Volunteering with Go Local! Travel

Besides travel, volunteering is an excellent way to get to know more about South America and its culture. That’s why Go Local helps! Travel you with organizing volunteerwork which you can combine perfectly with your trip. Below you will find an overview of the type of work, the minimum time span, the cost and where it fits into your trip.  Go Local! Travel does not participate in voluntary projects for which, in addition to the overnight stays and meals, payment is required. Once you have made your choice, you can indicate in the booking form where you want to work and for how long.

Your Own Volunteering? When you give up your interest and experiences, we can see if we can offer something suitable.

The volunteer work takes place at the two projects supported by Go Local! Travel in Quito. The first project is led by a Catholic organization that helps poor people. Special attention is given to elderly people who receive a 3 course meal daily for only €0.10. In addition to meals, medical and dental care is also offered. The second project often supports unaccompanied minor mothers who are unable to care for their children. The children can go to school and be helped with their homework. Young mothers receive support to change their social situation.

 

What can you do

• Cooking: preparing meals for about 80 people (with a team of 4 local volunteers).
• Education: Depending on your experiences and your level of Spanish, you can help the teachers to give the children a special week.
• Supporting the needs of that moment.

Location

Both organizations are located in the south of Quito. You stay in the hostal that is part of your trip or whenever you want, you can stay with a local family. Costs depend on your stay. A Hostal will cost €45 per 5 days without meals. A stay with a family will cost €56.00 per 5 days including all meals.

 

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Bilsa (€125/5 days) This project is supported by Go Local! Travel and is also offered as a travel destination.

The Bilsa park retains more than 3,000 hectares of very rare forest off the coast of Ecuador. There is only less than 1% left of the original forest and is the third priority for conservation in the world. The goal is to maintain this unique composition of flora and fauna of the forest, which is internationally recognized for its diversity and rarity. Furthermore, the park protects 3 important water sources and is active in a “community outreach” program with an emphasis on agriculture, health, environmental education and community management development.

What can you do

• Organic: seed collection and selection, planting the seeds in the grow beds, maintaining and monitoring the grow beds and replanting trees in the reforestation project.
• Maintenance: of the paths and gardens surrounding the huts and the main house, the maintenance of the fruit trees and gardens close to the huts, the garden with medicinal plants, the banana plantation (keeping free with machete and pruning of the trees), maintenance of the orchids & bromeliad garden and finally the maintenance of the paths in the forest.
• Carpentry: making signs of different routes, making small benches/stools for the cabins, and other activities depending on what is needed at the time.

Location

The Bilsa park is 30 km from Quinindé, in the province of Esmeraldas, and 30 km from the coast. Due to the limited access, it will be a full day (or even two) trips from Quito. Bilsa is easily reached after your destination Mindo (day 6). You stay in a simple lodge within the reserve (limited electricity and hot water). Cost is €28, – per day including all meals.

Founded by a Catholic organization with the aim of supporting children who have lost their parents as a result of HIV-AIDS. Currently, 30 children are cared for here and live as a normal family. For more information you can also take a look at the website.

 

What can you do

• Care: help prepare meals, eat with the children, help clean up, put children to bed, etc.
• Afternoon activities: after school, the children always want to do something together that you can help with. 

Location

It is located 100 km north of Quito near Otavalo, one of our destinations (after day 5). You will stay in a beautiful old monastery building in a private room. Cost € 12, – per day including all meals.

 

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Aldea Salamandra (€90/7 days)

This project has tried to find a balance for you between supporting the local villages, learning and enjoying working with them. The area consists of cloud forest, near Puerto Quito. Besides the lovely river you can also enjoy the many birds. These are partly thanks to the many tropical farms that have been set up here over the past 30 years. This location has had a lush time, but is now in need of a makeover. The volunteer work here consists of refurbishing the stays in combination with agricultural trips. You will learn (and taste) a lot of the local fruits and you will make your own chocolate.  

What can you do

• Agriculture: working in the cocoa and coffee fields, maintaining the vegetable garden and medicinal plants.
• Construction industry: you can be active in the construction of cabañas and with collecting the building material from nature.
• Cooking: preparing meals for the volunteers and tourists

Location

Aldea Salamandra is located 140 kilometers northwest of Quito. It is close to the destination Mindo (after day 6) from there you will travel 45 minutes to get here. You stay in a very nice area with lots of activities and your home is a bamboo lodge on the river or a treehouse. Costs are € 56,- per week with meals.

 

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Un poco del Choco (€90,- /5 days), preferably 2 weeks minimum

All Ecuadorian forests of the Pacific coast at an altitude of 2200m are called Choco. These are located in the northwest of Ecuador and have exceptionally high biodiversity and are a home for many endemic plant and animal species. Unfortunately, there is not much left of these forests. More than 90% were deforested between 1938 and 1988. Where the various forests once grew, you can now find banana plantations. The last remnants of the forest are threatened by illegal and legal logging, palm oil plantations and mining companies. This is why the Chocó are considered one of the areas with the highest priority for protection. It is one of the world’s 10 most important biodiversity hotspots and one of WWF’s Global 200.

 

What can you do

Carpentry: volunteers are needed to help with carpentry. Furthermore, there are always maintenance work that needs to be done around the station.

Organic garden: the organic garden provides self-sufficiency of the Organic Station with different vegetables. As a volunteer you help create the organic garden, cultivate and plant trees, and eventually harvest it.

Hiking trails and learning paths: more paths are needed to research the flora and fauna. You can help with the construction and improvement of the paths. Environmental education is also part of the project’s work, with creative ideas you can participate in the design of the learning path.

Environment and ecotourism: other sources of income must be found for the local population. The production of jewelry from natural materials (wood, seeds, tree ferns, etc.) and ecotourism will be encouraged, in order to ensure a sustainable income. You can help with the promotion, training of guides or just with creative ideas and advice.

 

Location:

Un Poco del Choco is a 2-hour drive from Quito to the west. You stay in a simple lodge within the reserve (limited electricity). Cost € 12,- per day including all meals.