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Ulaa Series: Volunteer Opportunities at Ulaa

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

img_3376Life at Ulaa

For the past three days, Nick and I have been doing our city-slicker best to help out at the Ulaa farm in any way we can.  These are some of the tasks we have been charged with:

  • Picking apples, plums, blackberries, walnuts, tomatoes, and peas
  • Brushing down the horse
  • Feeding the chickens
  • Fishing for our dinner (rainbow trout!)
  • Helping to prepare all the meals (which include cobblers made with hand-picked fruit from the garden, baked pumpkin also picked from the garden, and fresh, home-made bread)

Not too bad of a life, eh?  I have been going to bed each night completely tired, feeling like the day was completely lived, and waking up completely ready to begin a new day in this beautiful place.

The History of Ulaa

Martin, the amazing Ulaa-caretaker, arrived on the banks of Lago Puelo Inferior 10 months ago.  It was then that he found Ulaa, beautiful and majestic, but sad and lonely with no one to tend her fields.  So Martin the Mountain Man set to work.

His first order of business was to clean house.  He took action beautifying the log cabins for the tourists and volunteers.  His second order of business was to give the farm some tender loving care.  He and his sidekick, Chardo, planted gardens and nursed the potato and raspberry fields back to life.  Now, not even a year later, the potato beds are thriving; heads of lettuce are popping up out of the ground; tomatoes and basil are growing side-by-side; the trees are dripping with apples, plums, walnuts, and blackberries; onion bulbs are bursting through the soil; pumpkins are plump and ripe; the roosters are cock-a-doodling, and so much more…

The only thing is, Martin needs help!!!

The Future of Ulaa

Ulaa is currently open for travelers and tourists to stay and enjoy a cozy, natural setting and home-cooked meals.  Tourists and travelers can stay in the rustic and gorgeous Ulaa cabins for only $70/night, and enjoy home-cooked food picked from none other than MARTIN, and of course picked fresh from the Ulaa gardens.  It really is an incredible experience for travelers and tourists…

However, with so much growing, and so much potential to grow more, Martin and Chardo don’t have enough hands to cover it all.  They would LOVE if volunteers came to help them out.  We are currently in the process of planning the service sector of Ulaa, but here is the general idea:

The goal is to have 5 service workers here at all times, helping this farm world go round.  The service workers would live on the Ulaa site, eat here with the Ulaa family, and of course contribute to the daily work (such as those not-so-bad tasks I mentioned before, like picking succulent fruit from the vine and fishing in a pure mountain lake).  We are aiming for agritourism, and hopefully volunteers could stay for free, although nothing has been officially decided.  (I will let you know as soon as it is in stone!)  Service workers could stay for as long or as short of a time as they would like.  We at Enchanting Challenge will use organizations like WWOOF to get the word out, but if any blog readers out there feel that this is the opportunity for them, please at sarahannmaxwell@gmail.com.

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Posted in Education, Environment, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Ulaa Service, Winter Break | No Comments »

Ulaa Series: Tracing Our Path to Ulaa

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

Our journey to Ulaa began in crazy, crowded, and cosmopolitan Buenos Aires.  It was there that we hopped on board a crowded bus that would take us to the international bus station in 45 minutes time, where we would then board a double-decker cross-country bus that would take us on a 20-hour journey southbound.  We were armed with a hiking backpack loaded with hiking gear and warm clothes for the Patagonian mountains, and enough food to last us until we arrived in Ulaa, an estimated 30 or so hours away.

At 5 pm on Saturday our bus pulled out of the station and hit the road.  As the sun set, we sped through the Argentine pampas, farmland run by gauchos, or Argentine cowboys.  Cows grazed freely across miles of fields, drinking from pure water ponds. 
Night fell and we could no longer see the animal characters of the landscape.  We closed our eyes and fell asleep.

We opened our eyes just as the sun was rising above the farmland.  The terrain had become more desert-like, and the vegetation looked a little parched.  Soon we were passing by massive rock formations that gave way to imposing, jagged mountains.  The bus wove its way across the mountain roads, kicking up dust and sand in its path.

