Making students aware of agricultural careers and modern technology used in agriculture is the purpose of a school career exploration club, Cultivatoria, in the Country of Georgia. Making teenagers aware of the use of modern Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills used in agriculture and the opportunities for employment or job self-generation through entrepreneurship is especially important in the country where agriculture is the form of employment for fifty percent of the population. World Link, working with a team of exchange program alumni who experienced the National FFA Organization in the USA, is organizing a project to bring an FFA-like program to Georgia’s rural areas.
Cultivatoria is being piloted in 2021 as a twelve-week exploratory program to generate interest in agriculture as a career pathway and in further study in agriculture in technical schools and universities. By teaching the concepts of entrepreneurship, business management and marketing, Cultivatoria is working to show youth that agriculture is a business and when it is treated as a business, it can create jobs and income in rural areas just as other businesses do.
After the initial curriculum in the after-school club is tested, the program will be expanded beyond the two pilot schools in Western Georgia. The twelve-week curriculum will be expanded to a three-year program with the goal of increasing the number of rural youths pursuing agriculture career paths in the country by demonstrating and utilizing modern technology.
Principals from the two schools pilot testing the curriculum participated in the 2019 TVET exchange visit to the USA.
- Kvemo Kvaloni School – Guria Region
- Kobuleti School #4, Adjara Region
Principals of the two Cultivatoria schools were a part of a delegation from Georgia that attended the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana to see career development competitions.
