Filed under: Environment, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | Tags: carbon footprint, Ecological Service, Ecoservice, ecotourism, Ecotulum, Enchanting Challenge, Enchanting Group, Mexico, reforestation, Spring Break, Summer Break, travelling green, Tulum
It seems to me that something is changing in the tourism-psyche. Now you can’t pick up a Lonely Planet travel guide without noticing their eco-tourism tips, and you can’t go to upstanding hotels without noticing their badges bragging about their green efforts. And you know what, it is all so great. The green movement shouldn’t be about pointing fingers and blaming those who aren’t making green efforts; it should be about making green NORMAL, and helping everyong get to that level.
Right now the movement is in its baby stages; the thought of ecotourism is a seedling thought that is just being planted…But it is growing and it is so exciting to see the movement take shape and gain momentum. It makes me really believe that someday, and someday relatively soon if we all help, being environmental will simply be normal.
There are some great links for those who wish to travel in an eco-friendly way. The first that I can recommend is EcoTrotters, an online community that allows users to search for eco-hotels and eco-destinations, and to then add their own input regarding such environmental travel endeavors. It’s a great site, and hopefully in the future it will become second nature to think of logging onto EcoTrotters when one wants to plan a vacation (because going green does not equal more work, and EcoTrotters proves that!).
Another A-MAZING site to check out for ecotravel is Ecovolunteer.org. This site is not for ecotourism, but rather ecovolunteerism, when one is willing to/wants to spend their vacation serving in an eco-way. It is a great site if one is interested in service–it helps you choose your destination either based on the place or the service work. I definitely recommend it for anyone who wants to do some eco-volunteer work while on vacation!
And OF COURSE, you can join Enchanting Challenge and our sponsored service trips to TULUM, MEXICO; ULAA, CHILE; MENDOZA, ARGENTINA; AND PUERTO MADRYN, ARGENTINA. The first-ever Tulum Educational Ecological Service Trip has concluded, but the next one is currently being planned for July 13th-17th. Contact me at sarahannmaxwell@gmail.com if you are interested in taking part!!! And look out for tomorrow’s post with reflections from Tulum service workers!
Filed under: Environment, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | Tags: bioregion, cenotes, college service trips, eco service, eco-education, eco-tourism, ecotourism, Ecotulum, Educational Ecological Service Trip, Enchanting Challenge, Enchanting Group, Flora Fauna y Cultura.org, Mexico, rainforest reforestation, reforestation, Service, snorkeling, Tulum, volunteer in the rainforest, Zahra
a Flora Fauna y Cultura image of Mexico
Today marks the last day of the Educational Ecological Service Trip to Tulum…But have no fear-this does not mean that you have lost your opportunity to embark on such an adventure! No, we at Enchanting Challenge have decided to make this a BIANNUAL trip, meaning that this year, we will host another Educational Ecological Service Trip in Tulum in JULY. Here’s the scoop:
- Placement type: eco-service, eco-education, eco-tourism
- Location: Zahra hotels in the Ecotulum resort in Tulum, Mexico
- Type of volunteers accepted: university students
- Maximum number of volunteers: 12
- Length of placement: 1 week
About the Service Trip & Locale:
The Ecotulum resorts and spas are located in the heart of Mayan territory in the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula. They are bordered on one side by jungle and by waves of the Caribbean Sea on the other side. The hotels are eco-friendly, with open-air cabana rooms where electricity is turned off at 11 pm every night.
The Ecotulum resorts and spas have always been the most peaceful escape, but now they offer something more: an opportunity to do service while enjoying this magical setting. Service workers will stay at the Zahra Ecotulum hotels for a discounted rate, and participate in ecological volunteer work for most of the days of their stay. Here are the activities that will be part of the service trip:
- Tour through the bioregion
- Snorkeling through the cenotes
- Participating in rainforest reforestation programs
- Helping protect turtle habitats in the Playa del Carmen
- Visiting the Tulum ruins
Flora Fauna y Cultura volunteers working with turtle habitat protection
the mysterious Mayan ruins...check out our last post to learn more about the history and lessons from these ruins...
