¡Saludos desde Guatemala! For the next several months, I will be living in Xela, Guatemala’s second largest city, and volunteering as a trek guide for Quetzaltrekkers, the only all volunteer-run, all non-profit outdoors organization in Central America. Quetzaltrekkers (QT) leads treks through som[...]
Posts Tagged ‘community development’
Community Project Guidelines
At WorldTeach we encouraged volunteers to undertake community projects. These could range from raising funds for a bookshelf to installing a floor in a classroom, to establishing a scholarship fund that would continue long after the volunteer’s departure. Whether you are undertaking a voluntee[...]
Ending on a Down Note
What a lousy piece of news to receive at the beginning of my last week. The Costa Rican Institute of Tourism opted not to renew its contract to place a CREST teacher in Puerto Jimenez for the next term. I know these things happen. The tourist season was slow this year, with the recession. I’m [...]
“When are you coming back?”
To go away is to die a little, it is to die to that which one loves. Everywhere and always, one leaves behind a part of oneself. – Edmund Haraucourt Field work requires comfort with transience. Many development workers parachute into places, build their lives from scratch, weave themselves i[...]
Field Loneliness in Colombia
Amazon rainforest In an indigenous community of the Amazonian rainforest, the line between family and community becomes blurry. The village consists of five inhabitants, all of whom are related by blood or marriage. Every November, tribe members flock to the maloka, the hut-like structure that hou[...]
Productive Uses Create Sustainable Energy
There are many steps to help create energy independence within blueEnergy’s mission. One of the final stages is to create ways in which our communities can use the wind turbines, solar panels and other energy systems we provide for productive uses. Broadly speaking, productive uses refer to projec[...]
Responsible Tourism: Coming to a Cloud Forest Near You!
I am happy to report that in the Intag cloud forest region of northern Ecuador, community-based tourism is heating up. Just two hours from the market town of Otavalo, Intag’s ecological reserves have begun to attract a steady stream of travelers. Organizations like the Red Ecoturistica de Inta[...]
