For Repurpose-IT’s first partnership with the Nasa culture, the team had the privilege of working in Resguardo Yaquiva in the mountains of south central Columbia.
The Jiisa Fxiw (“eee-sah few”) schools are a national model for indigenous education.
The upper school has remarkable facilities, teachers, and PEC-based curriculum.

During the pre-implementation visit in January 2018, Repurpose-IT team members and members of ONIC’s Education team partnered with the community to establish our core concepts.
The team held many constructive meetings with the resguardo’s governor, the indigenous authority, school principals, teachers, and members of the community.
We had enlightening discussions on the impact of technology on culture and the importance of indigenous education.

Touring the remarkable landscape and National Archeological Park of Tierradentro, which is a UNESCO world heritage site, was surpassed only by the warmth of the Nasa people.

In October 2018, a Repurpose team of 5 returned for their largest teacher training and laptop deployment to date.
Teachers from all 9 of the schools in resguardo Yaquiva attended the four-day teacher training.
32 laptops were donated and 11 existing computers were loaded with educational software and content.
The teacher training was expanded to include a lesson planning framework from Stanford University’s Design School.
This supported the indigenous “minga” concept, which means group work and collaboration.
During the training, teachers worked in teams to build lesson plans based on ecopedagogy & constructivism which are consistent with the Nasa culture’s own pedagogy and Plan de Vida.

The results and feedback have been remarkable.