Ming’s Experience in Ecuador: The Smile I will Never Forget
My ‘family’ treating me so well…
I got the best living situation in the house which I appreciated very much but also thought I didn’t deserve my ‘family’ treating me so well. My daily job is to teach english to the kids in the village and helped my host-family grandma do some farming job. I enjoy very much the time living there. I got the chance to feel the nature and experience this life that I will remember for the rest of my life. During the ‘hard’ but happy time, my Spanish improved from zero foundation to be able to understand daily conversation. I was also introduced the traditional crafting in Ecuador. I’m a world traveler and a culture lover and I have been to a lot countries during the recent years. But Ecuador is my second hometown where I find my soul, experience the real humanity regardless of language obstacles and cultural barriers. I loved this experience and I will be back again.
Ming: The Smile I will Never Forget
How can this program be improved?
It will be better if the connection with local family is improved. Sometimes the internet is not good in this small village, so volunteers need someone who can speak english well.
- Ming
Feel inspired to Volunteer in Ecuador?
Find the full cataloge with the projects to volunteer in Ecuador on our Homepage.
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Volunteer Work at an Artisan Shop in Ecuador
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Volunteer Work at an Artisan Shop in Ecuador
In the Artisan Shop of Renée and Mariana you can work as a volunteer in the arts and crafts, and thereby develop your artistic skills. Working in the shop, you can learn the techniques of Ecuadorian arts and crafts and create your own jewelry!
Mariana and Renee have opened the Artisan Shop as a Sustainable Project
Together with the group “Taller” Mariana and Renée have opened the craft shop to create a new source of income for the village population. The Taller group began work ten years ago and acted as a catalyst in the community. In doing so, Mariana and Renée also adopt an ecological approach: they create the handicrafts of seeds and materials, which they sustainably grow and harvest in the cloud forest. As a volunteer, you will not only learn how to make modern and traditional jewelry from natural materials, you will also get insights and culture.
The artistic production is closely linked to the history of the indigenous Yumbo people and the initiative for reforestation in the educadorian cloud forest.
Handicraft made of natural materials, which also contributes to ecological change.
So, with your volunteer work in the craft shop, you will not only help generate income for the villagers, but you will also be actively involved in environmental change in the rainforest region of Ecuador. A truly sustainable volunteer project that will also familiarize you with the culture and the Spanish language.
You can combine the work in the craft shop with other volunteer projects
Iko Poran offers a wide range of activities for volunteers in the village Last Tolas in the cloud forest of the Ecuadorian Andes. You can choose whether you would rather teach English at the school, work in the vegetable gardens or nurture the herbal garden with medicinal plants. If you want to engage in ecology and environmental protection, you can plant trees as part of the reforestation project, or work in the nursery.
Sustainable ecological projects for a gentle tourism
You can even plant coffee trees and pick coffee beans or milk the cows on the farm. For gentle tourism, you can help create footpaths in the cloud forest and much more. If your heart beats for the arts, try the handicraft shop selling souvenirs, where you can also learn how to do handicrafts.
Would you like to work as a volunteer with handicrafts in Ecuador?
Find here all the information about volunteering in Ecuador, and how to enroll.