Zamorano

This week my Spanish professor Erasmo (who is about my age) took me to see his alma mater. The Pan-American Agricultural School (a.k.a. Zamorano) is a gem of Honduras. Zamorano was started by in 1941 by Sam Zemurray, head of the United Fruit Company. The UFC had reaped plenty of benefits from the banana plantations on the north coast of Honduras and Sam wanted to give back. The school is well respected and draws students from all over Latin America and the world. Zamorano certainly the most impressive institution I have seen yet in Honduras. I have read about Zamorano several times, and many people have suggested that I go to see it given my background in agriculture, so this trip was a special treat.



The campus is neat and orderly including its tile-roofed stone buildings and rows of tall palm trees as well as its blue-uniform wearing students. Zamorano teaches agriculture in the classroom and in the fields. Students that don’t have class are working out in the fields, or in the processing facilities. Erasmo and I walked around for about 3 hours in the hot sun and we were still not able to see much of the campus. As I walked through the fields and courtyards I kept thinking that Zamorano stands out as an example of the amazing potential this country has.


--Matt