Long Way Home

Come and learn about green building techniques and immerse yourself local culture, all while helping to construct a school for the community! Long Way Home's volunteer program runs year-round and you can choose the desired length of your experience.

Volunteers take part in our construction crew Mon-Fri 7:30am-4pm and have experiential learning in natural and green building techniques to construct a school campus. Activities may include making cob, compacting tires, cutting glass bottles to make bottle bricks for natural lighting, using natural cactus nopal for sealants, etc.

Volunteers can stay at our shared house in the center of the Mayan community, San Juan Comalapa. The housing includes bed sheets, a compost toilet, a solar shower, a shared kitchen, hammocks, and a book exchange. Food is not included, but generally, volunteers choose to cook communal meals, with purchased fresh products from the local market.

Long Way Home has been hosting service learning groups at our off-the-beaten-track western highland rural location since 2005 and promises rewarding and immersive new experiences. Come and learn about green building techniques and the local culture, all while helping to construct a school for the community!

Service groups take part in our construction crew Monday through Friday 7:30am-4pm. Participants will learn about natural building techniques which may include making cob, compacting tires, cutting glass bottles to make bottle-bricks for natural lighting, using natural cactus nopal for sealants, and more.

In addition to natural building, you will have the opportunity to learn about and experience local indigenous culture through weaving demonstrations, marimba bands, traditional foods, and visits to the local market. This is also a wonderful time to practice your Spanish and perhaps learn some phrases in Kaqchikel, the local Mayan language.

Long Way Home values the energy and enthusiasm that student and professional service groups bring to the project! We offer a variety of packages to accommodate different budgets and schedules. Our most popular package is $600/person and includes the following:

--Round-trip transportation from Guatemala City Airport to San Juan Comalapa. The volunteer coordinator will meet the group at the airport for the group's arrival and drive to Comalapa.
--Six-night stay at our volunteer house, providing both the basics of lodging and a window into an off-the-grid sustainable lifestyle. Private rooms are available.
--Two delicious meals per day, lunch and dinner. Lunch and dinner are prepared by a trusted local family. Breakfast is your responsibility, but of course, we will take one of the group leaders into the market to shop for food as soon as possible after your arrival.
--Cultural night includes local cuisine, an art exhibit, and music performed by local musicians.
--An overnight excursion to Antigua, which includes accommodations and transportation. The excursion js chaperoned by the volunteer coordinator, who will be able to show you around the sites and activities that Antigua has to offer.
Safe drinking water is provided throughout!

The NGO Management Internship is a great opportunity for anyone pursuing a career in non-profit/NGO management, social work, community organizing or political science. Managing a grassroot nonprofit requires wearing many hats: fundraising, marketing, bookkeeping, reporting and managing resources. Your internship with Long Way Home can be tailored to your specific area of interest, but will also give you the opportunity to experience the full gamut of nonprofit administrative tasks.

Participants involved in the NGO Management Internship may expect to assist the community in every way possible. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about grant writing, social media and other creative administrative tasks for a non-profit organization. Interns will research, prioritize, and apply for grants from a variety of foundations and institutions.

Our vision includes investing in future projects with the aim of continually improving the Comalapan standard of living. Our ability to undertake these ventures depends on the success of future grants. We invite interns from a variety of academic and experiential backgrounds to lend their hands and ideas to better the community.

This internship is perfect for those who are interested both in learning about green construction as well as improving their Spanish and sharing their English skills. Although all of our internships provide the opportunity for cultural and language exchange, this internship offers a deeper level of involvement. Interns will not only attend Spanish classes, but will also teach English classes to local community members in order to facilitate mutual and meaningful engagement. Previous teaching experience is not required. This internship experience will be structured so that the intern spends their mornings working with the local crew on alternative construction methods. These activities may include pounding tires with rammed earth, using bottles stuffed with trash to form fences, creating and placing glass bottle bricks, or harvesting cactus pads for a natural sealant. Then in the afternoon the intern will either attend Spanish classes or teach English classes, depending on the set weekly schedule. Even after work hours are over, the intern can continue practicing Spanish with their friendly host family.

Gain a solid background and hands-on experience in sustainable building and construction practices. In one-month you will partake in classroom and on-site learning about key green construction themes - earth, design, structure, power and water. You will incorporate green building materials - bamboo, used tires, eco-bricks, glass bottles, cob/adobe, and plastic - in the construction of a home for a local family in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala!

College credit is available as well as scholarships.

The Academy runs in April and November each year.

See a full description of the course at lwhome.org/academy