Each volunteer will stay in a Zahra cabana, and we recommend that each volunteer share the cabana to cut down on the cost of lodging. The hotel chef will prepare 3 meals a day, especially for the volunteers, and can provide vegetarian meals upon request for no extra charge.
Zahra cabanas
Zahra chef goodness!
Zahra restaurant
Cost: We charge Ecotulum service workers a total of $372 for a one-week stay. This price includes all meals, transportation to-and-from the airport (if volunteers arrive between hours of bus operation), transportation to-and-from service activities, snorkeling, and lodging (if the cabana is shared between two people).
Transportation: Volunteers are responsible for getting themselves to Cancun airport. We will then arrange transportation to the Ecotulum resort through the ADO bus and taxis (and chartered buses if volunteers arrive during hours that the ADO bus is not in operation).
If you are interested in participating in this service trip, please contact me! Below is my contact information, and all the ways you can be a part of the Tulum Internet community:
- Email: sarahannmaxwell@gmail.com
- Skype: sarah.ann.maxwell4385
- Twitter: EnChallenge & SarahAnnMaxwell
- Facebook: Tulum-Bound Group & Tulum Event
Keep your eyes peeled for next weeks posts with accounts from this weeks service workers, equipped with photos, videos, and written reflections!
Filed under: Environment, Spring Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | Tags: eco service, ecological service work, Ecotulum, Educational Ecological Service Trip, Educational Ecological Service Work, Enchanting Challenge, Enchanting Group, Mayans, Mexico, Tulum
Eco-Tulum Bound!
This week, the first ever Enchanting Challenge-sponsored eco service workers (Aleigha & Maria) are participating in ecological volunteer work in and around Tulum, Mexico. Their actions are beautiful for a variety of reasons…
First: the value of the lessons learned. As Aleigha and Maria take a tour through the bioregion and snorkel through the cenotes, they will learn of the different plant and animal species that co-exist in this region. Through these experiences, they will undoubtedly gain a deeper respect and understanding of the diversity and fragility of ecosystems–and they will also learn of the necessary precautions humans must take in their interactions with nature.
Second: the importance of their hard-work. As the volunteers greet each new day in Tulum, they will leave the area a little better off than it was before their helping hands arrived. One project they will get involved in is rainforest reforestation with the Flora Fauna y Cultura Organization. Reforestation helps to preserve the world’s biggest global warming preventer: TREES. Trees soak up so much carbon dioxide, and rainforest degradation is releasing all that stored carbon back into the atmosphere…Which is becoming deadly. Rainforest reforestation helps to off-set such damage to our planet and helps to restore our carbon balance, so we are not CO2 crazy, and getting hotter by the minute!!
reforestation efforts in its baby stages for the Flora Fauna Cultura.org Organization!
Third: the shift towards eco-tourism. By choosing to go on an educational ecological service trip during their spring break, Maria and Aleigha are showing that you can have an exotic and sun-tanned spring break, while doing good in their chosen destination. They are proving that fun, relaxation, and volunteering can all coincide.
Fourth: lessons from the Mayans. Tulum sits nestled next to a UN-designated ecological safe haven. It is sidelined by beach, jungle, and ocean. It is a tangle of exotic life, with thousands of species dancing jungle tangoes to weave together this magical, mysterious oasis. But it is not just the wildlife that makes it magical, that makes it such a special place to learn lessons of biodiversity and preservation. It is also the history, of the place, the history of the Mayans, that makes Tulum so special.
When researching the Mayan ruins of the Yucatan Peninsula, I came across an opinion paper written by Institute of World Politics graduate student Joseph Duggan, entitled, “What Lessons Do Ancient Mayan Ruins Have For Legislators Today?” In his paper, Duggan points out how in its day, the Mayan world was the “First World.” He writes that “Mayan engineering was impressive, and Mayan astronomical science was at least as advanced as that of Europe.” Its feats–and its downfall–remain mysteries, to be sure, but one thing is clear: their success was due in part to their realization of their dependence upon the natural world.
