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Mexico, Tepetzintan
Rural Skills School in Mexico
Construction period: Sep 2023 – Sep 2024

Facts

Type of facility

Completion of two classrooms, building one more classroom and sanitary facilities

Students

66

Budget

$53,500

NGO partner

Hábitat Comunal y Vivienda A.C.

Education

Academic year

August to July

Literacy rate (15+ years old)

99.5 %

Out-of-school children

120,851

Project implementation

In 2011, Mexico’s Ministry of Higher Education launched the “Digital High Schools” program to provide upper secondary education in rural and indigenous communities. However, inadequate infrastructure has prevented the program from achieving its goal.

In Tepetzintan, Puebla, high school students faced difficulties as they had to attend classes in the afternoons at a secondary school. This caused problems and discontent among the student community and parents. As a result, the community started a self-managed project called Rural Skills School. The students proposed that the Digital High School of Tepetzintan should become a Rural Skills School that teaches practical skills and ancestral agricultural knowledge to preserve indigenous language and culture.

The community now has two almost completed classrooms for high school students. Acronis and its partner Virtual Tech came on board to complete two existing classrooms, build the third one and sanitary facilities. If you’d like to join this project and support the community, contact us at foundation@acronis.org.

 

About the country

Country

The United Mexican States

Capital city

Mexico City

Population

129 million people

Currency

Mexican peso (MXN)

Major languages

Spanish

Travel information

Mexico has a diverse climate due to its size and topography, ranging from tropical in the south to arid and semi-arid in the north. The coastal areas are influenced by the sea, while the interior regions experience more extreme temperatures and seasonal variations.

Annual average temperature

25°C (77°F) at coastal regions,  18°C (64°F) central and northern regions

Dry season

November/December to April/May

Wet season

May/June to October/November

Travel tips

Hotel recommendations

Puebla: Hotel Cartesiano, Hotel Real Santander

Places to eat

Puebla: El Mural de los Poblanos, Mercado el Carmen, Cemitas Las Poblanitas

Best souvenirs from the country

Mexican chocolate, tequila or Mezcal, traditional Mexican pottery, Talavera tiles or ceramics, vanilla extract, Mexican hot sauce or salsa, silver jewelry or crafts, Alebrijes (colorful hand-carved wooden creatures), Otomi embroidery, traditional Mexican blankets or sarapes, hand-painted tiles or murals, Guayabera shirts, Lucha libre masks.

Travel agencies

Viajes Mexitours, Travelvia, Operadora Turistica de Puebla

Interpreting services

Traducciones Pomaski

 

Proposed one week tour

Day 1: School visit

Day 2: Puebla tour, Cortes Palace, Xochimilco

Day 3: Zocalo, Castillo de Chapultepec, transfer to Chiapas

Day 4: Cañón del Sumidero, transfer to Chis

Day 5: Templo del Sol, transfer to Cancun

Day 6: Xel-Há Park

Day 7: Playa Delfines

Partners

I have gained many experiences and learned important lessons from this school. When I first entered, everything was very new to me. The way of working here was very different, but I learned so much, especially how to work as a team with my classmates. At first, we found it difficult to agree, and teamwork was a real challenge. When we arrived, some things were missing, but we adapted to what was available. I even remember the effort we put into fixing the windows. During the workshops, I participated in the sewing class, and I was so excited to make my blouse and skirt. My brother joined the bamboo and drawing workshops. Unfortunately, we had to stop because of the pandemic. It was very difficult—we had to go home, and we couldn’t continue learning as much as we wanted to. Afterwards, we returned every eight days or whenever possible, but it wasn’t the same. Eventually, when we were told we could come back to school, it was a wonderful feeling. I am very proud to have studied here and to have finished my high school education. I want to thank the teachers for always supporting and motivating us. Thanks to their encouragement, I am continuing my studies. I feel proud of what I have achieved, and I am also grateful to myself for not giving up on school. To my first-semester classmates, I want to say: put in the effort and value everything you have here, including the resources and materials. Appreciate this opportunity and make the most of it.
María del Pilar Reyes Morales
Former student
Help by donating
If you believe in our mission and want to make an impact, you can support the Acronis Schools Initiative