Volunteer at the Artisan Shop in Ecuador
In the Artisan Shop in Ecuador of Renée and Mariana you can work as a volunteer in the arts and crafts, and thereby develop your artistic skills. Working in the shop, you can learn the techniques of Ecuadorian arts and crafts and create your own jewelry! Furthermore you can help creating income for the local people with your volunteer work.
While you learn to make crafts and jewellery, you alsoo will learn about the culture and history of Ecuador. The Taller group began work ten years ago and acted as a catalyst in the community, when they consciously created an environmentally sustainable source of income in the community.
Mariana and Renee started the Artisan Shop
Mariana and Renee now sell modern and traditional jewellery and crafts made from seeds and other materials that they sustainably grow and harvest in the cloud forest.
Work at Artisan Shop in Ecuador and help creating income for the local people
While you are working as a volunteer in the artisan shop, you also will learn to make crafts and jewellery from seeds and natural materials. During your experience, you will as well learn about the history of reforestation efforts in the community and the indigenous story of the Yumbo people. If you are an artsy, want to help a low-income community and be close to their culture, this is a perfect match for you to do all of this and be immersed in a new culture and language!
You may combine the work with other volunteer projects
Iko Poran offers a wide range of activities for volunteers in the village Last Tolas in the cloud forest of the Ecuadorian Andes. You can choose whether you would rather teach English at the school, work in the vegetable gardens or nurture the herbal garden with medicinal plants. If you want to engage in ecology and environmental protection, you can plant trees as part of the reforestation project, or work in the nursery.
You can even plant coffee trees and pick coffee beans or milk the cows on the farm. For gentle tourism, you can help create footpaths in the cloud forest and much more. Volunteers have a very personal experience with a flexible approach, which guarantees that different volunteering activities can be chosen and tried during their placements.
Start Dates & Duration
Projects in Ecuador start on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month.
The bus from Quito to the community departs at 5:00pm everyday and the community together with host families greet volunteers when they arrive. You usually arrive in Quito over the weekend to get the bus on Saturdays or Sundays. You can choose to volunteer from 1 to 12 weeks.
Orientation
Orientation takes place on Monday, or on the next day after the arrival if you arrive in a different day.
Fees
- The program fee is paid directly to the host organization.
- All of the projects incur a registration fee of U$ 199.00 on top of the program fee.
What is included in the program fee?
- Orientation
- Accommodation for all projects
- 3 meals per day
- Support from local staff & Program supervision
- In-country 24/7 support throughout your stay
- In-country administration costs
- Donation to support the local project
There are no hidden costs. These projects are the most affordable to volunteer in Ecuador.
Iko Poran is an NGO based in a developing country. We are dedicated to helping you help others, at the lowest possible price. We are interested in making volunteering abroad more accessible so that more people can help do really important work.
Participants in our Ecuador programs normally find US$ 20 to be sufficient for weekly expenses in the country.
The program fee should be paid to the host country and it is due 30 days before the project start date.
Please bring small bills to the community; it is hard to find change sometimes.
Accommodation
Location:
The project is in a rural community set in the beautiful Ecuadorian cloud forest in the Andean mountains to the north of Ecuador. It is 2,5 hours by bus from Quito, Ecuador’s capital.
Brimming with exciting activities for adventurous travellers, a variety of important volunteer and learning opportunities, and a community grassroots reforestation program. It is a trend-setting community, deeply rooted in the traditions of its Yumbo ancestors.
Accommodation & Meals
You are provided with a private room and three traditional Ecuadorian meals per day. The village is centred around a street, which runs through the middle and most of the homestays will be around this and the centre of the village, within a 5 minute walk. During your homestay you will experience the tranquillity and kindness of Ecuadorian lifestyle, culture and cuisine. We can cater for vegetarians and other dietary requirements.
Volunteer Requirements
You must be at least 18 years old at the start of the placement. Exceptions can be made for under 18’s accompanied by a guardian or with a parental consent.
All volunteers must have adequate volunteer travel insurance.
Language Requirements for Ecuador Volunteers
Knowledge of basic Spanish is desired but not a pre-requisite. You will already learn a lot staying with a local family, but if you would like to speed up your learning, we recommend that you take advantage of a very affordable Spanish course taught by a lady from the community: only U$ 5 per hour.
Safety
Ecuador has quickly become the safest country in Latin America (South and Central America). You feel totally safe and confident to explore the country.
The community is perfectly safe, but when in Quito you should take some precautions and be careful with your possessions.
More Volunteer Opportunities in Ecuador
Find our full program to volunteer in Ecuador here.
More Projects abroad with Arts & Crafts
Visit our page with arts volunteering projects in more countries, like Brazil, Tanzania and Ethiopia.