Then we reached Bariloche, with its green mountains and clear lakes.  At the bus station in Bariloche, a backpacker’s hub to be sure, we boarded a smaller bus to take us 3 hours south to Lago Puelo.  The bus scotted through the rain down even more isolated mountain paths, massive ridges surrounding the valley roads we took.

We arrived at Lago Puelo at 5:45 pm on Sunday, 25 hours after we had left Buenos Aires, but the journey was not yet over.

We hopeed into a remis, or an unofficial taxi, and our driver, Sergio, ferried us to the port.  There we boarded a small motorboat driven by a Senor Claudio, who guided us across the waters of Lago Puelo.  We flew up and down with every bump and every wave.  When the water got too rocky to motor through, Claudio parked the dinghy and led us to the beach. We all helped each other jump from stone-to-stone until we reached a calmer part of the water where Martin would come pick us up from the other side of Lago Puelo, the Chilean side.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CviKRxOmFaU]

“Okay, chicos!” Claudio said as he bade us farewell kisses, promising that Martin was on his way.  We certainly hoped that he was right because all we could see were rocks and lake!  And sure enough, within minutes of Claudio’s departure, Martin arrived on another small motorboat, the one that would carry us to Ulaa.

We boarded the second boat and cruised across the water, surrounded on all sides by majestic mountains and low-lying, mysterious-looking fog. 

And there she was: Ulaa.  The wooden cabin arose out of a mountain at the edge of Lago Puelo.  Martin docked the boat and we disembarked.  After three bus rides, one taxi ride, and two boat rides, we had found Ulaa!  And we were ready to begin planning ways for you to see her beauty as well…

Keep your eyes peeled for tomorrow’s post on the Ulaa activities we are taking part in and plotting for you to take part in!! 

PS: I promise that your journey to Ulaa does not have to be as complicated as our’s was…For instance, you could take an airplane to Bariloche, cutting about 18 hours from your journey…However, taking the long way certainly does add a sense of adventure to the whole journey!!

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Posted in 17434518, Animals, Education, Environment, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Ulaa Service, Winter Break | No Comments »

Ulaa Series: Welcome to Ulaa!

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

img_3433

This week my boyfriend~fellow Enchanting Challenge blogger Nicholas Cunningham~and I are in the Chilean paradise of Ulaa.  Ulaa is an organic farm founded by the Enchanting Group and run by the amazing Ulaa care-taker, MARTIN.

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Ulaa sits nestled into a mountainside overlooking a crystalline lake and river: Lago Puelo Inferior and Rio Puelo.  The Rio Puelo runs into the Pacific Ocean, carrying schools of 20-pound salmon in its streams.  The log cabin of Ulaa is heated by a wood-burning fire and electricity comes on for 4-5 hours a day.  The water for bathing is heated over the fire,and when it is not heated it is ice cold and pure.  The cabin’s main room has a wall of windows where you can sit by the fire, mesmerized by the blues and greens of the waves down below, gently moving the sea grasses in their wake.  With the smells of the fire and the gentle chill of the lake winds, you will feel so close to nature here.  No cell phones ringing, no pullution, no television blaring.  You are brought back into balance.  It is Heaven.

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The Enchanting Group wishes to open up Ulaa into a service opportunity where traveleres can come and stay in the cabins for no charge as long as they participate in the daily farm work.  The travelers can come back into nature and rest in the beautiful rustic Ulaa cabins as long as they help tend the potato fields, the pumpkin patches, the tomato greenhouses, the raspberry bushes, and the fruit tree orchards.  All the crops are organically grown and just need to be tended with loving care by those who are interested in learning more about our food and our Earth.  To serve at Ulaa is a beautiful opportunity, and if you are interested in agritourism and agricultural service and education, this may be the perfect place for you.

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This week, Nick, Martin, and I are working together to form a plan to bring service learners and workers to Ulaa.  During this week, I will write an Ulaa Series that will be updated daily, keeping all our readers notified of the progress and updates of the Ulaa plan.  As I mentioned before, we are working on constructing a service program for agricultural service, but we are also thinking and brainstorming for medical service programs, dental service programs, and even a service program for authors, all here at Ulaa!!  Please write me or comment on the blog if you have any comments, quetsions, and/or suggestions.  We would love nothing more than if our readers were a part of the planning process for this up-and-coming Enchanting Challenge-sponsored service trip!!