Joseph Duggan writes that, “One thing that can be said is that the governing class…was obsessed with environmental issues…Concerned with perceptions on climate change in an economy and political regime that depended on agriculture and fishing and trade, Mayan leaders adopted bold policies for the cause of saving the planet.” So, as we service workers travel to Tulum and work in the rainforests and store away our lessons of the natural world, we must remember that as we gaze upon the ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum, we are gazing upon a lesson from an ancient people that understood an undeniable truth: society’s success depends upon society’s preservation of the natural world that bears our civilizations.
Filed under: Environment, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | Tags: airplane travel, Aviation travel, carbon emissions, ecotourism, Educational Ecological Service Trip, Hot Flat and Crowded, Mexico, Thomas Friedman, Tulum
Here is a beautiful fact: the world-wide middle class is growing exponentially. Across the globe, with an increase in access to technology–and thus, opportunity–standards of living are rapidly rising. Which is an amazing social feat.
However, though this is no-doubt one of the greatest accomplishments of the human race, this also means that carbon emissions are also rapidly rising, as more and more people seek a more comfortable (and consumptive) lifestyle. One of the sources of these increased carbon emissions is the rise in airplane travel. For so long, aviation travel was limited to the most economically fortunate eschelons of society. Now, airplane tickets are relatively affordable, which makes foreign travel a viable option for hundreds of millions of people the world over.
Take China for instance. On page 60 of Hot, Flat and Crowded, Thomas Friedman remarks how,
In 2006, more than 34 million Chinese traveled abroad, a 300% increase from the year 2000, according to Foreign Policy (July-August 2007). By 2020, 115 million Chinese are expected to vacation overseas, which will make them the largest bloc of tourists in the world and will certainly drive more airplane travel, hotel bookings, gasoline use, and CO2 emissions…China alone intends to construct more than 40 large airports over the next several years. In the US, the number of annual airline passengers, already approaching 1 billion, is anticipated to double by 2025. Greenhouse gases from planes could rise to as much as five times curret levels.
Now no one is saying DO NOT TRAVEL. It is an exciting and amazing thing that so many people today can experience different parts of the world, and encounter so many different opportunities. However, the environment can not afford that increase in carbon emissions. The solution: not a stop in travel, but rather a change in the way we travel. The solution lies in Ecotourism.
As Nick wrote in his blog post “Growing” Tourism, the past extravagances of travel (such as indoor skiing in Dubai and golfing in the Palm Desert) seem a bit obsolete now as the extent of their environmental strain becomes clearer and more unjustifiable. Travelers seem to be catching onto the changing tides in the tourism industry and hopping on the ecotourism jet stream, heading for more eco-friendly ventures such as adventure tourism and agritourism. For example, during the week I was in Ulaa on the organic farm, there was a group of Spanish tourists staying in Ulaa’s eco-friendly lodges. When asked if they were enjoying themselves, they explained that YES, when they are on vacation they much preferred to embark upon wildlife vacations filled with the nature that they miss in their daily city/office lifestyles.
The Spanish tourists pointed out an interesting point of view: ecotourism, while being healthy for the environment, can also be healthy for the travelers. It is important to not remove ourselves too much from nature, as we are, afterall, dependent upon nature. Ecotourism journies can help us regain that balance and literal breath of fresh air that we so need and that at times can be so hard to come by. So, it really is true that while you can help the world through ecotourism, you can also help yourself.
