For two weeks, agricultural producers from Latin America engaged in a learning experience in Honduras and Nicaragua. The methodology centered on activities that simulated real-life, on-farm production challenges. From creating and managing a business, to analyzing the effects of climate change on soil, the approach grounded complex concepts in lived experience, emotion and context.
“This exchange visit between Colombia, Nicaragua, and Honduras marks a solid beginning, laying the foundation for these processes to be integrated and strengthened in our daily practice,” shared Cocoa Programme Manager, Elisa Rocha Valdivia. “More than a one-time meeting, it is the start of a continuous collaboration that will allow us to consolidate learning, share experiences and reinforce our commitment to inclusive and sustainable development.”
This approach stems from a simple yet powerful premise: many producers from rural communities learn through hands-on experience. Therefore, the activities were built around everyday scenarios that reflect their daily lives, sparking emotions that help better internalize knowledge.
Deibi López went on further to say that “different capacities have been strengthened in Central America and Colombia, both at the methodological and technical levels. Today, the challenge and opportunity lie in integrating this learning to grow collaboratively across Latin America, with a focus on inclusive technical assistance that involves women, youth and the entire farming family as key actors in the development of value chains.”
Less theory, more connection
One of the key principles of this methodology was to avoid the overload of theoretical content. Instead of focusing on completing a checklist of activities, the process emphasized the following objectives: What message do we want people to take away? How do we connect it to their reality?
This approach demanded sensitivity, listening skills and flexibility to adapt the workshop’s pace to the participants’ level of understanding and learning styles, all while recognizing their own local knowledge. It was not about teaching for the sake of teaching, but about supporting each individual in making decisions within their own context.
“In Colombia, for example, spaces like the Autoleadership School for women and the Entrepreneurs’ School for youth have been promoted, in addition to methodologies designed to support coffee farmers and their families.
Deibi López, Project Coordinator, Solidaridad Colombia
The proposal now is to adapt these tools to the reality of other countries in the region, fostering collaborative and contextualized learning.”
Inclusion for stronger management
In Nicaragua, the methodological experience transcended the technical focus and led to heightened internal awareness among participants. Inclusion was expressed not only in the design of the activity, but also in how it was planned, budgeted and executed.
Accessibility criteria were considered to promote the participation of women and youth, such as their time availability, age diversity, socioeconomic status, academic degree and knowledge level, ensuring the inclusion of participants with diverse experiences. The exchange prompted workshop attendees to reflect on how inclusion must be integrated, not just an added element, in order to work more effectively.
Coordination between Solidaridad’s technical team and the cooperatives was crucial to ensure that the learning did not remain merely conceptual.
“Inclusion is also built through logistics, planning formats, systematization and internal communication channels,” was one of the team’s main conclusions.
Experiential training in action
The experiential methodology applied in this exchange significantly improved the participants’ understanding of the topics addressed and initiated internal processes of personal and community change.
By participating in activities that replicate real challenges on the farm, participants are better prepared to face future challenges, be it in their businesses, their plots or in how they collaborate with other local stakeholders. Examples include managing community development projects like repairing rural roads, accessing community water supply and navigating local governance.
This experience reaffirms that rural training needs to shift from theory to meaning, from transmission to connection. Only when knowledge comes alive can it transform realities.
“With the start of this collaboration, a great deal of work will be carried out with producers in the coffee and cocoa value chains; we are going to work on promoting climate-smart practices, inclusive technical assistance, and even work on issues of great global relevance, such as compliance with international standards, and environmental and social issues.”
Luis Rivas, Coffee Programme Coordinator in Honduras