from 1,809€

Outstanding 5rating (26)

Join the Food Revolution

location
1 - 1 weeks  ·  Age 18 - 50+

rating  Outstanding 5  · 
  Verified by Volunteer World
  Below average response rate

Highlights

  • Get to know Ecuador’s iconic capital, Quito, while sampling sweet canelazo along La Ronda, learning español with Yanapuma Spanish School, and giving salsa a spin!
  • Connect with food activists at Fundación Brethren y Unida (FBU) to get the dirt on organic farming and how Indigenous knowledge is inspiring sustainable agriculture.
  • Immerse yourself in Tsa’chila culture and grow a food forest with the community on Ecuador’s Pacific Slope.
  • Hike in the shadow of Volcán Corazón in the heart of the Andes and taste highland honey with our partners at Bee Farm Shunku.
  • Make memories you will never forget and lifelong friends

Especially suitable

Age 18+
Singles
Couples
Groups
50+

About the program

We’ll eat cacao straight out of the pod, taste farm fresh honey, and see what it means to start a food revolution!

Ecuador is the first country to call for food sovereignty in its constitution but what do policies like these actually mean for the people who grow, process and cook our food? To answer this question, we’ll look everywhere from the culinary hustle and bustle of Quito to the quiet pastures of ...

About the program

Ecuador is the first country to call for food sovereignty in its constitution but what do policies like these actually mean for the people who grow, process and cook our food? To answer this question, we’ll look everywhere from the culinary hustle and bustle of Quito to the quiet pastures of Ecuador’s highlands and tropical food forests on the Pacific slope. We’ll meet everyone from educators and activists to farmers and chefs. We’ll find ambitious communities, innovative organizations and talented producers planting the seeds of change for food justice all across the country. 

Our volunteer programs take a learning-first approach. We combine an educational program with collaborative community service so that travellers can explore the local history, context, and challenges while contributing to local solutions. Here are some of the community partners we will work with on this program:

-The Fundación Brethren y Unida is a non-profit organization established in 1953 to serve campesino families in the development of social, education, and economic alternatives to better their lives with solidarity and respect for the environment. The FBU works with youth on environmental programs and re-forestation initiatives while promoting cultural exchange and volunteer placements in small communities. 

Bee Farm Shunku is an eco-friendly farm in the heart of Ecuador’s highlands. Their principle goals are the protection of honey bees and the conservation of the highland wilderness. They work through education and interpretation with visitors, tourists, and volunteers. They run a self-sustaining lodge and coordinate workshops and activities including yoga, meditation, beekeeping (something that participants are invited to help with), farming, and reforestation.



Typical day

Program itinerary

* This is a preliminary itinerary. The final itinerary may change a little based on the needs of our partners and new opportunities which present themselves. This should give you a really good idea of what the program will look and feel like.

Day 1-3: Orientation in Quito
Our program ...

Typical day

Program itinerary

* This is a preliminary itinerary. The final itinerary may change a little based on the needs of our partners and new opportunities which present themselves. This should give you a really good idea of what the program will look and feel like.

Day 1-3: Orientation in Quito
Our program starts in Ecuador's cosmopolitan capital of Quito. Following airport pickups, we'll get settled into our own little corner of the city's "centro historico" and get acclimatized to the sights, sounds, and smells of the region. We'll learn the lingo with the Yanapuma Spanish School, an incredible social enterprise that also works to promote education and community-based development in Ecuador. After class, we'll scavenge the local markets, taste sweet canelazo, chow down on delicious patacones, and maybe take a salsa lesson on La Ronda.

We'll also begin to explore the fight for food justice at its roots. So, get ready to unpack Ecuador's colonial history and see where culture, ecology and cuisine all come together!

Day 3-5: Putting the "Culture" Back in Agriculture in Tabacundo
Next, we'll take a little trip up to the town of Tabacundo where we'll meet la Fundación Brethren y Unidad or FBU for short. Here, Alfredo and his team have been a leader in community-based development and sustainable food production since the 1970s. For 2 days, we'll get to work alongside our friends on a quiet 20-hectare hacienda and get the dirt on organic farming and agro-ecology. They'll definitely have a thing or two to teach us in their large vegetable garden, blackberry plantation, tree nursery, and animal pastures. Plus, we'll get the chance to eat delicious food and learn how these projects reflect a unique form of resistance and cultural revindication for Indigenous communities in Ecuador. 

