportunity gap in rural Colombia.
What is your solution?
Cafelab Colombia has created a training ecosystem that combines technology, research, and environmental sustainability, connecting STEM education with coffee growing and the circular economy. Through research and innovation, students explore chemistry, biology, physics, programming, robotics, and STEM maker skills to develop innovative solutions.
Our digitalization and experimentation model in coffee growing incorporates ICT tools in four lines of action: digital literacy, programming, AI, and audiovisual production to optimize processes and reuse agro-industrial waste. These experiments generate prototypes of bioproducts, promoting the circular economy in rural communities.
Similarly, we enable access to knowledge through accessible formats such as the podcast "Voces de Cambio" and the series "Los Secretos del Café," documenting traditional knowledge and technological advances in sustainable coffee growing.
By 2027, we aim to train 26,000 students in the region and 1,200 teachers in the four lines of action. We also seek to train 30 rural communities by implementing STEM projects with a real impact on coffee growing and waste management.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our solution is designed to positively impact three key groups:
1. Rural students: They will improve their access to technology, develop digital skills across the four areas of action, develop specific, green, and soft skills, and become global environmental leaders.
2. Teachers: They will receive training in innovative methodologies and the application of technology in the classroom, achieving effective inclusion of digital tools in their classes.
3. Coffee-growing communities: Through the development of coffee waste reuse projects, the environmental impact will be reduced and entrepreneurial opportunities will be generated, establishing a connection between the school, the community, and the territory.
