La Historia
Our Story
From a classroom in Comuna 13 to a movement across Medellín. This is how community English classes became something no one expected.
La Historia
From a classroom in Comuna 13 to a movement across Medellín. This is how community English classes became something no one expected.
San Javier, Comuna 13 — where it all began.
Before there was a name, a logo, or a program — there was a classroom in San Javier. And there was Mile.
Sandra Milena Palacio V. connected with Comuna 13 and started English classes there. She called them Stairway to English — free, community-led, open to anyone willing to climb. Simple. Direct. One step at a time.
Mile was adamant from the beginning: this had to be community-first. Not charity. Not tourism dressed up as development. A real bridge to opportunity, built by the people it was meant to serve.
A name can only hold so much. The idea kept growing.
As Primed helped grow the Stairway to English classes, a question emerged. A conversation with Stiven — one of the students — laid it bare: what are the options here? Minimum wage. Sell drugs. Kill people. There had to be other alternatives.
The answer became Stairway Storytellers. Primed created the framing — a pathway where the most advanced English students could become community tour guides, narrating their neighbourhood’s transformation in a new language. It was a shared idea, born from the classes Mile started and the community Primed was building alongside her.
Both Mile and Primed were adamant: community-first. No shortcuts. The concept was about creating real options. When graduates like the Zippy Tours crew took the idea and ran with it — building their own businesses, 90% Stairway alumni — it wasn’t a surprise. Antioqueño Paisas are known for being entrepreneurial. The formation just gave them the launchpad.
That name evolved into the Storyteller Formation program: an 18-month pathway from beginner English to community tourism guide. As chapters expanded across Santo Domingo, Moravia, and Constelaciones (Manrique), the organisation formalised as Primed Community — but the DNA remains the same.
Graduates didn’t just get jobs. They created them.
of Zippy Tours’ guides came from this program
The Storyteller program was never just about English. It was about giving people the tools to build something of their own. As graduates gained confidence, language skills, and cross-cultural experience, they started creating businesses — tour companies, cultural experiences, artisan ventures, and community services.
The largest and most visible success is Zippy Tours, now one of Comuna 13’s leading community tour operators. An estimated 90% of their guides came through the Stairway to English / Storyteller pipeline. They’re not employees of Primed — they’re independent entrepreneurs who were shaped by this community.
The community leaders who planted the first seeds.
Mile connected with Comuna 13 and started English classes there — the project she called Stairway to English. She was adamant from the start: community-first. Primed supported and helped grow those classes, and together they became the seed of everything that followed — the Storytellers concept, the formation program, and eventually Primed Community itself.
Connect on LinkedInKey moments from the first class to today.
Living Document
This page is a seed. It will grow as Milena, Ed, and the founding community contribute their memories, photos, and perspectives. The best stories are told by the people who lived them.
Whether you were there at the beginning or want to help write the next chapter — every connection strengthens the community.
