Student case study

Martín Ignacio Larraín, school pupil and beneficiary of the Fairtrade-funded Colegio Nacional Agrotecnico,Tilimuqui

Martín Ignacio Larraín is a 15-year-old pupil at La Riojana’s new Fairtrade funded secondary school in Tiimuqui, where he is in his third year. He has two older sisters and a younger brother, and before the new school was opened, attended the Joaquin V Gonzalez primary school in Chilecito.

He says the new school, which he joined when he was 13, has benefited him enormously. “I have built a tight knit group of friends, and between us we are able to help each other with the tasks that the teachers set us.  Also, the teachers are very dedicated, and are always ready to help us and to teach us the best way to learn.

He adds: “We visit the laboratories at the local university and there we carry out experiments for projects for the Science Fair. We are also working with the university on a school radio project, which is going to allow us to practice and learn to communicate through the media. All of this is great for my training. “

Once Martin completes his schooling and graduates as a technical agriculturalist he hopes to go onto university. Although Martín has not decided on what job he wants to do yet, he likes the idea of doing engineering.

Martin says the new secondary school is also having a big impact on the local community. “It is changing the small village of Tilimuqui a lot. Every year the village is getting busier and busier, and the people who live here say that the village is only quiet at the weekends when the school is closed.”

He is extremely grateful to La Riojana and to all the consumers who have bought Fairtrade wine for providing him with the opportunity to improve his prospects.

He explains: “Thanks to Fairtrade and to La Riojana for having decided to invest in an education project such as this one, it is benefiting many teenagers like me, who want to study at a college like this.”

Outside of school Martín likes playing sport, particularly basketball and tennis and is a member of the scouts.

December 2015