Right now, the pioneer volunteers Aleigha and Maria are doing just that on the Educational Ecological Service Trip in Tulum. They are staying in the energy efficient Zahra cabanas, where mosquito nets protect sleepers rather than chemicals and electricity stops buzzing at 11 pm, when it is not really necessary anyways. The girls have made their stay eco-friendly, and also their activities, as today they are snorkeling through cenotes and learning about plant-life and animal-life in the beautiful Tulum Bioregion. they will come away from this experience more aware of their natural surroundings and more aware of how to better interact with the environment. Meanwhile, they are traveling through sunny Mexico, swimming in the Caribbean sea waves and walking through the beach sands. Bettering the world and bettering themselves. Remember, contact me at sarahannmaxwell@gmail.com if you are interested in participating in a future Educational Ecological Service Trip to Tulum!!!
the eco-friendly rooms in Zahra cabanas
the beach outside of Zahra cabanas
the beautiful Caribbean Sea
Filed under: Environment, Spring Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | Tags: bioregion, cenote dos ojos, ecological service work, Educational Ecological Service Trip, Flora Fauna y Cultura, Mayans, Mexico, Rainforest, reforestation, snorkeling, Tulum, Tulum ruins, turtles, Volunteer in Mexico
The past two weeks I have written an Ulaa series, based around the Enchanting Challenge organic farm service opportunity in southern Chile. For this week, I am shifting directions, and focusing on the Educational Ecological Service Trip in Tulum, Mexico, the service trip that begins today.
Today is the very first day of the very first Enchanting Challenge-sponsored sevice trip!!! This is the week of the Educational Ecological Service Trip in Tulum, Mexico, a service trip embarked on by two brave pioneering university students from Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin. Meet the pioneers here:
a picture of Aleigha, one of the Tulum Volunteers, volunteering at the OR on a school break
a picture of Maria, Tulum Volunteer, standing in front of the Eiffel Tower!
Aleigha and Maria arrive in Tulum this evening, where they will get settled and have dinner in the hotel dining room with Gaby, their trip leader! Then they will go to sleep because tomorrow begins their hard work in Tulum and the surrounding areas. Here is what the week has in store for them:
Day 1 (March 17th): A 2-hour tour through the Bioregion, including a visit to the regional school and the camping area, to be followed by snorkeling in the Cenote Dos Ojos!!
a photo of snorkelers at the Cenote Dos Ojos!
Days 2 & 3 (March 18th and 19th): Volunteering with beach clean-up projects, rainforest reforestation projects, and turtle-habitat protection projects, all done with the Flora Fauna y Cultura Organization!
turtles in the Playa del Carmen
Day 4 (March 20th): A visit to the Tulum ruins to learn lessons from the Mayan cultures native to this region.
a photo of the ruins in Tulum
Day 5 (March 21st): Beach Day!! A free day to enjoy the waves of the Caribbean Sea, a reward for a week of service work!
the BEACH and cabanas that the volunteers will stay in
Day 6 (March 22nd): Departure 😦
I think this trip is a wonderful opportunity to experience an exotic place while also leaving the place a little better off than it was before you came. It is the best of both worlds–good for the traveler and good for the destination. As Nick wrote in his blog, ecotourism is a really great way to preserve fragile habitats. I think he says it best when he notes that,
By responsibly allowing rainforests, coral reefs, mountain ranges, and tropical islands to become tourist destinations, we can not only protect these threatened habitats, but provide incentives to permanently preserve them.
Ecotourism is a way to help our world, and the Educational Ecological Service Trip to Tulum, Mexico is a great eco-tourism opportunity! If you are interested in participating in an Educational Ecological Service Trip to Tulum later in the year, please contact me at sarahannmaxwell@gmail.com and I can provide you with all the details!!!
Filed under: Environment, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | Tags: Akumal, bioregion, Cancun, cenotes, Centro Ecological Akumal, college students, Copal Cabanas, eco-serve, Ecotulum, Educational Ecological Service Trip, Enchanting Challenge, library, Mayan ruins, Mexico, serve, Service, Spring Break, Tulum, turtles, Volunteer, Volunteering
The Ecological Educational Service Trip is just about one week away!!! I can not believe that in this whirlwind couple of months in getting Enchanting Challenge on its feet, we are about to embark upon the first ever Enchanting Challenge-sponsored service trip! I am really excited. I am also really excited to share the results with our readers, through written reflections, videos, pictures, and more!! That way, all of our readers can see more clearly what an Enchanting Challenge-sponsored service trip really means…And hopefully be a part of one in the future!!
