• Sustainable Cities And Communities
  • Climate Action

Green Building Supporter

location
1 - 4 weeks  ·  Age 18 - 50+
rating  Excellent 4.8  · 
  Verified by Volunteer World
  Excellent response rate

Highlights

  • Learn from expert green building instructors
  • Progressive focus each week: earthen materials, structure design, water systems, and electricity/power
  • Build a school in rural Guatemala and be immersed in Kachikel culture
  • Go on weekend trips to Antigua, Lake Atitlan, Maya Ruins, Surfing at the beach, or on volcano hikes to see eruptions
  • Learn how to build your own home start to finish

Especially good for

Age 18+
Singles
Couples
Families
Groups
50+

About the program

Intensive learning for those who wish to dive into green-building and design topics with expert instructors. There will be classroom sessions and hands on building.

In 2005 we started building. First a park area, then some classrooms, now a school teaching students through creative education, in a campus build out of trash and natural materials. At the school, we teach not only standard curriculum but include education for sustainable development. At the school ...

About the program

In 2005 we started building. First a park area, then some classrooms, now a school teaching students through creative education, in a campus build out of trash and natural materials. At the school, we teach not only standard curriculum but include education for sustainable development. At the school the community is forefront, creating jobs for teachers and builders, providing access to education, combating poverty conditions, and building many projects to provide basic support like water tanks, composting toilets, tire retention walls, efficient stoves for improved respiratory health, and more.

We normally start the day at 7:30 with breakfast at the volunteer house, prepared by a local chef. Each meal is different and they can accommodate meal preferences and allergies. Then will have classroom sessions on building aspects. Then lunch, also prepared by a local chef. Before going to the building site and working. The day ends at 4pm and later dinner will again be served at the house. In free time people often watch the sunset over the volcanoes, walk to town, play games, or unwind.

GBA participants will be learning, building, and living alongside staff from Comalapa and other volunteers from all over the world. Students will live in a green-designed home and will help keep a zero-waste household, an experience that can create life-changing habits.

The program takes place in April and November each year at our site San Juan Comalapa, a rural town in Guatemala’s highlands. Participants who join the Academy will contribute to our efforts to make healthy and resilient structures accessible to low-resourced and climate-stressed communities.

During the GBA we work through many concepts relevant to eco building and sustainability principles. This April we will be building a classroom for a local school in our community. You will be learning to green-build step-by-step from the foundation up!

Typical day

Days will include both classroom and hands on practical learning covering all aspects relevant to building sustainably and living eco-friendly by design. 

  • We will learn about cob and measuring ratios of different earth and natural materials as long as when and how to use them. Plus put our hands in ...

Typical day

Days will include both classroom and hands on practical learning covering all aspects relevant to building sustainably and living eco-friendly by design. 

  • We will learn about cob and measuring ratios of different earth and natural materials as long as when and how to use them. Plus put our hands in the mud to work with cob ourselves. 
  • We will look at designing structures with stability principles and groundwork as well as full circle thinking for environmental friendliness and put that into action through building of a community school building. 
  • We will consider the water and waste cycles and how we can optimize them to be regenerative. 
  • We will look at natural ways to provide heating, cooling, ventilation, and light. We'll also go through how to build safe power/electric systems. This includes calculating for solar powered systems
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided by local chefs with accommodation for meal and diet preferences.
At the end of the day the group normally unwinds in shared common area and watches the sunset over the mountains or plays board games/cards

Free-time activities

In the evenings volunteers normally unwind, take visits to town to explore local galeries (Comalapa is an area know for its paintings since Maya times), see the local market, or relax at the volunteer house to see the sunset over volcanoes and play some board games. There are often events going on ...

