Volunteer Nicaragua: Rural Sustainable Development

  Nicaragua

Granada

Durations of Program: 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months and 7-12 months
Typical Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: open

Description: On the slopes of Mombacho volcano there are nine farming cooperatives, made up by local farmers (campesinos). The cooperatives are ground based organizations with well experienced traditional working techniques. Campesinos are struggling to keep both, subsistence agriculture and sustainable development, in this vast natural reservation area. The organization structure at cooperatives is horizontal, with democracy and transparency pointed as their core values. The cooperatives are interested in having volunteers for several reasons including:

- Sharing experience and working techniques
- Sharing ways of living and cultural aspects
- Sharing time for fun and exploration of the area
- Increasing visibility, nationally and internationally, on problems with the preservation of the natural resources and on community survival
- Getting actual inputs on activities to strengthen the path to development

As a volunteer you will help with the cooperative's needs. This involves helping the campesino kids with their homework and helping out at the farm. It is common that both parents work on the land and their children get little or no help with homework. Sometimes the parents are illiterate, and can't help with school homework.

When helping kids, you can share skills like:
- singing
- drawing
- playing sports
- musical instruments

You will also be helping at the farm with survival tasks such as:
- farming
- milking cows
- feeding and caring animals
- planting trees

Highlights: You will be volunteering on the southern edge of Granada, located here is a massive volcano. Mombacho, with a height of 1345 meters, is very noticeable in this lowland area. This extinct volcano is covered with unique vegetation, which traps the moisture that fertilizes the lake and around its skirts. The area presents a huge crater open to the south in addition to two other small and deep in its western summit, clouds and inaccessible forests. uVolunteer anticipates and encourages your desire for travel and adventure. Your time away from volunteering is open for you to decide your activities. You may decide to take advantage of the local culture and spend time within the community over the weekend. Otherwise, there is ample opportunity to explore Nicaragua and all it has to offer.

Great weekend trips include:
- Visit historical monuments in the colonial city of Granada
- Set up an excursion to visit one of the many factories that produce cigars, sweets and traditional golosinas
- Visit museums, local exhibitions or music venues
- Hike up volcano Mombacho
- Schedule a bike tour

Qualifications: Language Requirement: Intermediate Spanish. However, you can still join this project if your Spanish does not meet the requirements, by taking our Spanish language course.

Cost in US$: USD 755 for 2 weeks

Experience Required: no

Age Range: Must be 18 years of age or older.

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Nicaragua Independently

Application Process Involves:

• Online Application plus Application Assessment

Post-Program Services Include:

• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Alumni Network
• Job and Internship Network

uVolunteer, Volunteer Travel Abroad's Mission Statement: uVolunteer's mission is to provide meaningful and affordable volunteering placements to our volunteers without sacrificing neither service nor quality; and the capacity to deliver this volunteer resource and funding directly to grass root projects, local non-governmental and public organisations in rural and urban communities in need worldwide.

Year Founded: 2005