Biblioburro- the donkey library

A 10 minute version is available on DVD.

For the past ten years, Luis Soriano, a teacher in the small town of La Gloria, Colombia, has been following the same ritual. Every week-end, he gathers his donkey in front of his house, straps on the “Biblioburro” pouches to its back, and loads them with a selection of books from the eclectic collection he has acquired over the years. Off on his mobile library, he travels into the hills and through the fields to the villages beyond where children await his visits impatiently. He firmly believes that bringing books to people who don’t have access to them can improve the country and open up possibilities for the future generation of Colombia. 

He has also been working with his wife Diana to build La Gloria's first public library, where he will finally be able to display his collection of books properly.

Watch our video update here!

If you would like more information on how to help Luis, please contact us through this website!

To learn more about Luis, read this NY Times article by Simon Romero, that inspired our film.

And here is some extra background to Luis' story.

Similar initiatives have been created around the world, and hopefully as our film gets shown to communities around the world, from Mali to India, it will inspire many more. This one comes from Ethiopia, and here is a BBC article about it.

And here is one on Venezuela's Bibliomulas.

Acces to books is essential to reading development. Today, one in five adults worldwide is illiterate, and more than 100 million children are not currently enrolled in school. Visit the Literacy Site and click to donate free books for children!