Meet Gabriela:
She will lead the service-breakers through their ecological volunteer activities in Tulum, Mexico this March!! Here is what the final schedule looks like:
- Monday, March 16th: Arrival to Tulum, via a flight landing in Cancun and a quick trip on the ADO bus!
- Tuesday, March 17th: Visit the Tulum Ruins
(photo taken from this website) - Wednesday, March 18th: Visit and eco-serve in the beautiful BIOREGION, concluded by snorkeling in the bioregion’s CENOTES (holes with a rocky edge containing groundwater)!! Check out this awesome YouTube about scuba-diving in Tulum’s cenotes:
- Thursday, March 19th: Visit Akumal and eco-serve with the Centro Ecologico Akumal!!
- Friday, March 20th: Visit Akumal and volunteer at the library, donating books and reading stories outloud to the patrons!
- Saturday, March 21st: Free day, to celebrate your hard work in the waves of the Caribbean Sea!!
- Sunday, March 22nd: Depart for home…Think about coming back for the Summer Educational Ecological Service Trip or again for next year’s Spring Break!!
Price Recap:
- For lodging: $35/night/person
- For food: $16/day/person
- For transportation to-and-from the airport: $54/per person/total for both-ways (Includes:$10/per person for the ADO bus upon arrival into Cancun; the $4 cab-ride from the Tulum ADO terminal to the Copal Cabanas; the $40 bus charge to bring you from Tulum to the airport in Cancun for your return flight (if you have to be at the airport before ADO bus hours (normal business hours)))
- For transportation daily: $4/person/day
- For activities: $40/person/week (INCLUDES: $10 entrance fee into Tulum ruins and $30 snorkeling fee)
As the service-breakers embark upon their journey in just a little over one week, I will be blogging away, updating you on their journey as it happens. If you are interested in embarking upon this same journey this coming summer, please let me know!!! Good luck to everyone on their spring breaks! If anyone is interested, I am collecting videos, photos, and reflections on service trips happening across the US and across the world in order to compile it all into a service collage for the blog!! If you want to be involved, send me your videos, your pics, and your reflections to be a part of the project!
Filed under: Education, Environment, Family Volunteering, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | Tags: Adventure Camp with the Colorado Youth Program, Break Away, eco service, Educational Ecological Service Trip, Enchanting Challenge, Environmental Service, Get Outdoors Nevada, Habitat for Humanity, Keep El Paso Beautiful, Kids Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup Day, Kids of the Bay, Kids vs. Global Warming, Leave No Trace, Service, Service trip, Sierra Club, Spring Break, Village of Round Lake Beach Beautification Program, Volunteer, voluteerism
“Everthing would be great and everything would be good, if everybody gave like everybody could…” ~My Morning Jacket~
As we all know, we have got to change our world. And it won’t be one person changing the world; it has to be a collective action. If we all do a little, the result will be a domino effect of positive change, the quintessential butterfly effect.
So where can you begin? With spring break just around the corner, I think this week-long vacation is a perfect opportunity for some community work. I don’t mean you have to devote your entire, valuable and rare vacation time to service. But maybe an afternoon of that free week? Or even a day? Imagine the change that could happen if all the university students across the country did a little service work during their spring break. The results would be uncountable.
Okay, so what are your options? Well there are service trips, such as Enchanting Challenge’s Educational Ecological Service Trip to Tulum, Mexico. There are also wonderful service trip opportunities through your university, Break Away, Sierra Club, and Habitat for Humanity.
And if you can’t give your whole break to service? Don’t worry–there are PLENTY of shorter-term options. In yesterday’s post we talked about Leave No Trace eco-service projects you can get involved with, such as educational workshops and/or partnership initiatives with hiking groups and state park services. Leave No Trace focuses on natural restoration, placing nature as the highest priority on our to-do list. On their website they have the beautiful Frank Loyd Wright quote: “I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.” If Mother-Earth is your bag, I recommend contacting Leave No Trace today!
