School Partnership

Fuhrmann partners with Agricultural School

Offering a future for the young generations through sheep farming in Patagonia

Since last year, Fuhrmann has established a formal partnership with the Gaiman based Bryn Gwyn Secondary School of Techno-Professional Education No. 733. The agricultural school offers a curriculum including crop and livestock farming to children of the age groups 11 to 17 years. The young adults attending the school are from all regions of Chubut Province, Patagonia and therefore often boarding school students. Their families are in most cases closely linked to agriculture and wool farming.

The partnership between Fuhrmann and the Bryn Gwyn school was set up with the aim to create a win-win situation for all – the students, the Chubut Province of Patagonia and the local wool industry.  The programme focuses on education about the wool industry as well as the development of practical sheep farming and wool processing skills.

Creating a future in Patagonia

Like in many countries around the globe, the young generation leaves the countryside due to a lack of opportunities and in the hope to find work in the big cities. This trend often has a negative impact on the families as well as on the long term prosperity of the agricultural regions. It also creates overcrowded cities and shantytowns.  In Patagonia, however, sheep farming offers a range of opportunities for young adults to find quality work locally and therefore stay closely connected to their homes.

With this program, Fuhrmann can help mold students’ aptitudes and learning experience in relation to the industry in general and sheep farming in Patagonia specifically.  It is also important for young students to see that our industry is changing and has got a bright future for those who share values of work, innovation, passion and ethics.

State of the art knowledge transfer

Besides learning theory in the classroom,  it is of course also of high importance to let students get experience on the practical side of sheep farming and wool handling. Here Fuhrmann is a spearing partner for the students to learn about the latest farming methods the international wool industry has to offer. For example, students were provided with the blueprint and material to build a tail docking slide, a new technology to painlessly do lamb tail docking. The exercise helped the students learn practical skills to build farming tools and develop their skills in animal husbandry and animal welfare.  It is also a technology that significantly reduces physical work enabling female workers to do the job as well.

Practical experience

The programme also offers students internships on Fuhrmann managed farms, as well as the top making mill during the summer holidays. This is an important step, to let the students apply their newly learned skills from the classroom in the real world. The internships are set to start in December and we will make sure to report about the students’ achievements.

Fuhrmann believes strongly in the opportunities the wool industry has to offer to Patagonia and its local people who call this region their home. However, to be able to realise these opportunities, we need to invest today into the future generations to come. We look forward to seeing these young students grow over time and hopefully become part of our noble industry.

 

Fuhrmann supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This project works towards the following goals:

This post is also available in: Spanish