• Sustainable Cities And Communities
  • Climate Action

Green Building Supporter

location
1 - 4 weken  ·  Leeftijd 18 - 50+
rating  Uitstekend 4.8  · 
  Geverifieerd door Volunteer World
  Uitstekend Responsgraad

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

Vooral geschikt voor

Leeftijd 18+
Alleenstaanden
Koppels
Families
Groepen
50+

Over het programma

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 ...

Over het programma

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!

Dagelijkse activiteiten

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 ...

Dagelijkse activiteiten

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

Vrijetijdsactiviteiten

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 ...

Vrijetijdsactiviteiten

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.

Voorwaarden

Voorwaarden

Minimum leeftijd: 18 jaar

Om deel te nemen aan het programma dien je tenminste 18 jaar oud te zijn op de startdatum van het programma. Er kunnen uitzonderingen gemaakt worden indien je een bewijs van toestemming kan aantonen van uw wettelijke voogd(en) of samen met je ouders deelneemt.

Taalkennis

Je dient over volgende taalkennis te beschikken Engels (basis niveau)

Nationaliteitsbeperkingen

Geen beperkingen. Helpende handen van over de hele wereld zijn welkom.

Andere vaardigheden

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

Tijdsinzet

Uw helpende hand wordt verwacht op maandag, dinsdag, woensdag, donderdag en vrijdag van 07:30 - 16:00

Diensten ingesloten

Diensten ingesloten

Diensten door 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!

Accomodatie

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. 

Eten & Drank

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 toegang

Makkelijke toegang op de project site

Wat is er NIET inbegrepen?

Wat is er NIET inbegrepen?

Afhaal aan de luchthaven op La Aurora International Airport

Afhaling van de luchthaven is ook niet inbegrepen in de programmakosten.

Vlucht tickets

De dichtste luchthaven is La Aurora International Airport (GUA) in Guatemala City. We assisteren u met het vinden van goedkope vluchten naar Guatemala. VIND GOEDKOPE VLUCHTEN

Reisverzekering

Naar het buitenland reizen is een avontuur en het is best om goed voorbereid te zijn. Plots ziek worden of gewond raken, annulaties of diefstal - een reisverzekering voor Guatemala biedt zekerheid en is een meerwaarde. KRIJG EEN OFFERTE

Vaccinaties

Als je de intentie hebt om als vrijwilliger aan de slag te gaan in Guatemala dien je eerst medisch advies in te winnen alvorens je eropuit trekt. Kijk de benodigde vaccinaties na voor Guatemala. VACCINATIE CHECKER

Gegevens over jouw aankomst

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. 

Beschikbaarheid
jan. feb. mrt. apr. mei. jun. jul. aug. sep. okt. nov. dec.

Programmakosten

1 week (min. verblijf) 447€
2 weken 895€
3 weken 1.342€
4 weken (max. verblijf) 1.591€
Gemiddelde kosten 423€/week

Programmakosten

423€ per week 1 - 4 weken Leeftijd 18 - 50+

Betaalmethodes

Visa Master Card Maestro American Express PayPal

GEEN CREDITCARDKOSTEN

Duurtijd

1 - 4 weken

Waarborg

De waarborg dient om je plek als vrijwilliger te verzekeren. Betalingen worden door PayPal behandeld, onze betrouwbare betalingsprovider. Indien je niet over een PayPal account beschikt, kan je ook met een credit kaart betalen.

Finale betaling

Uw finale betaling zal worden goedgekeurd door Long Way Home gedurende de aanmeld procedure. Veel voorkomende oplossingen zijn een banktransfer of contante betaling op de projectsite.

Ontmoet je organisatie

Long Way Home

Uitstekend 4.8 rating (10 beoordelingen)

NGO - opgericht in 2004

Geverifieerd door Volunteer World

  Uitstekend Responsgraad

Gepresenteerd door

Amanda

Gesproken talen: Spaans, Engels

Over de organisatie

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

Ontmoet je organisatie

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 beoordelingen · 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 ...

Plaats

Amerika > Midden-Amerika > Guatemala > San Juan Comalapa

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Contact Amanda
  Uitstekend Responsgraad
Spaans, Engels

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