(photo taken from the Leave No Trace website)
Another great place to go for eco-service is your state’s department of conservation! Most of the 50 states have a Department of Conservation, and most of those departments ask for service work to help them accomplish their environmental goals. For example, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources asks its citizens to help them in their forest clean-up efforts. On their website they give their residents the following message:
We can only return our forests to their natural state if we work together to combine our time, energy, and resources to remove existing trash and stop the dumping in our forests.
(photo taken from the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources site)
Once again, a call to collective action. No one can do it alone. If you think you would like to help your state in its wildlife restoration efforts, I encourage you to visit your state’s department of conservation website and notify them of your desire to help!
Even if you feel that Leave No Trace and/or your state’s department of conservation do not offer programs just right for you, they may be able to point you in the right direction. Another great resource to check out is the Sierra Club, as the organization has chapters in all 50 states and all of those chapters have lots of local opportunities for you to devote as little or as much of your time as you please.
Below is a list of some great eco-service initiatives in the US. Unfortunately, they are state-specific, so are not applicable to all of our readers, but it can help give you an idea of what is out there.
Get Outdoors Nevada (NV)
Adventure Camp with the Colorado Youth Program (CO)
Kids of the Bay (CA)
“Kids Adopt-A-Beach” Cleanup Day (CA)
Village of Round Lake Beach Beautificiation Program (IL)
Filed under: Education, Environment, Family Volunteering, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip, Winter Break | Tags: Argentina, Ecological Service, Ecoservice, Educational Ecological Service Trip, Enchanting Challenge, Environmental Service, Leave No Trace, Mendoza, Mexico, Patagonia, Puerto Madryn, Service, Spring Break, Tulum, Volunteer, Volunteer Abroad, Volunteer Locally, Volunteer Work
The clock is ticking: it is officially 3 weeks until the service spring breakers arrive in Tulum, armed and ready for their ecological rescue mission. We are so thankful for these service breakers (and so is Mother Earth!). Remember to check the blog after Spring Break (around March 25th or so) for video footage catching the ecoteers in action! The video clips will get you excited for future Enchanting Challenge service trips (destinations: Mendoza, Puerto Madryn, Patagonia, and MORE!).
BUT, hold the phone: Enchanting Challenge service trips are not the be-all and end-all to service. Rather, they are exciting opportunities within the realm of service. Through this blog and through our website, we seek to show you the world of service, and that world stretches far beyond our borders. Our goal is to bring information about the world of service to your fingertips, and allow you to choose which paths of volunteerism are meant for you.
With time and budget constraints, doing an eco-service trip is not always attainable. Have no fear though, because there are plenty of eco-service opportunities right in your own backyard. Honestly. And one of the best programs is the Leave No Trace State Advocates Initiatives.
(photo taken from the Leave No Trace website)
The Leave No Trace nonprofit organization seeks to educate volunteers and its certified trainers how to care for the Earth and how to enjoy its natural earthly offerings in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way. They accomplish their mission through a number of educational programs and training programs that equip their students, volunteers, and employees with skills needed to teach communities about sustainability and also to lead eco-friendly natural educational adventure missions. Pretty cool, huh?
(photo taken from the Leave No Trace website)
More than likely, the Leave No Trace organization has a state advocacy initiative close to you, as they have partnerships in almost all 50 states! I urge you to visit their state advocacy listings here and see if your state is listed as a partner. If it is, go ahead and contact the represenative point of contact linked next to your state name to find out more about the Leave No Trace activities goin’ on in your neck o’ the woods. And, if your state is one of the few not listed, again–have no fear!!! Simply contact their advocate, Dave, at dave@lnt.org for information about programs available to you in your locale!
Examples of environmental community work that you can partake in through Leave No Trace State Advocacy activities include the following:
-
Training courses to become a Leave No Trace workshop instructor
-
Working with Leave No Trace to partner with local scout troops, hiking groups, and state parks to help each organization become more environmentally aware
-
Blogging for Leave No Trace
If any of these activities sound interesting to you, then you should contact your state Leave No Trace rep today!! It is a GREAT opportunity for local community ecological service!!