* All photos taken by Nicholas Cunningham *

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Posted in Animals, Education, Environment, Family Volunteering, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Winter Break | No Comments »

Leave No Trace

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

The clock is ticking: it is officially 3 weeks until the service spring breakers arrive in Tulum, armed and ready for their ecological rescue mission.  We are so thankful for these service breakers (and so is Mother Earth!).  Remember to check the blog after Spring Break (around March 25th or so) for video footage catching the ecoteers in action!  The video clips will get you excited for future Enchanting Challenge service trips (destinations: Mendoza, Puerto Madryn, Patagonia, and MORE!).

BUT, hold the phone: Enchanting Challenge service trips are not the be-all and end-all to service.  Rather, they are exciting opportunities within the realm of service.  Through this blog and through our website, we seek to show you the world of service, and that world stretches far beyond our borders.  Our goal is to bring information about the world of service to your fingertips, and allow you to choose which paths of volunteerism are meant for you.

With time and budget constraints, doing an eco-service trip is not always attainable.  Have no fear though, because there are plenty of eco-service opportunities right in your own backyard.  Honestly.  And one of the best programs is the Leave No Trace State Advocates Initiatives. 

leave-no-trace(photo taken from the Leave No Trace website)

The Leave No Trace nonprofit organization seeks to educate volunteers and its certified trainers how to care for the Earth and how to enjoy its natural earthly offerings in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way.  They accomplish their mission through a number of educational programs and training programs that equip their students, volunteers, and employees with skills needed to teach communities about sustainability and also to lead eco-friendly natural educational adventure missions.  Pretty cool, huh? 

leave-no-trace-2(photo taken from the Leave No Trace website)

 More than likely, the Leave No Trace organization has a state advocacy initiative close to you, as they have partnerships in almost all 50 states!   I urge you to visit their state advocacy listings here and see if your state is listed as a partner.  If it is, go ahead and contact the represenative point of contact linked next to your state name to find out more about the Leave No Trace activities goin’ on in your neck o’ the woods.  And, if your state is one of the few not listed, again–have no fear!!! Simply contact their advocate, Dave, at dave@lnt.org for information about programs available to you in your locale!

 Examples of environmental community work that you can partake in through Leave No Trace State Advocacy activities include the following:

  1. Training courses to become a Leave No Trace workshop instructor
  2. Working with Leave No Trace to partner with local scout troops, hiking groups, and state parks to help each organization become more environmentally aware
  3. Blogging for Leave No Trace

If any of these activities sound interesting to you, then you should contact your state Leave No Trace rep today!!  It is a GREAT opportunity for local community ecological service!!

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Posted in Education, Environment, Family Volunteering, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip, Winter Break | No Comments »

Service Trips Coming Out of Our Ears!!!

Friday, February 20th, 2009

24 Days Until Tulum!

We are busy bees here at Enchanting Challenge, little elves working away in our service-trip workshop!!  Plans have come underway to finalize the itinerary of the service spring breakers in Tulum, which is looking action-packed with awesome eco-work!  We have exciting news of a partnership with the Amigos de Sian Ka’an , meaning that Enchanting Challenge service breakers will work to fulfill some of the Amigos’ projects, such as wildlife management, bird conservation, and community-based natural resource management.   It will be a week filled with fun AND important activities!  Enchanting Challenge will film this week of eco-service and post videos on our blogs and websites, so that our readers can learn about these service trips and be inspired to take part in the future.

amigos(photo taken from the Amigos website)

Coming Up Next: Mendoza!

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Argentina&sll=-32.861709,-68.832779&sspn=0.252625,0.615234&g=Mendoza,+Argentina&ie=UTF8&ll=-38.416097,-63.616672&spn=15.889532,39.375&z=5&output=embed&s=AARTsJpGgpVKqp50ASKx8WWhLnaNFMLrSA&w=425&h=350]

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, if you can not make it to the Tulum service trip in March, do not fear that you have lost your opportunity to embark upon an Enchanting experience!!  Our next service trip opportunity will take place in August in Mendoza, Argentina! 

