End generational poverty
Ancestral wisdom & applied science serving Bolivia.
Founded and led by Aymara educator Sharoll Fernandez Siñani, Zera Bolivia equips children and families with practical tools—emotional, cognitive, and economic—that turn historic disadvantage into real opportunity.
Indigenous-led. Evidence-informed. Community-rooted.
Our Mission
For generations, racism and sexism have restricted access to quality education, stable income, and opportunity networks for racialized communities in Bolivia.
That creates poverty that is inherited.
We break that cycle through a clear, measurable model: Build core capacities (emotional regulation + critical thinking) that sustain learning, school persistence, and better decisions. Address racism and sexism with a solid foundation—without polarization—so communities can reduce exclusion, violence, and resignation. Protect learning during crisis: when needed, we mobilize targeted support for families in our network (food baskets and health support) so a shock doesn’t derail a child’s trajectory. We are Indigenous-led: communities decide their future, while allies support without steering.
What Makes Us Different
Mobility-Focused Knowledge
We teach the kinds of knowledge that translate into opportunity: how to read power and society, how to build assets, and how to navigate real-world systems. Our upcoming Learning Center will add financial literacy and practical economic skills.
Emotional Intelligence
Applied emotional regulation: turning stress and reactivity into clarity, care, and persistence. These skills strengthen relationships, improve learning conditions, and support wiser decisions at home, in school, and at work.
Critical & Communal Thinking
Better questions, bias detection, and learning how to learn—especially when the education system fails. We build agency and shared problem-solving so communities can create solutions instead of repeating conflict.
Together, these strands create social intelligence for justice: inner capacity + clear thinking + collective action. That’s how trajectories change—through tools, organized networks, and world-class knowledge.
Flagship Programs
Social Intelligence for Justice
We begin with emotional regulation (2–3 sessions), build critical thinking (3 sessions), and then move into guided modules on racism and sexism—so communities can face hard realities with dignity, clarity, and action.
Integral Leaders
Ten high-intensity labs for teens, teachers, and grassroots organisers—blending neuroscience, ritual, and action projects that dismantle local injustice.
Qantatai Bolivian Literature Podcast
Bilingual, low-bandwidth stories and toolkits delivering history, financial know-how, and emotional-skill games straight to mobile phones across Bolivia.
Bolivian Thinkers Library
Weekly conversations amplifying local voices in literature, history, and social innovation.
Measurable results since 2013
Why Indigenous-Led Matters
Indigenous leadership is not symbolism—it’s structure.
When an Aymara woman leads an education foundation, it changes who defines the problem and who decides the solution. At Zera, decision-making belongs to Bolivian Aymara leadership (board, team, and community partners). International allies support without directing—so knowledge, resources, and vision remain in Bolivian hands.
This breaks a colonial pattern and sets a new standard for social mobility: with dignity, strategy, and self-determination.
Get Involved
Sponsor a cohort, volunteer your expertise, or bring our workshops to your organization. Every dollar or minute you give plants another seed of possibility.
