Abbreviation IMCA Affiliations Jesuit, Catholic | Predecessor Peasant University | |
Established 1962; 55 years ago (1962) Founder Francisco Javier Mejía, SJ Director Erminsu Iván David Pabón | ||
Instituto Mayor Campesino (IMCA) was founded by the Jesuits in Buga, Colombia, in 1962 to be of service to rural villagers. It has undertaken a wide variety of works over time for the integral development of workers and peasants.
Contents
History
Each phase of the Institute's development, guided by reflection and action, has attempted to empower rural populations to pursue their own development. From 1963-69 IMCA focused on the education of adults in literacy and cooperatives, through courses, workshops, and public meetings aimed at conscientizing and unifying.
From 1970 to 1977 IMCA continued its focus on community development but turned more to the youth. A male and female secondary education program was initiated that included community service. The program grew to include 400 students.
An evaluation showed that grassroot structures were not being changed by the educational program. The educated youth were often lost to the villages. And so in 1978 IMCA resituated its program to the villages with a focus on informal education and participatory research. Animators were trained in 40 rural communities. The communities would identify needs and IMCA would train villagers with the ability to respond to those needs. This led in 1984 to the formation of separate departments for research, pastoral work, education, and organization, that came together at the grassroots level. Seminars, publications, and advisory work were included in this approach. An evaluation in 1985 led to the formation of teams in three zones in the state of Valle de Cauca to develop an economic system appropriate to each zone. This led to the present division of IMCA activities as described below.
Activities
IMCA is currently involved in what might be seen as six complementary endeavors.
In 2016, a diverse group of professionals at IMCA was organized into teams working separately in the cultural regions of Quiamanó and Calima.