Volunteer Opportunity: Amazonian Arts in Ecuador

Location: Tena, Ecuador

Duration: minimum 4 weeks

Start Dates: Start dates are each month, enquire with us when applying.

Cost: $500 for the 1st week + $350 for each additional week

Fee Includes: all food, accommodation, pre-departure + in-country support, orientation and all project related activities

Does not Include: flights, airport pickup, travel insurance, personal spending, visas and vaccinations

Benefits

• Learn about Amazonian cultures through the mediums of art, pottery, jewelry-making, basket weaving, dance, and music
• Incorporate local traditions in art and music with your skills and interests and collaborate on events for the community
• Gain experience in designing and implementing art and music workshops for kids and adults in schools, shelters, and after-school programs
• Practice your own works of art and dance to share with locals and your community back home
• Shadow masters in Amazonian arts, and learn how they use all-natural, plant-based ingredients to create materials
• Research +amp; dissertation support available with partner organizations and universities, if requested
• Keywords: art, art history, culture, design, jewelry-making, dance, music, theatre, weaving, local products, pottery, ceramics, natural products, economic development, sustainable development, indigenous traditions.
  
  

Please note: This opportunity is designed to give you the contacts and experience to help further your career. You are not replacing any member of staff, but helping alongside them, whilst learning new skills. Simply click the APPLY Button to submit your application, and ask as many questions as you need.

Introduction

The Amazon rainforest is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world and has thousands of species of plants, insects, and animals. For thousands of years, Amazonian indigenous peoples have been utilizing the gifts of the Pachamama - Mother Earth - to create art and goods, such as bowls, cups, paints, jewelry, and even clothes. Also, many local dances celebrate the earth for her gifts and others tell stories of life in the rainforest including hunting, animal encounters, falling in love, and marriage.

This internship is a unique opportunity to experience the cultures of the Ecuadorian Amazon through the mediums of art, pottery, music, and dance .Interns support on-going arts projects and have the opportunity to design and implement their own workshops about art, marketing, tourism, or a different topic of interest with locals.

Depending on the needs of the placement, potential internship activities include:

• Learn about the different art forms of the host community and who makes the artisan goods
• Attend music, dance, and storytelling events led by community members
• Hike through agroforestry farms in the forest and collect natural materials for drawing, jewelry-making, dying, and ceramics
• Practice different forms of art with locals, including weaving baskets and bags, making jewelry, wood carving, and more
• Assist local entrepreneurs with design and marketing of their woven goods, jewelry, and other products
• Design and implement arts-based workshops to share with community members
• Design and implement workshops topics related to a topic of interest and that incorporate art as a method of transmitting knowledge; using art to talk about recycling, environmental conservation, leadership, self-esteem, etc.
• Assist with tourism activities, including cooking, preparing cabins, guiding visitors, translating, and explaining on-going art projects
• Organize English lessons with locals who are eager to advance their language skills and receive Spanish and Kichwa lessons from them as well
  
  

An Average Day For An Arts Intern Looks Like

• Wake up and have breakfast with host family (***If you are with a very traditional indigenous family, you can wake up with them at 4 or 5am and share in the ritual of drinking guayusa tea as a family. ALSO, morning is when most families work on making artisan goods.***)
• Head to the chakra (agroforestry farm), activity with local artisan, independent research, and/or assist with tourism activities
• Lunch with host family (***OR: When interns are in the field they can buy lunch or bring a packed lunch***)
• Continue research, finish up daily tasks, and practice weaving, jewelry-making, etc.
• Return home around 5/6 pm for dinner with the family (***We encourage interns to spend as many evenings and weekends as possible with their host families to make the most of their immersions, learn about the culture, and practice their Spanish***)
• Other activities to get involved in after work and on the weekends: sports, clubs, teaching English, meeting up with other interns, going on weekend trips to nearby tourist destinations, swimming in rivers, rafting, hikes to waterfalls and swimming holes, chocolate-making
  
  

Please note: all information above is subject to change. Please check the most up to date information on the Global Nomadic website when applying. Simply follow the link on the Apply Button above.