Who we are
We are Ned Cresswell and Patricia Rodriguez, with baby Andy. Ned is a biologist from the UK, and Patricia is a local farmer and basketmaker. We live in a beautiful cloudforest area of northern Ecuador called Intag. Chari Agea and Felix Castaneda provide airport pickup and accomodation in quito. We have been providing volunteer placements in TESOL , traditional andean farming and conservation since 2007, aiming to provide authentic and low-cost experiences for visitors wishing to make a difference for local people and the environment.
About the location
Cloudforestadventure is run from our farm Finca San Antonio, in Intag, in northern Ecuador, 3 hours by bus from the town of Otavalo, in the parish of Cuellaje.
Our mission
Our mission is 1. to empower local people to follow the career of their choice and escape the poverty trap. 2. To provide visitors and local people with a chance to inter-act and grow in knowledge and understanding of their own cultures, and also in appreciation of the extraordinary environment of Intag cloudforest.
Our goals
Our goals are to help conserve the exceptional bio-diversity of Intag and healthy way of life of local people. To help visitors gain perspective on their own culture and up-bringing through experiencing an unfamiliar way of life in the Andes.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for individuals who are willing to move outside their cultural "comfort zone", be generous with their time with local people (both as English TESOL teachers, and in home life outside of hours of work) and who are not afraid of living in a rural area with less than perfect internet communications.
Why choose us?
Choose us if you are ready to move on from the sort of touristic experiences that are generally available for a traveller inter-acting primarily with tourist guides and fellow travellers, and living in hotel rooms.
What you will get here is an insight into authentic latin american life and some of the issues that confront ordinary people living in South America, and as a valuable consequence of this experience, the chance -if you wish- to re-evaluate your own culture and beliefs.
What you will not get here is a group of young people all from the same cultural background, speaking english together, and engaging minimally with local people.
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