Volunteer Work
We have come to see volunteer work as an exchange between the student and community, which takes place on many levels. The value of the volunteer experience comes from how much both sides learn from each other in addition to the actual work completed. Students participating in volunteer work will stay with a family in the cooperative, where they receive board and meals. The cost of US$ 30 per week will be divided between the family and the project.
Since language competency is key to successful participation in these projects, we require that students wishing to participate as volunteers first spend at least one week in our language immersion program. The length of time needed before you are able to join the project will depend on your command of Spanish. The Rural Education project, in particular, demands a high level of language proficiency. Approximately six weeks of Spanish study seems to be the minimum for a beginner to achieve the necessary level.
After students have spent some time at the school, they might find volunteer opportunities that suit their particular skills, interests, and experience.
We support projects in five main areas:
- 1. Organic Agriculture
- 2. Organic Agroindustry
- 3. Artisians Support
- 4. Rural Education
- 5. Inter-Institutional
- 6. Medical Project
- 7. Alternative Centers of Justice
Organic Agriculture - Organic Coffee
- The first one is the community "Hierba Buena" where 18 families cultivate organic coffee in the municipal of Zacapa. Students may work in a variety of activities related to the production of organic coffee, sugar cane or fruits. Besides the work, the education of children and adults is also possible. To reach the community you have to travel 8 km on foot.
- The second project, which is a cooperative with 60 members, is called "Comunidad Agraria Las Mercedes" and located in the community of Costa Columba Cuca, which is about 60 km south of Quetzaltenango. The climate there is warm, but not too hot. Volunteers may help cultivating coffee or educating local people.
- The third project, "Sociedad Civil de Mujeres Campesinos Mundo Verde", is located in beautiful Loma Linda, about 55 km from Quetzaltenango. Fourteen women buy raw organic coffee from the coffee cooperative also located in Loma Linda. The beans are then cleaned, roasted, ground, packaged and finally sold.
Volunteers are needed to help the women market and commercialize the final product.
Organic Agroindustry
This project, "Proyecto de Agroindustria de Poxlajuj-Totonicapan", is located 25km from Quetzaltenango, where 25 Maya-Quiche women produce jams, dried fruits, bread and cereals. Volunteers can help market and commercialize the products as well as help in areas of education.
Artisans Support
We work with five cooperatives with over 1200 people, of which more than 95% are Mayan women who produce handcrafted wooden products and textiles.They are located in rural villages in the Guatemalan highlands such as Huehuetenango, Solola, Poxlajuj and Totonicapan. We help them establish the infrastructure and teach them the necessary methods to commercialize their products, since their families are economically dependent on their income. Volunteers may help them with their experience in marketing, the usage of computers and office equipment, or help translate and design leaflets and catalogs in English, French and German.
Rural Education:
Through Ulew Tinimit's contacts in the communities that surround Quetzaltenango we can introduce students to a number of local organizations working in education. These are most suitable for volunteers with advanced Spanish and experience in the field of education.
In Chuitziribal, Cantel, which is only 10 minutes outside of Quetzaltenango we support a school with 65 Mayan pupils. There is a lack of teaching personnel and study materials. Volunteers will work with little children teaching them the basics such as the alphabet, numbers and organize games.
Medical Project
These projects are intended for nurses, students of medicine, doctors and dentists. The work you contribute to the clinics and communities will correspond to your qualifications.
Due to the lack of medicine in Guatemala it would be greatly appreciated if you could bring basic medicines and a kit for basic examinations with you.
Alternative Centers of Justice
This is our most recent project, which is particularly oriented towards people with a background in law or sociology. There are three different Mayan communities, each of which has a Mediation Center. As a volunteer you will live in the community and on one hand help to resolve conflicts within these communities by applying alternative forms of justice and on the other hand take part in the development of the community itself. This approach seeks to place the pursuit of justice and compromise within the traditional social structures of the communities.