Service Trip to Mendoza with Enchanting Challenge

& Fundación Viviencias Argentinas

 

Attention all study-abroad students, backpackers, ex-pats, and tourists!!!  Come join Enchanting Challenge and their Mendocino (meaning from Mendoza) partners at Fundación Viviencias Argentinas this August for a two-week service trip in the Mendoza province.  As a re-cap, this is what the trip will entail:

 

Week One:

Week One will be spent in the city of Mendoza, working with the disadvantaged children of this community.  All English-speaking volunteers will stay with a Mendocino family for this week, learning about the Mendocino culture, sharing in the language experience, and eating meals with their host family.  During the day, volunteers will work with the children, participating in the following activities:

  1. Organizing a donation drive for shoes, clothing, toys, and games
  2. Coordinating and participating in recreational activities
  3. Assisting children with their school work
  4. Addressing any health-care needs that are not being met

 

Week Two:

Week Two will be spent in the Desierto Lavalle, working with the indigenous Huarpes community on various community development projects.  20-25 Mendocino volunteers are expected to go—all school children between the ages of 15-18 from the Colegio San José de los Hermanos Maristas de la Provincia de Mendoza.  English-speaking tourist/back-packing/study-abroad/ex-pat volunteers will work side-by-side with their Mendocino counter-parts, taking part in the following activities:

  1. Organizing a donation drive for shoes, clothing, toys, and games
  2. Teaching and demonstrating methods for sustainable living and farming practices, such as cooking in a solar-powered kitchen
  3. Coordinating a donation drive for items necessary in a rural region, such as electricity generators, vaccines, and medications
  4. Collecting items for school children, such as computers and clothing for uniforms
  5. Participating in community cultural events and festivities

 This experience has the ability to turn your stay in Argentina into something more than just a vacation.  It can help give you a profound sense of place, and Argentina will leave its mark upon you as you simultaneously leave your mark upon it.  There is perhaps no more rewarding way to travel than through service travel.

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Posted in Children, Education, Environment, Family Volunteering, Language Study, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | 2 Comments »

Countdown to Tulum: 25 Days!

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

ECOTULUM HERE WE COME!!!

2 students have officially bought their plane tickets to MEXICO for the Educational Ecological Service Trip!!!  Hurray!!  We are on our way to rainforest reconstruction, learning lessons in sustainability from the ancient Mayan culture, and so much more…4 more students are looking into plane tickets, but there are more spaces awaiting, so just let me know if you want to join in this exciting ecological mission!!!

The students will arrive in Tulum on Monday, March 16th.  At the resort, they will be met by the lovely Gabriela Miranda, who will welcome them and help them to settle in.  The service breakers will eat a scrumptious dinner on the evening of their arrival, and then will go to sleep in their cabana, getting ready for the first day of service on Tuesday, March 17th.

Service activities will be planned for Tuesday, March 17th; Wednesday, March 18th; Thursday, March 19th; and Friday March 20th.  Saturday, March 21st will be a free, do-as-you-please beach day.  Go splash in the Caribbean Sea and reward yourself for all your eco-accomplishments during this wonderful week!!  The specifics of the service activities will be planned in the upcoming days ahead.  (Join in the planning: the first meeting is on our Facebook Group: Tulum-Bound, tonight at 5:30 pm CST!)  The options for the activities include a beach clean-up at the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, volunteering in a Mayan hospital and/or Mayan library, a day in the jungle (perhaps accompanied by a biologist!), a day learning and participating in Mayan cultural activities, and a day visiting and learning from Mayan ruins!!

INSPIRATION

Check out the amazing site “Imaginative Traveller” for inspiration on why service vacations are the MOST rewarding and the MOST fun!!  As the volunteer-trip organizer Bruch Haxton sums up, “There is a huge amount of fun [in service trips] and people don’t always understand that.  It is about having fun & doing something worthwhile at the same time.”

MORE ON THE DOCKET…

If you can not come to the Educational Ecological Service Trip in Tulum this March, do not despair, for there are a handful of other exciting Enchanting Challenge opportunities just around the corner!  The next one takes place this August in Mendoza, Argentina.  Here is a profile of the Mendoza program scheduled for August.

