ChispaRural: The digital platform for young rural talents in Guatemala

12/12/2017

On 10 October 2017, during the National Forum Change the Future of Migration: Young Rural Entrepreneurs, the Government of Guatemala and FAO's ICA Programme launched ChispaRural.gt, an online platform designed to leverage the talent of motivated youth in rural areas.

ChispaRural.gt is an innovative digital service aimed at the new generations of Guatemalan family farmers and rural entrepreneurs, designed with the support of FAO’s Communication for Development team. It aims to aggregate, in a single virtual space, up-to-date information on opportunities and resources for rural youth offered by different suppliers, as well as practical tools, training materials, best practices and success stories of young agripreneurs. Further, the platform helps youth from different communities and departments connecting and exchanging with each other.

The beta version of the platform is already online (www.chisparural.gt) and is already linked to a mobile app for Android systems, integrated with social networks, chats and text message services. The web-mobile integration will maximize the interaction amongst rural youth, specialists and technical advisors.

The ultimate goal of the platform is to enable rural youth to easily demand, receive and generate customized information in order to improve their productive, associative and commercial activities. Users can also launch crowdfunding campaigns and showcase their projects and ideas to reach out to potential investors.

The platform has been developed through a participatory process centred on the user. The communication services offered are based on the results of an assessment conducted with more than 100 young people and rural service providers in the department of San Marcos and is being tested by local user groups and organizations from other departments in the country.

Assessing and responding to local communication needs

ChispaRural.gt is a demand-driven initiative developed with the support of the ICA Programme and managed by a multi-stakeholder team, which includes the Ministries of Agriculture, Economy and Labour, as well as international cooperation and civil society actors. It is an integral part of the National Strategy for Rural Youth of the Ministry of Agriculture of Guatemala.

The initiative emerges from the need of more efficient youth-oriented services in the country. The participatory communication appraisal, carried out in March 2017, showed that job orientation services are still in an early stage in Guatemala, while young people struggle to access dedicated extension and advisory services. However, Guatemalan youth maintain a positive attitude towards rural employment and are eager to continue working in their communities, starting a business that can generate jobs and local development.

The appraisals also highlighted that young Guatemalans, including the ones living in isolated rural villages, are digital natives and therefore are used to interactions mediated by new information and communication technologies (ICTs). 90% of the participants own a mobile phone and consider social networks as the most appropriate channel to receive and exchange information on agricultural or labour issues.

Based on these findings, the youth-centred Communication for Development Strategy developed in the framework of the ICA Programme seeks to leverage the potential and the high penetration of ICTs in the country to overcome the structural problems that prevent rural youth from accessing labour opportunities or support for their own enterprises.

"Young people are curious and nowadays,regardless their location, they have access to information and communication technologies. That is why FAO has developed this platform, which entails an innovative approach that will bring youth closer to services, suppliers, employment and funding opportunities" said Ileana Grandelis, FAO Rural Youth Employment Officer.

The service, initially piloted in the Department of San Marcos, is already being scaled-up at national level, ensuring that rural youth are fully involved in the process and play an active role in the management of the service.

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