Recognising family homes as the cornerstone for improving lives and developing communities; we provide individual families with a safe and sustainable home.
We are a USA-based non-profit organisation founded to build homes and improve the lives of the rural poor in Guatemala. In the poorest areas of highland Guatemala; improper building materials; a lack of appropriate resources; and unsustainable architectures turn houses to foul rubble in the blink of an eye. Many families live in makeshift homes that are constructed of nothing more than cornstalk; cardboard; or plastic walls with dirt floors. Decrepit housing quashes hope; fuels health problems; and destroys family unity.
We recognise that flourishing homes and thriving communities begin with improving actual home structure. We work with the poorest of Guatemalan families to build houses making them strong; safe; culturally appropriate; and affordable to maintain. Building a home for a poor Guatemalan family takes about 5 working days to construct. This home is an all cinder block home; with a cement floor; corrugated metal roof with skylight; a metal door and a window with glass.
You will be working alongside our Guatemalan staff and other volunteers from local Spanish schools in beautiful Antigua; Guatemala.
We supply bottled water and provide transportation to the work-site. We can arrange for your living accommodations while you are in Antigua with a Guatemalan host family or provide a list of websites of local hotels. Accommodation is relatively cheap in Antigua and it is an excellent location to learn Spanish as part of your trip.
None
Antigua
Year round with the exception of national holidays. We are closed for the last two weeks in December and during Holy Week.
5 work days minimum
Children; teenagers; adults and seniors of both sexes (minors must be accompanied by parent or guardian).
No construction experience needed; just a desire to help the poor. The work will be mostly manual labour so you must be physically fit.
We request a donation to the poor of US$500 per volunteer (only for participants 13 years old and above); regardless of the amount of time spent with us. We use this donation to help our other programs such as our school and health clinic along with other challenges identified in the communities we work in. The donation also pays for transportation costs to the work site (airport pick-up) and bottled water. Volunteers are responsible for their own accommodation and lunch. We can arrange for you to stay with a host family if you desire. A host family typically charges US$150-200 per week and they provide 3 meals a day; every day except Sundays. The lunch provided by the host family can be the lunch you take to the work-site. If you would rather stay in a hotel or hostel we can help you find accommodation. You will need to pay for your own meals if this is the case.