Fundacion Viviencias Argentinas

For the Mendoza service trip, Enchanting Challenge will partner with Fundacion Viviencias Argentinas, a foundation that has been running service trips for the past 10 years in Mendoza.  This year they have decided to open their doors and welcome anyone to do service with them, which is where Enchanting Challenge comes in!  We at Enchanting Challenge want to invite any interested parties in joining on this lovely adventure to serve the Mendoza community.  Together on this trip we will spend one week working with orphans and disadvantaged families in the city of Mendoza.  After one week we will trek out to the nearby Desierto Lavalle (also in the Mendoza province) for another week, where together we will work with the indigenous communities, participating in various community development activities.  Read below for a list of activities that will be covered in these two weeks.

Working with Orphans and Disadvantaged Families in the City of Mendoza

During our one week in Mendoza, we will do a number of community-enriching activities with the children of Mendoza.  These activities will include the following:

  1. Helping with school work
  2. Helping with health care needs
  3. Organizing donation drives for clothing, shoes, toys, games, and more
  4. Organizing and participating in recreational activities

Working in the Desierto Lavalle

For the second week of the Mendoza service trip, our group will head into the Desierto Lavalle, where we will work with the Huarpes Community, an indigenous community native to this region.  We will participate in the following activities:

  1. Organizing donation drives for shoes and games for more than 35o children (a tall task, but one that I know we can accomplish)
  2. Organizing donation drives for the fundamental elements necessary for rural life, such as electricity generators, medicines, and vaccines
  3. Organizing donation drives for school-children’s needs, such as clothing and computers
  4. Helping to teach energy efficient living and farming practices, such as cooking in a solar kitchen, sustainable planting and harvesting methods, and methods to increase the quality of the drinking water
  5. Participating in the important cultural events of this region

Contact Me if You are Interested!!

The two core parts of the Mendoza service trip–the week in the city and the week in the desert–come together to create a rejuvenating and rewarding experience.  Volunteers on this trip will stay in homestays, making it a cultural experience as well!!!  For more information on the Mendoza service trips, check out Agustin’s blog here.  If you are interested in joining this trip, please contact me at sarahannmaxwell@gmail.com and I can give you more details!!!  And, most touching and exciting of all, check out pictures of this service trip here and here.  They will melt your heart!!!

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Posted in Children, Education, Environment, Family Volunteering, Language Study, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | No Comments »

Why the Economic Crisis is a Good Time to Embrace Service

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

With the economic crisis affecting us all in some way, and with scary headlines sweeping our newspapers everyday, it may feel like a pretty dark time.  However, although it might be hard to believe, this is also a time of unlimited opportunity.  As the saying goes, “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste” (Paul Romer, economist).  Let me explain.

This week, Luke Russert interviewed former President Bill Clinton.  And you will not believe the advice Bill Clinton gave to young people who are about to finish their 4-year degrees!  Read it and get excited:

  • Stay in school if you can or want to
  • Volunteer
  • Go abroad
  • Any combination of the above options

Because of our shaken-up economy, now is most likely not the moment you are going to find the career that allows you to save millions of dollars.  Though that may seem to be a gloomy fact, that reality also frees you from obligations of normal societal expectations, such as embarking upon your career path.   Now is the time that you have nothing to lose, which awards you the freedom to take risks, to follow your dreams and to do the things that seem unwise and unsafe when you have a secure office job at stake.  A crisis truly is a terrible thing to waste, as it allows you to remake and redefine the reality of your life. 

