Kaya Community Development Projects in Bolivia

  Bolivia

Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks and 9-12 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: Every Monday

Description: A community project will enable you to fully immerse yourself within the community, and by the end you will feel like one of the locals. There are a diverse number of projects you can be involved in from ecotourism in Peru to women empowerment projects in Ecuador for abused women. Projects like these help you contribute in preserving some unique and special ways of life and helping people achieve a common goal.

Work in a Women & Children's Home in Bolivia:
Become a teacher/mentor for disadvantaged kids and women in a secure group home where they receive a good education and occupational skills. This Kaya welfare serves about 400 children aged 3 to 18, most of whom have been abused, abandoned or suffered trauma. Also living on campus are struggling single mothers who have been abandoned, battered, and forced to work in the sex industry. The campus consists of 11 homes,a day nursery, a school, a single mothers' institution and separate quarters for teenage boys and girls. Volunteers can choose where they would like to work. They can teach English, help with homework or organize arts classes. Other activities include help with the baking, carpentry and dressmaking cooperatives that provide vocational training and whose profits help fund the home.

Tourism Project in Bolivia:
Play a crucial role working in the Tourist Office in Santa Cruz, trying to boost the country's economy by promoting travel to Santa Cruz and Bolivia. This is a great opportunity to gain valuable hands-on work experience in the tourism industry and to learn about Bolivia, as volunteers will be visiting various places and working on cultural projects that give the country its identity. There are about 8 staff working in the center and around 20 more doing investigation and fieldwork.

Adventure Tourism Development in Bolivia:
Boost the economy of a beautiful region in an ecologically responsible, sustainable way, by helping small local eco-adventure businesses to grow and prosper. Santa Cruz is a privileged area because of its natural wealth of rainforests and natural parks that lie outside the city. Volunteers will work in a small but effective agency that organizes eco-adventure tours and trips in all these natural settings. They need volunteers for marketing, translations, guiding, and other duties related to the eco-adventure industry.

This is a great way to have fun trying out the eco-adventure packages while gaining valuable real-world work experience in a number of projects. At the same time you will be helping the local population to strengthen their economy by protecting and preserving their environment.

Cultural Research and Education in Bolivia:
Located in Santa Cruz, this project preserves the Guarani Bolivian culture with a collection of indigenous masks, pottery, weapons, weaving and costumes. It also organizes regular workshops featuring visiting indigenous groups, school and community exhibitions to show the history and culture of their ancestors.

Highlights: Everything in Bolivia is 'the highest in the world' - the mammoth Lake Titicaca, its capital La Paz, the silver mines of Potosi. Bolivia is the highest and most isolated country in South America characterized by extreme differences in climatic and environmental conditions - from the soaring ice-capped Andean peaks to the dry salt flats to the steamy Amazon jungles. Its beauty does not just lie in its geography but is reflected in vibrant indigenous cultures, colonial cities and ancient civilizations.

The people of Bolivia are some of the poorest in South America, yet are also known to be some of the most welcoming, making it a travel-friendly country.

The Salar de Uyuni Salt Flats:
This is the largest salt flat in the world covering an area of 10,582km2. It holds around 10 billion tons of salt and half of the world's lithium. Its vastness is unbelievable as it stretches off into the horizon and touches the sky.

Cordiellera Real:
Marvel at the most imposing mountain range in Bolivia, with 6 peaks reaching over 19,000 ft. One of the least-trekked areas of the Andes, it contains a high concentration of active wildlife including condors, bears and the occasional puma. There are treks for various levels of experience.

Lake Titicaca:
Standing at the base of the majestic Andean mountains, 12,500 ft. above sea level, is the vast and imposing Lake Titicaca. This giant body of water spans across Bolivia and Peru and is the largest lake in South America. Along its banks are ancient ruins and indigenous villages to explore.

Each member of Kaya staff have worked, traveled, studied or volunteered abroad, and many staff have visited and volunteered in our projects knowing firsthand the country and nature of the program placements. For this reason, there would be no worries for the participants.

Qualifications: Experience and passion for working in the community and interacting with the people are needed. Participants must also possess enthusiasm and a willingness to learn about the environment and the place's culture.

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: A Kaya volunteer shows enthusiasm, spirit and life to stimulate and bring something new to the residents; love, patience and a listening ear for the people; and a good motivator with a positive and optimistic attitude.

Age Range: Must be more than 18 years old

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

Participants Travel to Bolivia Independently or in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Online Application plus Application Assessment

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network

Kaya Responsible Travel's Mission Statement: Kaya's mission is to promote sustainable social, environmental and economic development, empower communities and cultivate educated, compassionate global citizens through responsible travel.

Year Founded: 2008