Müller Prieto Mary Anne
Organization: Fundación Origen
Year Founded: 1991
Country: Chile
Website: www.fundacionorigen.cl
Geographic Area of Impact: Chile.
Model: Hybrid Non-Profit ,Social Business
Focus: Agriculture,Children and Youth,Education,Rural Development.
Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Chile, 2007 The Innovation Mary Anne had no background in education – except that once she was a reluctant and rebellious student. Yet perhaps this was an advantage, as she has pioneered a revolutionary educational model taking organic agriculture as the inspiration for the work she undertakes with at risk youth from low-income families. These young people, most ranging from ages 14 to 18 years, have been expelled from, or dropped out of, the traditional school system, with little hope for the future. But Mary Anne and her colleagues welcomed them with open arms at the Fundación Origen and its Escuela Agro-Ecológica de Pirque (Agroecological School of Pirque), the first institution of its kind in Chile and one that the Ministry of Education hopes to emulate in other contexts across the country. The majority of the young people at the school have come from family situations often characterized by violence, drug addiction, unemployment and, too frequently, desertion by a parent. Thus, Mary Anne and her team started from the premise that these young people yearn for stable relationships built on respect, trust and affection. Students graduate with a technical degree in farming and a specialization in organic agriculture. But in addition, they learn multiple life skills, including the wisdom to understand that while they might not be able to change the adverse family and economic circumstances that surround and directly affect them; they can be agents of change in their own lives. And the model works. Since its inception, approximately 10,000 students have graduated from the school. The drop out rate is 0%; the teenage pregnancy rate is less than 1% (in comparison to the national average of 14%). There is no school violence. More than 50% of students go onto institutions of higher learning, be these universities or technical schools, and 75% of graduates work in the agricultural/farming sector. Moreover in the standardized tests administered by the Ministry of Education, the Escuela Agro-Ecológica de Pirque has the highest scores among all students at agricultural schools in the greater metropolitan region of Santiago as well as for university entry. Background Despite being touted as the Latin American economic “miracle”, unequal access to quality education persists in Chile and constitutes a major challenge for this country. Chile’s education system exacerbates existing and growing social and economic divides with the wealthy having access to top quality schools from which the poor are excluded. The Escuela Agro-Ecológica de Pirque has demonstrated that quality education can be provided for the poorest sectors, breaking the cycle poverty and improving opportunities for individual students, transforming their families and their communities. Strategy Fundación Origen is comprised of three entities: the Escuela Agroecológica de Pirque, the Origen Study Center and Villa Virginia. Escuela Agroecológica de Pirque: similar to all schools, students take math, science, literature and history, but they also take bioagriculture and computer science as well as personal development workshops. The educational model is based on 4 pillars: love, compassion, equanimity and joy. Teachers are the primary ingredients in the success of the school, selected not only for their qualifications, but also for their commitment to the School’s mission and to its students. Students are selected based on a standard written exam, interviews with them and their caretakers, and a three-week trial period during the summer vacation months in which the student participates in the school’s agricultural activities to see if this type of work interests him/her. Priority is placed on accepting low-income students with histories of delinquency and school failure. Upon entering, students must decide whether they are committed to abiding by the norms of “sustainable coexistence”. The school community, including teachers and the students already there, does not tolerate any form of drugs nor violence. Entering students and their parents sign a contract with the principal to this effect and understand that transgressions are subject to immediate expulsion. Particular emphasis is placed on individual responsibility for one’s behavior. The Ministry of Education supports the teachers’ salaries and benefits. This covers 70% of the budget. To generate the remainder, Fundacion Origen sells its organic products (cheeses, marmalades, baked goods, honey, etc.) and offers top lodging and restaurant services for retreats and workshops or personal growth. The Entrepreneur Born in Santiago, Mary Anne comes from a family of landowners. She lived in Chile until she was 7 years old when her family moved to France and she and her younger sister were sent off to Swiss boarding school. She rebelled in frustration, getting expelled from one school after another. She ended up in a small school run by a loving Swiss couple and teachers. All of a sudden, she loved learning and ended up getting good grades. Upon graduation, she returned to Chile. Her mother offered her a graduation present, and Mary Anne decided to take a week’s trip to Easter Island. Upon arrival, she befriended a local island girl whose parents took to Mary Anne immediately. The father was an organic farmer and taught her everything he knew about the art and trade, as well as a love for nature. On return to Chile, she started volunteering in a juvenile detention facility on the outskirts of Santiago. There, she discovered her passion for education and rejected youth. But she had no qualifications to engage in any professional work in this area. Mary Anne’s determined pursuit to follow her dream of setting up an agricultural school for at-risk youth, while learning from setbacks and mobilizing a wide cross section of society to support her efforts have helped her achieve what others would consider impossible.
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