To increase educational coverage in rural areas of Colombia, the Pies Descalzos Foundation inaugurated the Kanewuakat educational farm, an educational space that will impact 200 students from the Wayúu community in the Manaure savannah.

Kanewuakat, built by the Pies Descalzos Foundation, Educate A Child, a program of the Qatar Education Above All Foundation, with the support of the governor's office of La Guajira and the architectural firm David Delgado.

The project, which is part of the 6 constructions that the Foundation is carrying out in the territory, is within the framework of the project All to School, a project that seeks to impact 54,000 children through access to and permanence in school in the country.

Kanewuakat is one of the sites of the Caracas Ruleya ethno-educational center in the municipality of Manaure, and has adequate educational spaces such as classrooms, dining room, kitchen and toilets.

A design inspired by the ancestral origins of the Guajira region.

The Kanewuakat educational farm is presented as a "pedagogical farm", inspired by the ancestral origins of the Guajira and is integrated with the local culture, allowing the cohesion between the cultural background and the aboriginal roots with the current pedagogical process.

With local materials to reduce the carbon footprint, Kanewuakat also has an organic design that can be easily replicated in communities with similar characteristics. In a place with such high temperatures and direct radiation as the apartment, spaces were built to replicate the actual sensation of studying under the shade of a tree. While maintaining the relationship with the landscape, at the same time providing comfortable conditions that contribute to concentration in class.

Around the headquarters, a forest will grow in the middle of the desert for the enjoyment of the students and the community, while the cafeteria will also serve as a space to bring the community together at different times and activities.

In the words of the architectural firm, it is about:

"A green oasis that grows in time and integrates cultural memory with future yearnings of possible changes to the life of the communities".

-

David Delgado, DDA.

The learning farm: a meeting place

Patricia Sierra, executive director of the Foundation, explains that the construction is part of the 27 adaptations that will be carried out in the department .

"One of the Foundation's lines of action is that of to build educational spaces that are conducive to learning and are timely in order to reduce the existing deficit of educational infrastructure in Colombia."

-

The Foundation is developing more projects in the department of La Guajira as well as in other territories of the country. "Learning environments are the third teacher for students and that is why we are aiming to build 6 more projects in La Guajira. Kanewuakat is the first suitable site in the territory", assures the director.

For the Foundation, in addition to being a space for learning and protection for children, the constructions imply a space to energize social and community relations. Schools should not only have an impact on school life, but also become Community Development Centers that improve communities.

The Pies Descalzos Foundation with a commitment to rurality and dispersed rurality

Four years ago, the Pies Descalzos Foundation decided to support rural and dispersed rural areas in order to close the educational gap with urban areas, reaching challenging territories such as Guajira, Caquetá and Catatumbo. "We work for the welfare of children and youth in the country, and Guajira is one of the departments where it is necessary to strengthen both pedagogical processes and educational infrastructure," he explains.

In alliance with Educate A Child and with the support of the Governor's Office of La Guajira, Kanewuakat's headquarters were built in record time; 5 months. " We are happy to open the doors of the farm and that the students are enjoying their school".

The refurbishment of the Kanewuakat site was made possible through a partnership between the Barefoot Foundation, Educate A Child, a program of the Qatari Foundation Education Above Allwith the support of the Governor's Office of La Guajira and the architectural firm David Delgado.