Volunteer Programs - Overview

The Fundación Brethren y Unida is a non-profit NGO that works in various areas of development: formulation of rural development projects, technical training of agro ecology, environmental education, local management and volunteer work.

Our volunteer programs promote cultural exchange between people from diverse countries with those of rural communities in Ecuador. To enable this exchange we have designed several flexible opportunities that adapt to meet the distinct objectives of volunteers, whilst maintaining an emphasis on personal contact with families from farming communities where we work. The programs are:

Organic Agriculture volunteer program: from educational days to a week at our farming hacienda, located in the north west of the Province of Pichincha.

Cultural Exchange volunteer program: for those with more time, a month or more. The first week is passed at the hacienda as detailed in the “organic agriculture program”, followed by 3 weeks (or more) living and working alongside your host family in a rural community. In this way you will learn about the culture, the customs and the daily life of farming communities; the challenges, the difficulties and the achievements.

Teaching volunteer program: we work with various schools and local organizations with the challenge of improving the level of education of both children and teenagers. You will work as a teacher or assistant, helping in numerous subjects, from mathematics, through to English (for the older students). This program has a minimum of one month, and you will live in the community where you work

Women’s group program: we are working with various organized women’s groups that require the participation of volunteers in their activities. The base for this program is the exchange of culture and customs. Volunteers will live with families where the woman of the house participates in the activities of the local women’s group, whether in hand crafts or agriculture, with the possibility, if skilled, of promoting health, gender, or women’s rights issues.

Note:
** Due to the extensive content of our programs Burlington College, Vermont USA offers credits for students that participate (College Credit programs)
** For an additional fee we can organize Spanish classes for volunteers during the week stay at the hacienda.

Volunteer program objectives

Besides the objectives of FBU, the volunteer program endeavours;

1. To stimulate the exchange of culture and knowledge between campesinos and volunteers, in order that volunteers may know the realities of the zone and equally campesino families may learn of the realities in other countries.
2. To able farming families and communities to profit from income brought by the volunteer program, and additionally, the benefit of the volunteers’ work in agricultural production and environmental conservation.
3. That the volunteers may be acquainted with and learn agricultural practices with an agroecological focus: organic horticulture, agroforestry, animal management and forestation.
4. That volunteers contribute to the development of local organizations and also that of children through their work in rural schools.
5. To provide a favourable atmosphere in which volunteers practice and improve their Spanish language through daily conversations with the family and community members.

Program Locations

We work with rural communities in the country Pedro Moncayo (where the foundations hacienda is located), in Intag, in the county of Cotacachi, Columbe in Chimborazo and Puyo in Pastaza (map of Ecuador). Volunteers may work in any of these four diverse areas (from high sierra to jungle!).

At our hacienda we employ modern techniques of agroecology, implement reforestation practices and management of micro valleys. We share our efforts with the communities through rural development projects, workshops and ´mingas´ (group work where the community members participate to complete large projects for their own benefit). We also work with various organizations like town councils, colleges, universities, and other foundations.

We emphasize that our work is in relation to the conservation of natural resources and improving the standard of living of campesino families (the farming families who live and work in the countryside).

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