Volunteer with Yanapuma Foundation

  Ecuador

• Quito: 
Quito

Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks and 3-6 months
Typical Duration of Program: 5-8 weeks
Dates: Inquire for more info.

Description: Yanapuma offers 3 principal types of volunteering experience that satisfy the differing needs of the indigenous communities that we work with and the preferences and availability of our volunteers. In addition, we offer volunteering options in Quito. These are:
*Long-term volunteering
*Cultural exchange visits
*Short-term group projects.   

The minimum commitment for long-term volunteering is 2 months in any one community. Volunteers are needed in many fields. Many communities are aware of the necessity for their children to learn English in order to better be able to compete in the world. In addition, in many of the communities that are developing tourism, guides need to learn English. So there exist many openings for volunteers to teach English in communities. Similarly, children can benefit from learning computing and other subjects from international volunteers. Many indigenous schools are under funded and under staffed, which means that volunteers can make a vital contribution to the community.

Long-term volunteers can also contribute their special skills in many vital areas of community development. We need volunteers with knowledge of such topics as:
-Waste management and recycling
-Basic health, nutrition, hygiene
-Health monitoring, dentistry and oral hygiene
-Environmental monitoring and ecology
-Permaculture, alternative agriculture and soil science
-Water shed management
-Ethnographic studies and museum development

Highlights: *Cultural Exchange Programs:
These programs are for those with less time to offer, and are oriented towards helping communities that are developing community-based tourism projects. Visitors on this program will have the opportunity to experience life in an indigenous community, off the beaten tourist path. You will live with a community for at least one week or more, sharing in the daily life of the community in various ways, receiving some guidance to explore the local attractions, and learning about their culture, history, beliefs, and relationship to the environment. You will have options to contribute as a volunteer, but these are not seen primarily as volunteer placements. Rather, your presence in the community acts as encouragement to their developing tourism project, and offers them the opportunity to learn about other cultures and the needs and preferences of foreigners. Thus, this program is about cultural exchange and mutual learning and sharing. It is ideal for individuals, small groups or families wishing to experience and learn about the reality of a way of life that is under threat.

*Group Volunteering Projects
Our group volunteering projects are organized once or twice a month on set dates, and involve a one to three week long project with a specific aim. This might be a reforestation project in a particular community, joining a "minga" (community work project), a construction project, or something similar. Groups will spend most of the time working on the project, but with some time for cultural and other activities.

*Opportunities in Quito
Yanapuma works with several projects in Quito, in poor neighborhoods, in schools and daycare centers, and in the El Inca women's prison. There are opportunities for both short-term and long-term volunteers.

Qualifications: Willing to help indigenous people and adjust to new environments.

Cost in US$: $75 - $175

The costs in US dollars are as follows:
Long-term volunteer/Research project outside Quito: Set-up fee $175.00
Payment to community per day for food and lodging $8.00
Long-term volunteer/Research project in Quito: Set-up fee $75.00

Volunteer Ecuador Program
This is what volunteers pay to Yanapuma to arrange the project on behalf of the volunteer, and what the volunteer offers to the community for food and lodging.

The costs in US dollars are as follows:
Volunteer project outside Quito: Set-up fee $175.00
Volunteer project in Quito: Set-up fee $75.00
Payment to community per day for food and lodging $0-15 depending on project

Experience Required: no

Age Range: 18-up

This Program is open to World Wide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Ecuador Independently Or in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently Or in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Online Application plus Application Assessment

Yanapuma Foundation's Mission Statement: Yanapuma Foundation is a cooperatively run NGO whose aims are to facilitate sustainable practices in poor urban and rural communities throughout Ecuador, and to encourage intercultural exchange that fosters mutual benefit and learning in a globalizing world. Yanapuma works to maintain transparency in all its financial operations and to maintain clear channels of communication both with donors and the communities and projects in which we are working. Yanapuma offers volunteers the opportunity to contribute to the development of these communities in several ways; through long-term volunteering opportunities, shorter group projects, and cultural exchange programs. We also offer internships with the foundation as well as supervised study and research opportunities. We also have a Spanish school at our office in Quito. We can book conventional Galapagos, Amazon, Sierra, and other tours for our students, volunteers and interns, as well as the general public, while using a portion of the profits to reinvest in the development of responsible tourism.

Year Founded: 2006