Free-time activities

In the evenings volunteers normally unwind, take visits to town to explore local galeries (Comalapa is an area know for its paintings since Maya times), see the local market, or relax at the volunteer house to see the sunset over volcanoes and play some board games. There are often events going on in town, especially in the months of April for Semana Santa and November for Dia de los Muertos and different Saint days. On the weekends there are many options to do not far from town. It is just over an hour by local bus to Guatemala City or Antigua, and a couple hours more to Lake Atitlan. Much closer to home are Maya ruins, coffee farms, horseback riding, and more. In Antigua I highly recommend hiking Volcan del Fuego which is active and erupts lively every 20 minutes.

Requirements

Requirements

Minimum Age: 18 years

In order to join the program you need to be at least 18 years old on the program start date. There might be exemptions if you can provide the permission of your legal guardian(s) or if your are accompanied by your parents.

Language Skills

You need to speak English (basic level)

Nationality Restrictions

No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.

Other Skills

Anyone from any background or experience level is welcome! By the end of the program we aim for everyone to be comfortable and confident with their green building abilities

Time Commitment

Your helping hand will be required on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 07:30 - 16:00

What's Included

What's Included

Services by Long Way Home

Included in these fees are:

  • Accommodation in our eco house on campus 
  • Meals from local chefs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
  • Learning from various expert instructors with decades of experience in green building
  • Building supplies and tools we will use in our hands on learning part of the project, a school room for a rural village
Any program fees we have left over after the above listed expenses recirculates to support our school. The "Hero School" is an eco campus you'll get to experience that educates 144 local students from Comalapa and surrounding villages. The curriculum is developed by local teachers  to promote education for sustainable developments. Students get an enhanced education that provides support for cultural learning as well as green building incorporation. With each grade level students have a different project focus including water tanks, composting toilets, improved stoves, tire retention walls to practice maths and sciences and social studies. Then, we build these projects in kind to some of the most vulnerable families in the community. I'm excited to show you the campus and the education system!

Accommodation

Accommodation

  • Volunteer House - this accommodation is in one of our green-designed houses comprised of bamboo framing, glass bottle lighting, and adobe/cob plastered walls). The toilets are dry compost (toilet paper provided). It has a communal kitchen, stocked with all basic staples (drinking water, pots & pans, dishes, a sink, salt, oil, propane for cooking, dish/hand soap). Rooms are of various room sizes ranging from 2 beds to 8 beds, shared as needed. Bedding provided. There is running water for showers but it is not heated with electricity or gas. There are common spaces inside and outside along with various sitting areas to have a fire, play games, or watch the sunset over the volcanos in the distance. The volunteer house is located about a 2 minute walk from the school campus.
  • Private accommodations on site or more amenity hotel stays in town can be arranged but would cost more. 

Food & Beverages

Each day meals are different but will provide sufficient fruits and vegetables as well as proteins. We are more than happy to accommodate food allergies and meal preferences.

We work with an incredible local restaurant who provides breakfast and dinner. And a long time chef who has worked with us for many many years to provide lunches. 

  • Breakfast will be provided at the volunteer house and normally includes a main dish along with fruit, a cookie, and a coffee. 
  • Lunch will be served on site at the school campus, while there are changes to each day a lunch normally includes rice, vegetables, and a protein (of meat or beans depending on what you request in application).
  • Dinner can be served either at the volunteer house or at the local restaurant in their garden area (about a 5 minute walk from the volunteer house) depending on the group's preferences. Again, every day is different but you can expect a variety of primarily local dishes.

Internet Access

Good access at the project site

What's NOT included?

What's NOT included?

Airport Pickup at La Aurora International Airport

An airport pickup isn't included within the program fees either.

Flight Tickets

The nearest airport is La Aurora International Airport (GUA) in Guatemala City. We assist you to find cheap flights to Guatemala. FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS

Travel Insurance

Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - a travel insurance for Guatemala provides security and is a plus to have. GET A QUOTE

Vaccines

If you are intending to volunteer in Guatemala you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Guatemala. VACCINE CHECKER

Details on arrival

The Green Building Academy last 4 weeks and is available twice a year, in April and November. We welcome you to join for one to four weeks. If you have a specific area of green building you want to learn about from earthen materials to structure design to water systems or power systems please let us know, we can advise what week(s) are best tom come. In the below video, you can hear from local team member Roberto about one of the past projects we completed, a house for his family. This year we'll be building a school, modeled after our flagship Hero School, for a neighboring village. 