Filed under: Children, Education, Environment, Family Volunteering, Language Study, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | Tags: Amigos de Sian Ka'an, Desierto Lavalle, eco service, Ecotulum, Educational Ecological Service Trip, Enchanting Challenge, Fundacion Viviencias Argentinas, Huarpes, Mendoza, Mexico, Spring Break, Tulum
24 Days Until Tulum!
We are busy bees here at Enchanting Challenge, little elves working away in our service-trip workshop!! Plans have come underway to finalize the itinerary of the service spring breakers in Tulum, which is looking action-packed with awesome eco-work! We have exciting news of a partnership with the Amigos de Sian Ka’an , meaning that Enchanting Challenge service breakers will work to fulfill some of the Amigos’ projects, such as wildlife management, bird conservation, and community-based natural resource management. It will be a week filled with fun AND important activities! Enchanting Challenge will film this week of eco-service and post videos on our blogs and websites, so that our readers can learn about these service trips and be inspired to take part in the future.
(photo taken from the Amigos website)
Coming Up Next: Mendoza!
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, if you can not make it to the Tulum service trip in March, do not fear that you have lost your opportunity to embark upon an Enchanting experience!! Our next service trip opportunity will take place in August in Mendoza, Argentina!
Service Trip to Mendoza with Enchanting Challenge
& Fundación Viviencias Argentinas
Attention all study-abroad students, backpackers, ex-pats, and tourists!!! Come join Enchanting Challenge and their Mendocino (meaning from Mendoza) partners at Fundación Viviencias Argentinas this August for a two-week service trip in the Mendoza province. As a re-cap, this is what the trip will entail:
Week One:
Week One will be spent in the city of Mendoza, working with the disadvantaged children of this community. All English-speaking volunteers will stay with a Mendocino family for this week, learning about the Mendocino culture, sharing in the language experience, and eating meals with their host family. During the day, volunteers will work with the children, participating in the following activities:
- Organizing a donation drive for shoes, clothing, toys, and games
- Coordinating and participating in recreational activities
- Assisting children with their school work
- Addressing any health-care needs that are not being met
Week Two:
Week Two will be spent in the Desierto Lavalle, working with the indigenous Huarpes community on various community development projects. 20-25 Mendocino volunteers are expected to go—all school children between the ages of 15-18 from the Colegio San José de los Hermanos Maristas de la Provincia de Mendoza. English-speaking tourist/back-packing/study-abroad/ex-pat volunteers will work side-by-side with their Mendocino counter-parts, taking part in the following activities:
- Organizing a donation drive for shoes, clothing, toys, and games
- Teaching and demonstrating methods for sustainable living and farming practices, such as cooking in a solar-powered kitchen
- Coordinating a donation drive for items necessary in a rural region, such as electricity generators, vaccines, and medications
- Collecting items for school children, such as computers and clothing for uniforms
- Participating in community cultural events and festivities
This experience has the ability to turn your stay in Argentina into something more than just a vacation. It can help give you a profound sense of place, and Argentina will leave its mark upon you as you simultaneously leave your mark upon it. There is perhaps no more rewarding way to travel than through service travel.
Filed under: Children, Education, Environment, Family Volunteering, Language Study, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | Tags: Argentina, Community Development, Desierto Lavalle, Educational Ecological Service Trip, Fundacion Viviencias Argentinas, Huarpe Community, Indigenous Communities, Mendoza, Mexico, Orphans, Service, Tulum, Volunteer
ECOTULUM HERE WE COME!!!
2 students have officially bought their plane tickets to MEXICO for the Educational Ecological Service Trip!!! Hurray!! We are on our way to rainforest reconstruction, learning lessons in sustainability from the ancient Mayan culture, and so much more…4 more students are looking into plane tickets, but there are more spaces awaiting, so just let me know if you want to join in this exciting ecological mission!!!
