54 AMÉRICAS AMÉRICAS 55

In the early 1940s, a foreign entrepreneurwas inspired by the amazing geography,hospitable climate, and welcoming spirit

of Honduras to fall in love with the countryand build a dream there. SamuelZemurray, a US citizen who was presidentof the United Fruit Company at one time,had a vision of bene�tting students fromHonduras and the entire region by buildinga high-level agricultural school.

At Zemurray’s request, US scientistWilson Popenoe, a capable and likeableambassador of good will in CentralAmerica, began building the school. Hechose a 3,700-acre farm in the YeguareValley that once belonged to the Zamorafamily, originally from Spain, and there heestablished what in 1941 became theZamorano Pan-American AgriculturalSchool. Popenoe was the �rst director of the school.

The teaching philosophy and lifestyle at the Zamorano school became one ofacademic excellence combined with pragmatic action and the concept of Pan-Americanism.

Today, 68 years later, Daniel Myer, thedirector of general curriculum and aspecialist in aquaculture, says thatZamorano is unique for its combination oftheoretical and applied teaching. “Here weput students into �eld experiences that arevery similar to real life. Using the ‘learningby doing’ method, students acquire skillsand gain trust in themselves as theyprepare to face and �nd solutions to futurechallenges.” These concepts have beenpart of the education of almost 6,000graduates who are now working all overthe world. Zamorano graduates can befound today in places like Laos andEthiopia, working on rural developmentprograms.

Zamorano has become an educationalcenter at the service of the Americas andthe entire world, and its students arepreparing for the global challenges ofenvironmental sustainability, production,competition, and the �ght against poverty.“A Zamorano degree is a passport touniversities in the United States and forgetting into specialized work,” says onerecently graduated student.

The university is located approximatelytwenty miles from the capital city ofT egucigalpa in a rural area where it ispossible to engage in agricultural work andcome to understand its associatedproblems and needs. The campus bene�tsfrom local watersheds, natural forests, andgardens. In fact, it is registered in theWorld Organization of Botanical Gardens.The campus also houses the WilsonPopenoe Library with more than 18,000books and magazines and the Paul C.Stanley Herbarium with 300,000 classi�edspecies and insect collections.

But it’s not all “study, study, study.” Inaddition to the classes and specialconferences, students enjoy sportingevents and parties, and the famousZamorano Fair brings in people from allover the country.

Women have become increasinglyinterested in agriculture. While the �rst sixwomen started school in 1981 and only fourgraduated in 1983, currently 33 percent of

the student body is made up of women whoshare equally with men in the world ofstudy and experimentation.

“Excellence that comes fromexperience” is the idea that Zamoranoshares with the surrounding communities,providing them with training in mattersrelated to agriculture, rural tourism, andeducation for development. The institutionparticipates in exchanges with severaluniversities in the United States and isregistered as a not-for-pro�t corporation,which means there are tax bene�ts forbusinesses and corporations that supportits programs. Since the primary focus isagriculture, it o�ers courses in agriculturalscience and production, agro-industry,agro-business administration, andenvironmental sciences.

With seven agro-industrial plants,science laboratories, its own �elds forfarming, and clean and modern facilities,Zamorano is a model agricultural schoolthat promotes local and regional

development. It also createdecological awareness and aconcern for using and recyclingmaterials in a way that respectsthe environment.

“The students can get partialor complete �nancial aid,” saysLuis Mauricio Salazar, thedirector of communications forZamorano. “Most of thestudents are from LatinAmerica. They live on thecampus, and 30 percent of ourprofessors do as well. The ideaof Pan-Americanism ispromoted, and people sharetheir experiences and create

bonds of friendship that last, thanks to thealumni association whose membersnetwork with each other to exchangeinformation related to science, labor, orbusiness,” explains Salazar.

Sixty percent of the students come fromrural areas and are of indigenous origin, sotheir native language may not be Spanish.Despite the diversity of race, nationality,religion, and culture, however, the studentsshare the same objective: to receivetheoretical and practical training for everyaspect of agricultural work.

“It’s a school where you are encouragedto be active and to reach your aspirations,”says one young student who is hoping tohave his own business in the food industryand who knows that education and trainingare key in a globalized and competitiveworld.

Zamorano provides cognitiveinstruments and specialized information,but it also trains young people to assumeresponsibility and leadership, molding theminto rural promoters and educating themfor the development of their enterprisesand businesses. The school’s outreachextends to Guatemala, Bolivia, El Salvador,Panama, and Ecuador. Its network isparticularly expansive in Central Americaand it has been successful in gettinggovernments and businesses alike toparticipate in projects.

Thousands of students have bene�ttedfrom the entrepreneurial vision andscienti�c vocation they have acquired atthe Zamorano school. With this education,they have been able to realize theirpersonal, professional, and family goals andsupport the wellbeing of futuregenerations.

—Adriana Bianco

Zamorano has become aneducational center at theservice of the Americas andthe entire world, and itsstudents are preparing forthe global challenges ofenvironmentalsustainability, production,competition, and the �ghtagainst poverty

Zamorano: Model of Education and Development

Zamorano is a livinglaboratory, where themarketing, production, andprocessing that is learned in theclassroom is applied to actualjobs. Students participate inthree main areas ofconcentration: agriculture,animal husbandry, andprocessing plants

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