Availability
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Program fees

1 week (min. stay) 447€
2 weeks 895€
3 weeks 1,342€
4 weeks (max. stay) 1,591€
Average fees 423€/week

Program fees

423€ per week 1 - 4 weeks Age 18 - 50+

Payment methods

Visa Master Card Maestro American Express PayPal

NO CREDIT CARD FEES

Duration

1 - 4 weeks

Deposit

The deposit is simply to reserve your volunteer placement. Payments are handled by PayPal, our trusted global payment provider. If you don't have a PayPal account, you can also pay using a credit card.

Final Payment

Your final payment will be agreed with Long Way Home during the application process. Common solutions are either via bank transfer or a cash payment at the project site.

Meet your organization

Long Way Home

Excellent 4.8 rating (10 reviews)

Non-profit - founded in 2004

Verified by Volunteer World

  Excellent response rate

Coordinated by

Amanda

Spoken languages: Spanish, English

About the project

Long Way Home is constructing a self-sufficient school in rural Guatemala. We are using alternative building techniques with tires and waste.

Meet your organization

Long Way Home's mission as a registered US 501(c)3 is to use sustainable design and materials to construct self-sufficient schools that promote education, employment and environmental stewardship. Our vision is to empower communities to break the cycle of poverty through innovative solutions to local challenges. Long Way Home is currently constructing a self sustainable 18-building green academy in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. Using radically green alternative methods and materials, we are empowering the youth of this community, the majority of whom are Kaqchikel Maya, to be the architects of their own futures. To date we’ve used over 400 tons of garbage in our construction projects and we currently serve 115 students in grades K-8. Volunteers with Long Way Home will experience a variety of tasks which may include pounding tires with rammed earth, using bottles stuffed with trash to form fences, creating and placing glass bottle bricks for natural lighting, or harvesting cactus pads for a natural sealant.

10 reviews · rating4.8

Dawn Young rating5

2024 at Green Building

Want to learn about green building, living off grid and doing construction…oh and don’t forget the welcoming community of Comalapa! This is the perfect place to learn and do. The staff of Long Way Home is very supportive to all people. While completing my 7 weeks, I worked along side people from ...
Richard Campeau rating4.4

2024 at Green Building

Very interesting group and wonderful project. Good for education while environnemental at the same time. I had a wonderful time in Comalapa with the guatemalan employees, with the project managers. The volunteers really make a difference in the life of the students and their families. ..
Nina Ahrendt rating5

2023 at Green Building

Overall this was a meaningful experience, well organized and in an environment where we felt safe both on and off site. I volunteered with my son (18 years old) for two weeks at Long Way Home in Guatemala. We stayed in a small hostel in town and ate at a local restaurant, this allowed us to be ...
Travis Horn rating5

2023 at Green Building

Words can not describe how powerful that was!!! I AM GOING BACK!! They work so hard for those kids! we need help and anything you can bring for the kids is much ...
Jessica Griffiths rating5

2022 at Green Building

Long Way Home was the perfect place to spend the week with our three teenaged kids. We learned about green construction, about the rich culinary and artistic culture of Comalapa, and about how to build our own recycled bricks! There were many jobs and so much to learn that we were never bored. ..
Mary-Liz O'Neill rating5

2019 at Green Building

This was my first experience traveling internationally to do volunteer work. From the beginning communication was excellent. The volunteer coordinator helped me to create a plan for the exact work I would be doing and answered all of my many questions. I came while the July 2019 green Building ...

Location

Americas > Central America > Guatemala > San Juan Comalapa

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Contact Amanda
  Excellent response rate
Spanish, English

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