Day 5-7: Food Forests in Santo Domingo
About a four-hour bus ride from Quito is the province of Santo Domingo on Ecuador's pacific slope. We'll spend our time here learning about the power of ecotourism with our friends at the Yanapuma Foundation, who work shoulder to shoulder with the community-based tourism centre Shino pi Bolon in the Bua community. This group of Indigenous Tsa'chila are working to preserve their cultural heritage through small-scale community tourism and sustainable agriculture. 

We'll get back to the basics as we stay with local families or community lodges, eat hearty home-cooked meals and continue to get our hands dirty. We'll taste cacao fresh out of the pod and learn to grow a food forest - literally a forest of food! This is our opportunity to exercise our inner farmers and really immerse ourselves in Tsa'cila culture!

Day 7-9: Disorientation with the Bees at Bee Farm Shunku
To complete our journey, we'll pay a visit to a little known family farm and apiary called Shunku. This husband-wife team have dedicated themselves to saving Ecuador's bees and to preserving its once pristine highland forests. In their kind company, we'll kickback, relax, and re-acclimatize to the highlands. When we're not reading a book in our own little bunkies on the farm, we'll play in the dirt, grow some veggies, talk conservation, or even join Gabriela in the apiary to learn how to make that delicious sticky syrup called honey. 

Then, after recharging our batteries and reflecting on how to bring the food revolution home, we'll head back to Quito where our adventure started and say a fond farewell!


Free-time activities

When we aren’t learning and working with our incredible grassroots partners, we have planned all kinds of fun activities and excursions to integrate ourselves in the local culture. We have also scheduled plenty of time for you to explore your own interests. 

Some examples of activities:
- Taking ...

Free-time activities

When we aren’t learning and working with our incredible grassroots partners, we have planned all kinds of fun activities and excursions to integrate ourselves in the local culture. We have also scheduled plenty of time for you to explore your own interests. 

Some examples of activities:
- Taking salsa/cooking classes
- Visiting museums and historical centres
- Going for hikes
- Shopping at local markets

Requirements

Requirements

Minimum Age: 18 years

In order to join the program you need to be at least 18 years old on the program start date. There might be exemptions if you can provide the permission of your legal guardian(s) or if your are accompanied by your parents.

Language Skills

You need to speak English (basic level)

Nationality Restrictions

No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.

What's Included

What's Included

Services by Operation Groundswell

Each of our programs include:

  • A comprehensive program itinerary and educational curriculum focused on the issues facing your specific region

  • Experienced, thoughtful and caring program leaders and facilitators with you 24 hours a day

  • All lodging and accommodations, carefully chosen to reflect the place and program

  • Three local meals a day that showcase regional cuisine from meals homemade by our friends to the favourite restaurant down the street

  • All group tours, entrance fees, and excursions like cooking and language classes

  • All group transportation on the ground in vetted (and varied) modes of getting around

  • Regular discussions and workshops to help you internalize and reflect on your experience

  • Support from OGHQ whenever you need it, however you need it from financial assistance to flights

Airport Pickup at Mariscal Sucre International Airport

Your program leaders will pick you up on the first day of the program at Mariscal Sucre International Airport and transport you a short ways to our hostel in Quito. Your program leaders will also drop you off at the same airport on the last day of program. 


Accommodation

This is not a vagabond’s adventure nor is it a five-star jetsetter’s cruise. We will be sleeping and eating as a team in diverse accommodations from hostels, and guesthouses to rural homestays. We’ll break bread together at family dinner tables, local restaurants, community kitchens, or perhaps just around the fire. Ethical travel and community immersion will allow us to get at the roots of food in Ecuador, though it may mean living without some of the comforts of home. Be prepared for some dirty days, cold showers, and lumpy beds… but all served with some tasty treats!

Food & Beverages

We provide at least three local meals a day that showcase regional cuisine from meals homemade by our friends to the favourite restaurant down the street, as well as all the potable drinking water you can drink. You are responsible for any other snacks and drinks. We do out best to provide for all dietary needs.

Internet Access

Limited access at the project site

What's NOT included?

What's NOT included?

