At Open Door Day: ISTAPA launches free vocational training for orphans, persons with disabilities.

The announcement was made by the promoter of the institution, Dzali Dikapa Aimyll Prosperre, on Thursday, April 30. This was during an Open Door Day held under the theme: “Shaping the Future of Agropastoralism, Environment, and Renewable Energy”.

The event brought together local administrative authorities, professionals from the agropastoral sector, students, entrepreneurs, and the general public.

Officials said the initiative aims to highlight the agropastoral and environmental sectors as drivers of innovation, youth empowerment, and sustainable entrepreneurial development.

The goal of the Open Door Day, it was said, was to raise awareness among young people, students, and the general public regarding the opportunities offered by the modern agropastoral sector and related professions, while promoting practical, technological, and entrepreneurship-oriented approaches.

Participants, during the event, discovered innovative and accessible solutions shaping the agropastoral sector of tomorrow, including greenhouse farming, crop irrigation systems using solar-powered water pumping, edible mushroom production, hydroponic green fodder production, modern fish farming techniques, specifically the RAS, innovative livestock practices such as heliciculture, and renewable energy solutions, including solar, wind, and biogas. 

Dzali Dikapa said the event was for the general public to become aware that there is a complex in Soa and its specialties.

“It is an ideal prototype of the professionalisation of higher education that the government has been advocating for quite some time now,” he said.

“My motivation was to professionalise education, bring the learners and students who pass through our establishments to be capable of saying ‘I know what I can do with these trades’,” he added. 

On the social component, Dzali said “our social programme consists of offering possibilities to orphanages and persons with disability, to offer them the possibility of being equipped and trained for free here”. 

“Our training is trade-oriented because we have the assurance that by leaving here, they can set up on their own or be employed. Out main objective is for young people to learn additional skills,” he disclosed. 

He said the first batch of orphans from different neighbouring orphanages have completed training and more to continue in every quarter of the year.

Through the initiative, the promoter said ISTAPA and CEFPREPAS reaffirm the commitment to promoting innovation, developing practical skills, and encouraging the emergence of a new generation of entrepreneurs capable of transforming agriculture, livestock farming, the environment, and renewable energy into modern, sustainable sectors rich with opportunity.

By utilising a pedagogical approach based on competence, innovation, and hands-on practice, Dzali further stated that the academic complex positions itself as a true incubator for talent and entrepreneurs, contributing to the rise of a new generation of leaders in sustainable development.

Student expresses interest in the field 

A student in the agro-pastoral field, specifically animal production at ISTAPA, Manuela Serena, said since enrolling in the school, she has learned many courses and completed many practicals in the field. 

“We have learned soap production, other types of production that can enable us to earn money,” she said.

“This field is interesting to me because I wanted to be an engineer, be my own boss, and also to disprove people who think this field is of no use, that it can help us gain a lot in the world. Many people are consuming food, animals or crops and the population is increasing over and over. You can make gains, just as you can also make losses in this field,” she added.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3782 of Thursday May 07, 2026