Unveiling the Amazon

  Brazil

• Northern Brazil: 
Santarem

Duration of Program: 1-2 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 1-2 weeks
Dates: October 25 - November 2, 2009, November 22 - 30, 2009 (over American Thanksgiving), December 27, 2009 - January 4, 2010 (if Christmas week is better for you, let us know, we can adjust the dates if there is enough interest in doing so).

Description: This unique trip provides visitors an opportunity to visit the lovely coboclo communities of Maguary and Jamaraquá, in the Brazilian Amazon, interact in a deep and meaningful way with its people, and take a part in CEN's activities aimed at helping residents become more self reliant and end the cycle of poverty. The trip will benefit the communities you visit and also be a personal life-changing experience.   

In the communities, you will support local sustainable tourism efforts and income-generation projects. You will be able to work side-by-side with cCLEAR participants, providing invaluable assistance and giving them an opportunity to develop vital organizational and other skills. For example, you will visit the Couro Ecológica (Ecological Leather) factory and see how they fashion extraordinary handbags out of rubber from local trees. Other activities might include helping Donildo with his beekeeping, working with Derlei and Dejalma to create products from a new form of translucent rubber, advising Rui on a new forest tour he's developing and many others.

You will also witness coboclo life firsthand. The pace of life in these communities is still much the way it was 100 years ago, defined by harmony with nature and your surroundings. This trip provides an escape from the daily grind, and a view on another way of life, inspiring insights that will stay with you long after you leave.

Highlights: Trip Itinerary:

* Day 1
Arrive in Santarem, a city with a mild climate and pleasant breezes, located at the confluence of the Rio Amazonas and the Rio Tapajos. We will meet you at the airport and if you are one of the first to arrive, you will be taken to a hotel so that you can shower, relax, and walk around town. Once everyone else arrives, the group will travel by bus to Jamaraquá you'll have dinner and meet the other members of the group.

* Day 2 - 7
The majority of the trip will be in the small community of Jamaraquá, located in the Brazilian national forest FLONA Tapajós. Each day you will work side-by-side with a different cCLEAR participant on an income generating project he or she has developed. You will be served lunch and have a mid-day break. At the end of the day, you'll have dinner and debrief the day's activities and discuss the next day's schedule. While you are in the communities, there will also be soccer games and opportunities to fish, hike, and explore the area.

* Day 8 - 9
After breakfast we'll leave for Alter do Chão (about 3 hours via boat), which is located on the freshwater Rio Tapajós and known as one of the most beautiful river beaches in Brazil. Along the way you will pass by several beautiful river beaches, and you'll be able to stop and enjoy one of them. After eating lunch at Alter do Chão, where you can explore the beach town and find plenty of souvenirs or just unwind on the beach, you'll leave for the Jari channel, famous for its exuberant fauna (consisting of alligators, birds, monkeys, iguanas and sloths), and stay until sunset to observe the parrots retiring for the evening. After sunset you'll have a piracaia (party on the beach) and either sleep on the beach or on the boat (your choice).

After breakfast on the boat the next morning, you will have the morning to rest and enjoy the beach. If you have a flight earlier in the day or side-trips to embark upon, you can catch a ride to the airport or wherever else you need to go. For the rest of the group, after lunch you'll return to Santarém for sightseeing, shopping, and preparation for your departure.

Cost in US$: USD 895

Experience Required: no

Age Range: Minimum Age: 18

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

Participants Travel to Brazil Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Other

Post-Program Services Include:

• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Job and Internship Network

Community Empowerment Network's Mission Statement: empowers rural communities and individuals in developing countries to harness information and information technology to become more self-reliant and break out of poverty.

Year Founded: 2004