In 1941, Honduras was almost completely isolated from World War II, the great conflict of the epoch, but was mired in a situation of real underdevelopment and lacking an academic program of agricultural education at any level. Samuel Zemurray, a prosperous and successful businessmen, who as president of United Fruit Company had become known as the banana king, was willing to spend any amount of money (including from his own pocket) to establish a first class agricultural school principally for young men of limited resources from the tropics.
To ensure the success of his new and ambitious philanthropic project, Zemurray relied on Dr. Wilson Popenoe, who was already a famous horticulturalist and agricultural explorer who had previously worked for the US Department of Agriculture and the United Fruit Company. Popenoe was the first director of Zamorano and gave it its unique style and work-based educational methodology that has characterized the institution for decades, distinguishing it from other institutions that focus completely on theoretical learning.
A legacy that transcends borders
As mentioned by Dr. Simon Malo, Zamorano director from 1979 to 92 in one of his writings, “Zamorano’s creation was in many ways a vast human drama similar to others that have formed the region.” However that creation has had a favorable effect for thousands of people, not just students and their families, but employees and officers and their families. Beyond that, Zamorano has played a fundamental role in the transformation of the agricultural sector and the rural development of the more than 19 countries that its graduates come from.
