Dominga and the La Higuera community association complete training and scholarship program to create new opportunities in the municipality and the region

In an emotional ceremony, more than 100 residents of La Higuera successfully completed the Crecer+ program, part of Fundación Chile’s Vetas de Talento initiative. The program is one of the commitments established under the Agreement for Human, Productive, and Environmental Development, signed between the company and the community for the benefit of all local residents.
The Crecer+ program included training courses in food handling, welding techniques, and mobile equipment operation, delivered by Universidad Santo Tomás. It also provided competitive funding for individual and collective productive projects focused on sustainability, environmental conservation, and economic and social development.
“Our goal is to create new opportunities that help improve people’s quality of life by giving them the tools they need to access better jobs or start their own businesses. At Dominga, we are deeply committed to the sustainable development of the La Higuera municipality and the Coquimbo Region,” said Francisco Villalón, Corporate Affairs Manager at Andes Iron Dominga.
Since its beginnings more than a decade ago, Dominga has been actively involved in La Higuera and the Coquimbo Region, promoting key initiatives such as scholarships and productive projects aimed at strengthening employability and fostering local economic activity. To date, the company has granted more than 600 scholarships and supported over 250 entrepreneurs, among other contributions.
The ceremony, titled “Together We Build a Better Future for Our Region”, brought together over 200 participants and marked another milestone in Dominga’s relationship with the community, built on mutual respect and trust. Beyond training and competitive funding, Dominga and the Community Association have, in recent years ,supported all seven Rural Drinking Water systems (APRs) in La Higuera and helped establish a local emergency network through the acquisition of a new fire truck for the town’s firefighters.
“It has been a beautiful process that is now bearing fruit: getting to know one another, sharing dreams, and working together for the development of our community, always alongside Dominga, which represents a great opportunity to make our dreams come true,” said Yonatan Rojas, President of the La Higuera Community Association.
“We have been pleasantly surprised by the level of interest this program has generated among residents. The quality and diversity of the projects submitted—focused on sustainability, environmental conservation, and economic and social development—reflect the region’s tremendous growth potential,” said Manuel Farías, Director of Technical Education and Training Pathways at Fundación Chile.
“We’re very grateful for the opportunity Dominga has given us to gain new knowledge and learn new skills that will help us move forward. We need work opportunities and a helping hand to achieve our goals,” said Mauro Guzmán from the town of Chungungo, a participant in the welding training program.
“With the support of Dominga and the Community Association, I will be able to buy a new electric dehydrator with better technology and capacity, which will allow me to grow my business and think bigger. Many of us in the community have talent and great ideas; we just need people to believe in us and support us,” said Cecilia Olivares, an entrepreneur from Los Choros who produces dehydrated fruits and received funding through the competitive grant program.
Dominga is a world-class mining project located in the municipality of La Higuera, in northern Coquimbo Region. It will produce 12 million tons of high-grade iron concentrate annually, contributing to the steel industry’s efforts to reduce CO₂ emissions, and 150,000 tons of copper concentrate as a byproduct. During construction, the project will generate 30,000 jobs. Dominga has developed a comprehensive social and environmental proposal that incorporates the highest standards to support sustainable development and contribute to the global fight against climate change, among other challenges.