Contribute to the conservation of the few remaining traditional Mayan homes in Chicxulub Pueblo, Yucatán, Mexico

Details

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  Description

  We are grassroots Cultural Conservatory with the mission of helping to conserve the remnants of the local Mayan influence through preserving the few remaining traditional Mayan homes for the elders in the village. Adhering to the local environmental knowledge of the local elders and utilizing only natural materials that we harvest by hand as permitted by ancient tradition, we have the opportunity to contribute to the longevity of a culture threatened by modernization through compassion and hard work.
  
  Take our Virtual Tour for a more detailed look at we do here... Ask us for the link.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Charity Work

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Teaching

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  General Maintenance
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  Interests

  

  Self development

  

  Sustainability

  

  Politics / Social justice

  

  Culture

  

  Charity work

  

  Nature

  

  Beach

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Plant care

  

  Art & design

  

  Gardening

  

  Languages

  

  Carpentry

  

  History

  

  DIY & crafts
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  If you are looking for an intensive cross-cultural and second language experience of a lifetime, come and stay with us in our bilingual village of Chicxulub Pueblo, Yucatan, Mexico. You will certainly have the opportunity to enhance your Spanish skills here or come to dominate your second language, and wholly participate in the culture here as if you belonged. And you will also have the opportunity for a more profound experience as we do the actual work of the Mayan people. Some residents in our pueblo adhere to the cultural traditions of their ancestors and continue to speak the native Mayan language and Spanish, and they are highly-receptive to visitors who want to learn to speak with them in their native tongue. However, the majority of the people in our pueblo speak only Spanish.
  
  And if you would like to see a bit about what I have learned while living here, and some of what lies ahead for you if you decide to come for a visit, you can view the digital version of our book. The book is packed with travel tips for the Yucatan Peninsula, Spanish language review activities for travel, and even an introduction to the spoken Mayan Language of the region.

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  Help

  Hola Amigos!!!!
  
  We are currently looking for 2-3 volunteers for a two week commitment,. TWICE!
  
  We will be patching traditional roofs the first two weeks of November 2025, and the first two weeks of December 2025!
  
  We are planning to harvest palm leaves during the week of the full moon, which is the Wednesday 5 November, so we will start working Monday morning the 3 November, cutting leaves all that week. (You could arrive the Friday, Saturday or Sunday before as we will be observing Janal Pixan and there will be things to do here that you may be interested in.) Then, after a free weekend, we will install those leaves in roofs the following week from Monday the 10 November until Friday 14 November. We will also be following the same calendar the first week of December as the full moon falls on the 4 December. So, we will begin cutting leaves on Monday the 1st, and installing them the week of Monday the 8th through Friday the 12th.
  
  SO, if you are truly interested in participating in this amazing experience, please contact me, Don Hector, with a message of interest. There is limited space, so we are looking for just the people. And so you know, ganas is everything! I look forward to hearing from you! Don Hector (9/9/2025)
  
  We are looking for Workawayers in Fall 2025 to help us build a house from the ground up for a local family who has recently lost their home. Starting in September, we will need volunteers who are willing to go out to the country in search of the wood to build the framework of a house, over the course of a couple months and several different groups of volunteers. Volunteers would be needed to go into the bush in support of a Mayan woodcutter, who will cut the poles from the trees that we will need to build the structure. Your job would be to assist in moving the poles from the bush to a nearby truck, and then using it to build the house step by step under the guidance of local experts. And just so you know, it can get extremely hot working under the Yucatan sun, though it's tolerable with lots of water and rest breaks as needed.
  
  Also, we will probably paint one or two of the traditional houses in the pueblo that we have previously worked on, as well as complete some maintenance and gardening at our cultural conservatory. We will be working on the palapa roofs at Casa , which also requires kind of hardwork under conditions of heat, though we work early and late to avoid the hot parts of the day. If you are interested, let me know.
  
  And Gracias! to all of our Workaway volunteers of 2024 and 2025. Your contribution to our roof rescue projects over the past year is greatly appreciated and we will continue to build on your generosity this Fall.
  
  We also have plans to continue painting murals to compliment the others that we have on the property here, which we will use for academic purposes in the future when we receive grade school children from the city. Themes include: Las tres hermanas: Maiz, frijol, y calabasa; Dios Chaak in the Ciclo de agua; and Kukulkan the serpiente emplumada. But our canvas is not limited to flat walls. There may be some gardening and simple construction to complete our shared work of art, so your creativity in other media is greatly appreciated here.
  
  So, we are looking for inspired and self-motivated volunteers with some creativity and clarity for the above mentioned activities. Let me know what you think, and how you might be able to contribute to the movement of cultural conversation of longtime traditions in Yucatan. I look forward to hearing from you.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  We speak English, Spanish, and Yucatec Maya
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  Accommodation

  Our project provides a shared living space experience for volunteers. Accommodations include a personal bed in a shared room at our home in Chicxulub Pueblo. Depending on the number of volunteers for the project, we may have two gender-segregated rooms.
  
  We have already preserved the traditional palm-roof roof on the main house at the place where we cook our meals and hang our hammocks; and we maintain four other roofs of neighbors nearby that we have already rescued. And though our focus is on the preservation of these homes and the traditions that take place beneath those sticks and palm leaves that protect them, we have a fully-furnished and shared modern room for up to four people just waiting for you to inhabit. We also have a pool table and foosball table, a fully-equipped kitchen, two palapas, and a beautiful natural stone swimming pool.
  
  Besides safe and secure lodging, we also provide purified drinking water and most of your staples in the kitchen like eggs, rice, beans, flour, cooking oil, and propane for preparing your own meals during the work week in the communal kitchen. Everything to cook our breakfast meal will be provided on the days that we work, which is quite early on the days we go into the bush or work directly under the sun.
  
  So you know, we do not provide meat, dairy, fruit and veggies, which are the responsibility of volunteers, except for breakfasts on workdays,

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  What else ...

  This is a peaceful pueblo retreat, away from the hustle-and-bustle of the Capital City and the typical Tourist Areas. Our only house rule concerns the unruly. While everything is fine in moderation, not everyone can handle moderation, nor the pace and tranquility of living in a pueblo. Though we do not have a hard rule about the consumption of drugs and alcohol, we do ask that you keep these matters to yourself and away from public view, including the common areas of the posada and language school that we host on the property.
  
  While the two super-minis in the centro, San Valentín and Mikey Donald’s, which are open all day, from early in the morning until late at night, they mostly only carry packaged foods. To find fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, tortillas, or natural juices, you will have to shop in the municipal market, or look for other vendors around the centro such as the fruterías and carnicerías on the main street.
  
  Wifi is available in all rooms. Internet Speed should hover around 8Mbps. But if there is an internet failure for some reason, you can go to the Cibernautica (Cybercafe) in the Centro which charges by the hour, or visit the Main Plaza in Chicxulub Pueblo for free internet.
  
  Sheets and towels will be washed for volunteers once a week. For personal clothing, there is a drop-off Wash-and-Fold Laundry in Conkal (5km), which you get to by getting on one of the colectivos taxis for the centro in Chicxulub Pueblo. Or, you can “encargar” a taxista to take your laundry and pick it up for less than $100mxn; $5usd each way, plus the $15mxn/kg of clothes. This usually takes a few hours. Other options include asking a local woman, but this is not an option on Sunday or rainy days as clothes are line-dried.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

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