So what are your options?  If you are graduating, programs like AmeriCorps and PeaceCorps are amazing options.  So are shorter-term volunteer opportunities, such as Visions in Action .   

peace-corps(photo taken from Peace Corps website)

americorps1(image taken from the AmeriCorps VISTA site)

There are also some certification programs that you can embark upon either before or after graduation that can lead to altnerative career opportunities, such as a job within the emerging and highly-demanded green economy.  One of the best of these programs that I can recommend is Green For All, a vocational program (for which you DO NOT need a 4-year college degree!) that trains people and helps to place them somewhere in the alternative energy field.  Another interesting option in this genre is Green Corps, a very cool one-year program that teaches its trainees to organize environmental service and volunteer drives within communities, campuses, and more.  Let me know if you are interested in any of these programs and I can help to give you more information!

green-for-all(photo taken from the Green For All site)

And of course, what else can you do?? Enchanting Challenge service trips!!! We are getting ready to embark on the first one next month in Tulum, Mexico; we are busy plotting away the second one in August in Mendoza, Argentina; and we are putting together the pieces for the third one scheduled to take place in October in Puerto Madryn, Argentina.  Get ready for tomorrow’s post, as it will be a re-cap on all of these amazing service destinations!!!

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Posted in Animals, Children, Education, Environment, Family Volunteering, Language Study, Service, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip, Winter Break | No Comments »

How to Join the Local Food Movement

Monday, February 16th, 2009

As mentioned on Friday’s post, perhaps the healthiest way to serve the world (and yourself!) is through eating locally.  This can be, of course, accomplished through farmers’ markets and growing a small (or large!) amount of your own produce right at home.  However, there are also some other pretty cool ways to become even more involved in the local food movement.  If you have an itch to more deeply understand the journey of our food from seed to meal, then you might want to consider becoming involved in Community Supported Agriculture or volunteering on an organic farm.

Community Supported Agriculture

Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a process by which a patron buys a share of the farm, thereby becoming farm members or shareholders.  The members/shareholders then receive a weekly share of the farm’s in-season produce.  Shares typically cost around $500 for a seasonal membership (depending upon your agricultural region, usually somewhere around 20 weeks), and can usually provide enough produce weekly for about two people.  Check out this YouTube video about CSA to learn more!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUBf_a3EtQU]

Work-for-Share

A $500 membership fee is quite a steal for a duo.  However, if you are a struggling college student, the work-for-share program is probably a better option for you.  As its name suggests, this set-up involves paying for your share of the farm by working.  Generally, farms will probably ask for an 8-10 hour/week commitment from you in exchange for your weekly produce (perhaps the perfect part-time summer job!).  To find a list of CSA farms near your home, click here.

harmony-valley-farm

(photo taken from the Local Harvest website)

 Organic Farm Service Heaven

Another way to get involved in the local food movement is by volunteering on an organic farm.  WWOOF, the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, is an amazing network of organic farms spanning 6 continents.  By signing up to become a WWOOF member, you can apply for placement on an organic farm in your preferred region, whether that be the sandy farms of the Middle East, or the foresty greens of Germany, or the savannas of Africa–it’s up to you!  Programs are generally set up as a home-stay, with the volunteers living with and as part of their host family.  Volunteers are expected to help in the daily farm work, and in return are well-fed and provided with clean, safe, and dry living quarters.  There is no cost besides a small contribution to WWOOF to help them maintain their organization.  If you are interested in learning the ins-and-outs of organic farming, WWOOF may be the perfect opportunity for you.

wwoof (photo taken from the WWOOF website)

The local food movement is healthy for our world and for our own bodies.  It is a wonderful way to help move our world into the hopeful and healthy direction we are now moving.  CSA and WWOOF are just two ways to get involved.   There are many more options out there, so don’t hesitate to email me with any questions you may have on this topic!!

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Posted in Environment, Family Volunteering, Service, Service Abroad, Summer Break | 1 Comment »

Enchanting Challenge Idealistic Heroes

Monday, February 9th, 2009

On Friday I  met with a true service guru: Juan Cruz, the Regional Director of Idealist in Buenos Aires.  Juan is really an inspiration.  Back in 2003, through writing letters and arranging meetings, he and his friends successfully encouraged Idealist–then with offices only in the United States–to open up an office in Buenos Aires.  Under their watch, the office started with just one full-time employee.  Now, six years later, it is flourishing with over 50 full-time employees.   Moreover, it is a key member of the Idealist team, for it is in the Buenos Aires office where much of the web development takes place, much of the customer assistance happens, and where most of the South American volunteer contacts and opportunities are built.  I asked Juan if he still to this day feels amazed at what he has built when he looks around the office.   “Yes, it is like a dream,” he told me.  And, truly it is…It is a beautiful reminder to all of us that with dedication and perseverance, we can accomplish our dreams, and we can change the world.