The students will arrive in Tulum on Monday, March 16th. At the resort, they will be met by the lovely Gabriela Miranda, who will welcome them and help them to settle in. The service breakers will eat a scrumptious dinner on the evening of their arrival, and then will go to sleep in their cabana, getting ready for the first day of service on Tuesday, March 17th.
Service activities will be planned for Tuesday, March 17th; Wednesday, March 18th; Thursday, March 19th; and Friday March 20th. Saturday, March 21st will be a free, do-as-you-please beach day. Go splash in the Caribbean Sea and reward yourself for all your eco-accomplishments during this wonderful week!! The specifics of the service activities will be planned in the upcoming days ahead. (Join in the planning: the first meeting is on our Facebook Group: Tulum-Bound, tonight at 5:30 pm CST!) The options for the activities include a beach clean-up at the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, volunteering in a Mayan hospital and/or Mayan library, a day in the jungle (perhaps accompanied by a biologist!), a day learning and participating in Mayan cultural activities, and a day visiting and learning from Mayan ruins!!
INSPIRATION
Check out the amazing site “Imaginative Traveller” for inspiration on why service vacations are the MOST rewarding and the MOST fun!! As the volunteer-trip organizer Bruch Haxton sums up, “There is a huge amount of fun [in service trips] and people don’t always understand that. It is about having fun & doing something worthwhile at the same time.”
MORE ON THE DOCKET…
If you can not come to the Educational Ecological Service Trip in Tulum this March, do not despair, for there are a handful of other exciting Enchanting Challenge opportunities just around the corner! The next one takes place this August in Mendoza, Argentina. Here is a profile of the Mendoza program scheduled for August.
Fundacion Viviencias Argentinas
For the Mendoza service trip, Enchanting Challenge will partner with Fundacion Viviencias Argentinas, a foundation that has been running service trips for the past 10 years in Mendoza. This year they have decided to open their doors and welcome anyone to do service with them, which is where Enchanting Challenge comes in! We at Enchanting Challenge want to invite any interested parties in joining on this lovely adventure to serve the Mendoza community. Together on this trip we will spend one week working with orphans and disadvantaged families in the city of Mendoza. After one week we will trek out to the nearby Desierto Lavalle (also in the Mendoza province) for another week, where together we will work with the indigenous communities, participating in various community development activities. Read below for a list of activities that will be covered in these two weeks.
Working with Orphans and Disadvantaged Families in the City of Mendoza
During our one week in Mendoza, we will do a number of community-enriching activities with the children of Mendoza. These activities will include the following:
-
Helping with school work
-
Helping with health care needs
-
Organizing donation drives for clothing, shoes, toys, games, and more
-
Organizing and participating in recreational activities
Working in the Desierto Lavalle
For the second week of the Mendoza service trip, our group will head into the Desierto Lavalle, where we will work with the Huarpes Community, an indigenous community native to this region. We will participate in the following activities:
-
Organizing donation drives for shoes and games for more than 35o children (a tall task, but one that I know we can accomplish)
-
Organizing donation drives for the fundamental elements necessary for rural life, such as electricity generators, medicines, and vaccines
-
Organizing donation drives for school-children’s needs, such as clothing and computers
-
Helping to teach energy efficient living and farming practices, such as cooking in a solar kitchen, sustainable planting and harvesting methods, and methods to increase the quality of the drinking water
-
Participating in the important cultural events of this region
Contact Me if You are Interested!!
The two core parts of the Mendoza service trip–the week in the city and the week in the desert–come together to create a rejuvenating and rewarding experience. Volunteers on this trip will stay in homestays, making it a cultural experience as well!!! For more information on the Mendoza service trips, check out Agustin’s blog here. If you are interested in joining this trip, please contact me at sarahannmaxwell@gmail.com and I can give you more details!!! And, most touching and exciting of all, check out pictures of this service trip here and here. They will melt your heart!!!
The Enchanting Challenge Blog 