Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
4 Sep 2024
Reply rate
96.6 %
Usually responds within 7 days
Feedback
31
Email verified
Badges (2)
Find your perfect host
Details
Description
We are a tiny school in a small Guatemalan indigenous community on Lake Atitlan. Our goal is to foster skills and opportunity in the fields of the local ecology, natural health/nutrition, gardening, music, natural building, and entrepreneurship. Our current project is to expand our children's ukulele club/musical instrument library, and part time school for small kids into a fully functioning school.
Our children's school has been going part time for 5 years, but now that our daughter will be turning 6 and many of the kids only have our school as the local school has been closed down, we feel it's time to develop our program into something really special. Our model is based around nature, how to live with the forest in a stewardship, reforestation, preservation of water resources, botany, traditional herbalism etc... while focusing on singing, reading, writing, learning Spanish, English and Kakchikel.
While building a local school that serves children in our community and facilitates field trips from other schools in Guatemala, we will provide input for other schools on different ways to incorporate environmental education, source materials that can be used in any school program, and train volunteers to do outreach to all the schools in the lake basin. We don't have on site volunteer housing yet, that is something we are hoping to complete this year, but we have rentals close by that are very nice in which we can house people. We are looking for someone to help coordinate volunteers and school activities as well as promote the school and run our campaign to build our first school building. Currently the classes are held in our house which is a beautiful bamboo tree house. The classes are limited to 10 kids at a time due to space constraints but it is very nice.
We are finishing building on a dedicated school facility next to us and still fundraising to finish. We are building in order to capacitate more children and more of a full time curriculum. We are a very relaxed family and find its most important to have fun and feel joy in what we are doing than rush into things. We value others input, are flexible in our approach and incorporate ideas when they will fit better with the goals. Jaibalito is a blank slate that with so much need for education that it is the perfect place for someone looking to make a large impact even with small efforts. We have had success in the past with educating local women on massage and natural medicine, something that we continue to do. Also we helped 35 families through the mothers start family gardens when things shut down in march. Our ecological program has a good team of local permaculturists and the program will be an exciting one. Come have fun with us and help us get started on the next step of our endeavor. You will love it, the kids are beautiful!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Charity Work
Art Projects
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Farmstay help
Babysitting and creative play
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We provide a space to live in a forested environment in a local guatamalan indigenous community where volunteers can split their time helping and with very basic things like doing art, and teaching english or music while spending some time on fundraising outreach. The local folks are great and have such a need for basic nutrition and education. Volunteers can make a great difference empowering the youth to do positive things with their lives. One will also learn spanish or the local mayan dialect, kekchiquel.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
Our little school, which consists of a reading teacher in kakchikel, an english teacher, and a ukulele club, is ready to go to the next step and build a building and legalize a formal school structure. Help us raise the funds needed to get to that place and have fun at the same time!
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Accommodation
We have a 4 bed dorm with a kitchen and bathroom.
What else ...
There is a wealth of activity here on beautiful lake atitlan from swimming and kayaking to hiking, paragliding, ziplining, etc.. The local expat and tourist community is very fun and social. As well, one can connect with many meaningful ways to make a difference in local peoples lives.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (18)
I have had an incredible 2.5 weeks at this fantastic workaway with a group of great people! Lake Atitlan has so much to offer and I really enjoyed Jaibalito as a basecamp.
Working with the local kids, swimming in the lake, and helping with construction in a bamboo tree house!!!! These are some amazing highlights for this… read more
Photos
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(4.1)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
Communication:
(4.6)
I have had an incredible 2.5 weeks at this fantastic workaway with a group of great people! Lake Atitlan has so much to offer and I really enjoyed Jaibalito as a basecamp.
Working with the local kids, swimming in the lake, and helping with construction in a bamboo tree house!!!! These are some amazing highlights for this… read more
Perdón por la tardanza en escribir! Pero, que decir de este proyecto? Llegamos en familia, mis dos niñas, mi esposo y yo, para dos semanas... Y nos quedamos un mes y medio! Porque llegamos como voluntarios, y nos fuimos con lágrimas en los ojos y como amigos. 💚
Mil gracias por vuestra preocupación, por las charlas, por la… read more
It was a blast working with the children in the
tree house school/jungle, playing music, walking goats, and experiencing life in the cutest little village of Lake Atitlan! I certainly learned and laughed a lot with them. I would highly recommend taking their classes if you… read more
At the time I was there, there were some problems and the program was not very accurate to the description (not necessarily in a bad way, but might be good to… read more
Thank you very much to welcome me in this beautiful place!
I really liked to spend time with the kids, to cook with Maria and to help in the garden!
I recommend it 200% :)
The school is at the heart… read more
I was mainly helping with cooking yummy healthy food, with the school project (the sweetest kids on earth), but the coolest thing was probably help with making a bamboo bed with the workers.
This is a place that often has more people living there (the… read more
En effet, nous pensions (compte tenu de ce qui était écrit dans l'annonce) être logés dans un appartement au centre de Jaibalito, mais cela n'a pas été le cas.
La nuit se… read more
we felt right at home. this family is quite simply one of our most beautiful volunteer encounters.
the construction is very well organized we were able to learn about bamboo construction at a great pace and well adapted to children.
we discovered temaskal.
we discovered village life, the ukulele and a lot of laughs.
thanks… read more