At Enchanting Challenge, we are striving to connect people in the name of activism.  Our aim is to work as hard as we can, connecting people and facilitating progressive projects.  We are striving to lay a foundation where people can communicate about service, social entrepreneurism, and ideas.  For inspiring social entrepreneur facts and thoughts, check out this awesome blog:

The world needs to change, and we want to facilitate that change.  Our goal is to have forged countless new roads in this progressive direction by 2012.  (Metaphorically, speaking, of course…We don’t really need more roads, but rather, more forests!) We have three years to do some major work for our planet, before too much negative change becomes irreversible.  Enchanting Challenge wants to help connect the dots in this pursuit of change.  We at Enchanting Challenge are working to unite us all into a global tribe, into one group of changemakers, by 2012.  Become a member of the tribe today!!  The first step is to join Enchanting Challenge– http://www.enchantingchallenge.com.   And then join the dialogue.  Together, we are going to nurse this planet back to health.

Juan Cruz, our Idealist hero and inspirator, has become a tribe member and has expressed his dedication to service.  Check out this cool video for a little motivation and insight:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqE237wG04Y]

 There you  have it…Join Enchanting Challenge today, and together, we will change the world…And don’t forget about our service trips while you are at it!! I have heard from 7 people about the Tulum Educational Ecological Service Trip, and I would love to hear from anyone else who is interested…Don’t forget, we will also plan a summer trip to Tulum, as well as a summer trip in Mendoza, Argentina, and an October trip to Puerto Madryn, Argentina!!! Get ready to do some eye-opening service…

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Posted in Education, Interviews, Service, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | No Comments »

Enchanting Challenge Service Trips

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Mendoza

At Enchanting Challenge, we are busy working away to create more service trips for your travelling feet (and working hands).  Currently we are working with some service gurus that run programs in Mendoza, Argentina, the beautiful vineyard region of Argentina, nestled against the majestic Andes. 

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The program in Mendoza will include service work in the city as well as a three-day voyage into the Desierto Lavalle to reach out to the indigenous populations there and help them in any way we can.  This program will take place in August, and as soon as we have more information, we will let our readers know, ASAP.

Patagonia

But it doesn’t stop in Mendoza! No, we are also putting together a program allowing servers to volunteer in the beautiful nature of Patagonia, Chile.  The details have yet to be hammered out, but as soon as we have a plan in place, we will notify you!! In the meantime, here are a few photographs of the wondrous land of Patagonia, Chile, just to get your mouth watering over such an experience.

Ulaa Mountains

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Tulum

In the meantime, Spring Break is our first priority, as it is quickly approaching!! Which means, you will have to start getting your travel plans in order, and let me say it again, Enchanting Challenge’s Educational Ecological Service Trip to Tulum, Mexico is a WONDERFUL opportunity.  Just to recap the opportunities of this adventure, these are some of the activities the trip will include:

  • Rainforest work, including planting or harvesting
  • Mayan educational experiences (visiting ruins, learning lessons in sustainability, etc.)
  • Mayan cultural experiences (such as the sweat lodge ceremony)
  • Learning about the jungle from an on-site biologist
  • Spending time frolicking in the waves of the Caribbean Sea
  • Eating delicious meals specially prepared for you by the resort chef
  • Relaxing in your eco-friendly, rustic cabana
  • Celebrating a week of hard work with a party at Playa del Carmen

Now, truly, how can you resist such an opportunity?  What could be a better way to contribute to the world’s environmental reconstruction than to work with Mayans and biologists in a UN biosphere?  And what could be a better place to do this in than exotic, serene Tulum?  Remember, there are only 10 spots, so email me immediately (sarahannmaxwell@gmail.com) if you are interested!  I really look forward to coordinating this adventure in Tulum, and future adventures in Mendoza and Patagonia, with you!! 

Website of the day: Low-Impact Living Initiative

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Posted in Animals, Children, Education, Environment, Service Abroad, Spring Break, Summer Break, Tulum Eco Spring Break Service Trip | No Comments »

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