Pilar Hurtado

Colombian educator who built schools in conflict zones using recycled materials

Pilar Hurtado is a Colombian architect and educator who pioneered eco-friendly school construction in war-torn regions. Since 2007 but achieving major milestones during 2014-2019, she's built over 30 schools using recycled materials in areas affected by the FARC conflict.

Hurtado's 'Escuelas Verdes' (Green Schools) program uses discarded plastic bottles, tires, and construction debris as building materials. The schools not only provide education but also teach environmental stewardship to students. Her 2016 project in La Macarena province used 10,000 recycled bottles to construct a three-classroom facility.

During the 2018 peace process, Hurtado worked with UNICEF to establish mobile schools that followed displaced families. Her 2019 initiative 'Escuelas en Bicicleta' (Bicycle Schools) delivered education kits via specially designed cargo bikes to remote communities.

Her work was featured in National Geographic's 2017 documentary Building Peace in Colombia and inspired the 2020 Global Teacher Prize finalist. The UNESCO report on post-conflict education cites her models as cost-effective solutions. Hurtado's TEDx talk 'Schools That Save Communities' (2015) has over 2 million views, and her methodology is now taught in architecture schools worldwide.