Soydoy Foundation

I have been a social entrepreneur since I was 15 years old. I seek to generate changes in the communities and now I apply because I want to bring the impact of the organization that I co-founded 13 years ago, to generate systematic changes. To transform the impact of nutrition, health, and economic development on migrant communities, victims of violence, displaced people, and members of armed groups that have reintegrated.

I know that through this award and what we will learn, we will be able to achieve systematic change, have a broad impact on the country and grow the impact that we have achieved so far, which has been very important. 17,000 beneficiaries

I am an architect by profession, specializing in development planning and administration. I come from a small city in the coffee zone of my country, since I was 15 years old I have worked as a volunteer in social organizations, co-found organizations and worked in national and international leadership organizations. He co-founded Soydoy 13 years ago, seeking to provide Colombia with a different, sustainable alternative, with a systematic and business vision in terms of economic sustainability for the communities and for the organization. I seek to replicate what I have learned in 12 departments, more than 40 communities and more than 17,000 beneficiaries in all regions of Colombia, through open-use platforms, to teach about healthy eating, about the correct use of the soil, the care of the soils, sustainable agriculture and thus seek nutritional food security. All complemented with tools to generate economic income through the fruits of the earth and by community and family enterprises, with our economic development program.
We seek to solve a very complex problem that the country has, with sustainable alternatives.

In Colombia, 54.2% of families are food insecure, according to official measurements from 2015. The migration from Venezuela, the post-pandemic economic situation,  internal displacements in Colombia in recent years, these figures have increased to what seems to be more than 60% of families without adequate and complete food. This causes deaths of children due to malnutrition, brain underdevelopment of children, metabolic diseases in adults, all of them cause high costs to the health system and to the development of the country.

In Soydoy we address this problem, from the main cause that produces it and is the lack of access to food due to lack of economic income.
Our model is called Nutriepreneurship and with it we seek to solve the problem of food insecurity in a sustainable way. Focusing largely on the generation of income through virtual or face-to-face training programs, for entrepreneurship, training for work. Likewise, with this income that they generate from their jobs and ventures, they can better invest the money in food that they learn to use in nutrition training, nutritional follow-ups and the tools that are given to them in this regard, complemented with advice for the planting of food, harvest and transformation thereof. 

The approach to food safety solutions is usually approached from healthcare. Give food, donate seeds, open dining rooms to donate lunches, deliver markets, etc.
Our solution seeks to empower, really deliver tools and what we have seen in the communities is systematic changes. Changes in their way of life, in their way of approaching the problem and the solution, they are really given training, support and credibility is given to the communities. There is a very strong work with women, empowering women with the solution to the problems of the communities.
It is different and innovative because we work with the co-creation with the communities, design thinking is applied all the time, they are included in the designs of the solutions and that ensures adherence, progress and better results.
It is different because we address food security as the center of the problem and not nutrition or malnutrition, which is the problem that is normally addressed and in the end it is only a consequence of the central problem: Food insecurity

Our impact is generated mainly in families. There it is the woman, the mother who is empowered by solutions to food insecurity problems. We have seen how the methodologies we have make it easier for women to learn, connect with solutions, believe in her, trust her more and envision a different future.

This makes it possible for both she and her children to have a different future and an impact on their nutrition and long-term sustainability.
We impact humanity, generating community projects, systematic changes in neighborhoods, towns, communities of all kinds where solutions are generated that change the realities of families and communities from the root. Where the same population is the one who learns, who develops skills and applies what they have learned to change realities. We have seen how they create micro-enterprises between families, how they generate income by providing employment, generating economic opportunities for entire populations.
Listen to the communities, understand them, work hand in hand, look for solutions together, invite them to co-participate in solutions and different designs. They become part of the solution and not of the problem and themselves, teach others and share knowledge, replicate the models and become a source of development.