Flight Tickets

The nearest airport is Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) in Quito. We assist you to find cheap flights to Ecuador. FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS

Travel Insurance

Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - a travel insurance for Ecuador provides security and is a plus to have. GET A QUOTE

Vaccines

If you are intending to volunteer in Ecuador you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Ecuador. VACCINE CHECKER

Details on arrival

  • OCTOBER 7 - OCTOBER 15, 2023
Availability
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Program fees

1 week 2 days 1,809€
Average fees 1,407€/week

Program fees

1,407€ per week 1 - 1 weeks Age 18 - 50+

Payment methods

Visa Master Card Maestro American Express PayPal

NO CREDIT CARD FEES


Duration

1 - 1 weeks

Deposit

The deposit is simply to reserve your volunteer placement. Payments are handled by PayPal, our trusted global payment provider. If you don't have a PayPal account, you can also pay using a credit card.


Final Payment

Your final payment will be agreed with Operation Groundswell during the application process. Common solutions are either via bank transfer or a cash payment at the project site.


Meet your organization

Operation Groundswell

Outstanding 5 rating (26 reviews)

Agency - founded in 2016

Verified by Volunteer World

  Below average response rate

Coordinated by

Evelyn

About the project

We go backpacking with a purpose! Our programs combine cross-cultural dialogue, critical learning, community service, and of course, travel and adventure!

Meet your organization

Is voluntourism helping or hurting what people called ‘the developing world’? Is there a way for visitors to positively contribute to local initiatives while also thinking critically about international development? What’s the best ice cream flavour, really?

In 2006, we boarded a flight to Accra, Ghana seeking answers to these questions and so many more. When we touched down, we were hit with a barrage of sights, sounds, and smells that shattered our preconceived notions of the ‘global south’. Rather than stumbling into a crumbling landscape, we were greeted by a beautiful, bustling city, rich with culture and brimming with innovation.

At the same time, we could see some of the challenges local communities were grappling with. Why does poverty continue to plague so much of the world while billionaires multiply and millions pour into international development projects that don’t seem to make a difference? We heard that governments, charities, and international organizations often pushed their own agendas without consulting the communities they said they were ‘helping.’

We learned that projects were much more likely to succeed if they were carried out in collaboration with the community. Not as a handout, not as charity – but in solidarity.

We started talking to local NGOs and community leaders about what their real needs were. We cultivated relationships with grassroots organizations, community leaders, and local governments. We began to build a program that wouldn’t just plop a volunteer into a project they knew little about. Instead, we would take a learning-first approach. We would combine an educational program with collaborative community service so that travellers could explore the local history, context, and challenges while contributing to local solutions.

Since that first pilot program in West Africa, OG has run hundreds of programs in more than 20 countries around the world. With all of this experience, we have expertly designed programs that navigate the inherent risks that come with embarking on such an awesome adventure. We bring cool, caring people together who want to explore the world while actively learning to change it for the better. We’re sparking a movement of globally active and socially conscious travellers.

Accessible, responsible and immersive travel is our mission. Go to our website to learn about our financial support options including our Financial Needs Grants that can cover up to 25% of your program fee.

Email us to join our mail list or for the application for our Financial Needs Grant: mail@operationgroundswell.com.

26 reviews · rating5

Vicki rating5

2019 at Join the Food Revolution

Visiting Ecuador and focusing our trip on food revolutions was educational, spiritual, and amazing! You are participating in community service that is requested by the partners you are working with so when you leave it is not as if you are leaving halfway completed projects that will never be ...
Julia rating5

2018 at Join the Food Revolution

The program allowed us to get to know the culture of Ecuador within the first few days. Leaving the main city to explore other communities and connect with locals on a "family like" level really made the trip. Also there is a lot of hands on work here so you are able to get even more out of the ...
Meng rating5

2018 at Join the Food Revolution

This was my first time to South America and really my first time travelling and it was the best experience I have ever had. Ecuador is beautiful and every town we visited was gorgeous and absolutely so welcoming. The food was great, local, and fresh!!! I learned so much from visiting OG's partners ...
Ramona rating5

2018 at Join the Food Revolution

This was my second trip with OG and the satisfaction level remained very high! Yet again, I came out with another group of amazing friends, a unique experience and story to share, and many joyful memories that I continue to reflect on today. OG really sets up their programs to help you gain ...
Holly rating5

2018 at Join the Food Revolution

This was my second program with Operation Groundswell and it was just as amazing as my first experience. This trip was speical to me because my friend and I had met on our previous OG trip and actually planned to apply for this program together. There is something about these programs that opens up ...
I will remember this trip for the rest of my life. My partner and I planned to go 2 years ago, we actually won an Instagram contest haha but it was cancelled due to COVID. We finally made it happen April 23 - May 1! I remember sitting in a coffee shop, submitting our applications and being both ...

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