Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
San Francisco
Agricultural School
Education that Pays for Itself
Martin Burt
TeachAManToFish /
Fundación Paraguaya
Extraordinary Achievers
Jorge
Guerrero,
son number
10 of 19
siblings,
was
admitted to
the San
Francisco
School in
February
2004
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
He belongs to a typical
Paraguayan rural community
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
Extraordinary Achievers
Today, Jorge
Guerrero runs his
own business and
is in the last year
of Agricultural
College
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
Extraordinary Achievers
Maricel Merlo,
entered in 2006
Today she works as a rural
microfinance loan officer
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
Extraordinary Success
Class of 2008
Within four months of graduation
100% of the Class of 2008 were:

In further education

Employed in good jobs

Starting their own businesses with
a micro loan
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
“Give a man a fish
and he’ll
eat for a day.
Teach him how
to fish and he’ll eat
for a
lifetime”
Chinese Proverb (probably!)
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
Our Value Proposition
For underprivileged Paraguayan rural youth
…who are structurally unemployed
…the Financially Self-Sufficient School is an innovative educational institution
…which offers a multidisciplinary high quality technical-entrepreneurial training and
post-graduation follow/up
Unlike traditional development programs usually dependant on donations and
government subsidies,
…the financially self-sufficient school offers education that pays for it self
…and teaches not only marketable skills but also entrepreneurial and business skills
…as well as life skills; communication and interpersonal skills, self-awareness,
empathy, problem solving, coping with emotions and stress, decision-making
…and provides loans upon graduation for business ventures when needed
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
Extraordinary Results
This school has a budget of US$300,000
per year,
…yet it receives no government funding
…isn’t supported by the church or charity
….and it doesn’t rely on charging fees
…it relies on enterprise
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
Working Internationally
Replication: 65 organizations from 29 countries
Members network: Over 1200 members in more than 110 countries
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
Education Today
There are two real problems with the current
education system in most developing countries
Quality: It’s not relevant to the
needs of young people
Availability: Supply is limited by
a lack of resources
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
The Traditional Approach
Lacking Relevancy


Emphasis on the wrong subjects
Subjects taught primarily from a theoretical
perspective in classrooms
Unreliable or inequitable funding


Government funding is often insufficient
and unreliable
Reliance on fees excludes poorer students
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
The Education that pays for itself approach
Using entrepreneurship,
to deliver a social
good...
education
“People have been growing tomatoes in South America for
15,000 years but they’re still poor. We need to teach people how
to make money out of farming”
TeachAManToFish partner
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
Relevancy & Resources
The innovative model
combines

teaching agriculture and

developing business skills

within school-owned enterprises

which bring the schools extra
income
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
So How Does it Work?
Students learn the
underlying concepts
of business and
agriculture
alongside general
education
TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
So How Does it Work?
Then during fieldbased classes they
learn how these
concepts work in
practice & how to
use them
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
So How Does it Work?
“Learning by doing
and earning” they
gain the practical
technical skills
needed to master
each discipline
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
So How Does it Work?
Rotating through
the school’s 17
business units,
specializing, and
taking on greater
responsibilities
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
So How Does it Work?
Managing financial
transactions,
monitoring
profitability, learning
to market and sell
their produce
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
Educational principles
Learning to
Be
Autonomy – Moral Judgement – Personal Responsibility Communication
Learning to
live together
Social integration with others – Participation in groups – Democratic
leadership – Acceptance of sociocultural diversity
Learning to
Learn
Handling of cognitive strategies and goals
Learning to
Do
Acting with resolution – Technical and vocational training for work
Learning to
Undertake
Drive & initiative – Self-management – Setting personal goals – Spirit of
research and analysis
Learning to
Earn Money
Drawing up a Business Plan (Break-even point analysis, projections,
basic flow charts, market research)
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
Educational curriculum
General Education
Common Courses
Agricultural Technologies
Entrepreneurial Education
Physics-chemistrymathematics
Cattle and small animals
Entrepreneurship
Ethics-Psychology
Agriculture
Banks in action
Spanish-Guaraní-English
Gardening
Business simulators
Sociology- Anthropology
Pastures
The Company
History-Geography
Fruit growing and forestry
The Cooperative
Economics
Equipment and agricultural
devices
Market fairs
Social and personal
development
Agricultural machineries
Entrepreneurs´ Forums
P.E.
Agricultural economy
Internet
Community service
Rural administration
Internships
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
... and working with renewable energy
Bio-digester, for
cooking and for
learning the use of
biogas
Solar energy, in the
rural hotel and at the
kitchen of the
boarding area of the
school
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
So How Does it Work?
Leading to a nationally recognized school leavers qualification…
…but more importantly transforming children from poor farming
families into highly trained, self-motivated, young rural entrepreneurs.
From financial sustainability to social transformation, this approach
really does offer an education that pays for itself.
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
Just ask the Class of 2009!
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
Fundación Paraguaya-TeachAManToFish
The Financially Self-Sufficient School
Self-Sufficient Schools
The Social Enterprise Solution!
www.fundacionparaguaya.org.py
www.teachamantofish.org.uk