The project for generational renewal for the sustainability of coffee culture in northern Tolima began as a strategy designed by the Coffee Growers Cooperative of Northern Tolima (Cooperativa de Caficultores del Norte del Tolima, Cafinorte), aimed at stopping the mass migration of young farmers to the cities. It promotes participation by the rural community, particularly students, in the building and cohesion of the social fabric. It does so through a process of education and training in which young people discover the potential opportunities that their farms can provide as organizations and companies. The context in which the research is carried out is determined by the radius of action of the cooperative in the municipalities of Fresno, where the head office of Cafinorte is located, and in Herveo, Palocabildo and Falán in the department of Tolima. The process for learning entrepreneurship consists of education and training in associative culture and solidarity entrepreneurship with support from the rural schools in the area of influence of the cooperative. The goal is to change paradigms learned from their parents to enable them to interpret their reality and find possible alternatives that would make their farms productive.

Purpose: This article seeks to give an account of an observatory as a tool for the social, cooperative, and solidarity sector in the department of Tolima, Colombia. Description: The observatory was created as a tool for the social, cooperative, and solidarity sector, taking into account that in the region of Tolima there are organizations that develop activities for collective or social benefit and whose sole purpose is to improve the living conditions of the collaborators or communities. These organizations and their activities led to the creation of the observatory, which advocates for continuous processes of education, training, technical as- sistance, and research. This is so that higher standards of cohesion, integration, coordination, visibility, productivity, competitiveness, innovation, and entrepreneurship may be attained. Viewpoint: The lack of information to make decisions and generate collective action is one of the factors preventing the work of organizations within and around particular environments from being recognized. Conclusions: While it is true that an observatory has many features, one must think of it in the context of a network where collaborative work is the cornerstone of construction based on aspects such as multiculturalism and a multidisciplinary approach.