Volunteer: Amazonian Arts: Pottery, Jewelry, Weaving, Dance, and Music in Ecuador

Duration: Minimum 1 month (flexible for min. 2 weeks depending on intern s qualifications), Maximum 1 year

Start Dates: Project is ongoing, and you can join at any time, depending upon availability

Cost: $450 for the 1st week + $250 for each additional week (2 month minimum is recommended)

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

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.

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 to collaborate on events for the community
• Gain experience in designing and implementing art and music workshops for kids and adults in schools, shelters, and at-risk youth after school programs
• Practice completing your own works of art and dance to share with locals and your community back home
• Shadow masters in ceramics and pottery, and learn how they use all-natural ingredients to create most materials
• Learn about the challenges in commercializing local art forms for economic development and address the knowledge gap in creating a small business
• Forge meaningful relations with locals while living with a host family, immersing and learning from their traditions and point of view
• Participate in and help develop cultural exchange events including ecotourism, medicinal plant remedy workshops, Amazonian Forest to Table Feast, and guayusa tea ceremonies.
• Keywords: art, art history, culture, design, jewelry-making, dance, music, theatre, weaving, local products, pottery, ceramics, natural products, economic development, sustainable development, indigenous traditions.

The Amazon rainforest is home to the most biodiverse ecosystem in the world, teeming with millions 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. 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 project is a unique opportunity to experience the cultures of the Ecuadorian Amazon through the mediums of art, pottery, music, and dance. You will have the chance to live in a homestay in one of our partner communities and learn about the different art forms from locals who have generations of experience in their crafts. In addition, you can participate in and collaborate to support in leading contemporary workshops and classes in an small city that is has influences from all of the different cultures of Ecuador.

You will become part of an Ecuadorian family and community, dive deep into language learning (Spanish and Kichwa!), and create positive local impact while learning about and promoting local forms of art, music, and dance. Also, you will be able to experience life in the Amazon rainforest through unique activities such as weaving baskets out of freshly harvested palms, carving spears and statues from local woods, swimming in waterfalls, making chocolate from fresh-picked cacao, and trekking in the virgin rainforest. Your placement will include staff check-ins and 24/7 on-ground emergency support.

At the start of your program, you will have a 3-day orientation in the city of Tena which is about 4 hours east of Quito, Ecuador s capital city. During orientation workshops, you will start learning about the culture, people, and geography of the region as well as other tools to support you in your project abroad. Here you will also be connecting with other interns that are going to be leaping into a similar experience.

After orientation, you will move in with a local host family in one of the communities surrounding Tena. The distance from Tena can vary depending on which community you are placed in, ranging from 15 to 45 minutes. You will participate in their daily lives, form meaningful connections, and exchange knowledge. You will be a part of many family rituals, like waking up at 6am to make guayusa tea with your host grandmother and interpret your dreams. You will be placed with a family whose members practice different forms of art and/or are a part of different artist organizations.

In this immersive experience, including within your family, you will forge meaningful connections with the artists, musicians, and dancers who continue to create as a way of preserving their traditions and cultures.

Potential Daily Activities May Include

• Apprenticing with a local expert in the art form that you are most interested in
• Attending community pottery or art workshops and eventually assisting to lead the
• Attending music and dance classes led by community members
• Hiking through farms and in the rainforest to collect natural materials for drawing, jewelry-making, and ceramics
• Sharing art forms and dance from your home country with community members via workshops or mini-classes
• Participating in art and dance presentations throughout the province
• Teaching art workshops in local schools and nonprofits that incorporate topics of interest, for example: recycling, environmental conservation, leadership, self-esteem, etc.
• Learning to weave baskets from your host family members that are used for carrying produce recently harvested from the farm back home
• Assist local indigenous associations with design and marketing consultation on their pottery, jewelry, and other art forms
• Completing an art project using local materials and your acquired knowledge, showcasing it during a final project event in your community
• Conducting language tutoring exchanges with community members [English, Spanish]

Your main projects can be complemented by personal research opportunities. If you are interested in conducting research, we can support you and connect you to our network of communities, local art experts, and others to help you create your independent project.

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