The End World Hunger 2030 Foundation EduTour is a 2 week immersion from the rural farmlands to the mountain highlands of Guatemala. This program will be an intensive and interactive tour with a service opportunity to engage with the culture, food, lifestyle, agriculture, and human and environmental health of Guatemala through visits to our grant recipients and other NGO projects across the country. During this program, participants will visit some of the incredible work being done by locals and international groups that are impacting food production, the environment, and the people of Guatemala.

Being the largest population in Central America and the highest density of indigenous population in the world, nearly 60% as being of Maya descent. Guatemalans have suffered a long and bloody history of Spanish colonization and more recently 36 years of civil war that ended in 1996 with a long-standing dictatorship that continues to riddle their fledgling democracy with corruption. Guatemala is one of the world’s largest producers of sugar, coffee and bananas and agriculture represents over 30% of their economy yet has the fourth highest rate of malnourished children in the world and the highest in Central America due to the fact that  most of their crops are exported to developed countries. Guatemala also contains an incredibly diverse landscape and ecology ranging from the tropical jungle to temperate highlands, with some of the most active volcanoes in the world. Unfortunately, agriculture and development increasingly encroach on forests, as Guatemala strives to develop its economy to keep up with the international world. The EduTour will tour a varying range of landscapes and sites to try to best encapsulate this modernization in progress and what is being done to support both the people and the environment of the country.

In addition to our tours, conversations and activities, relevant to our educational theme, we will also spend time enjoying Guatemalan landscape through hikes and boat rides along the mountains and lakes famed for their beauty.   We also plan to make visits to cultural events including the largest outdoor market in Central America, participate in the fun and enlightening experiences of being a part of a patron saint holiday and find more opportunities for entertainment and engagement with the communities we visit 

Come join us on this once-in-a-lifetime journey to explore the intersection of agriculture, education and the environment in Guatemala!

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The price includes all in-country expenses, including accommodation, transportation, all meals, water, translation services, activities, travel insurance, and the guidance of experienced Program Leaders. Costs not included are flights, alcohol and personal spending money.

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End World Hunger EduTour of Guatemala

Days 1-3: Hike Volcanoes, Help Kids

Our first arrival night will begin with a group dinner and check in and early to bed! In the morning we will be visiting the highland mountains of the north! We’ll head out on our long drive up to Xela, the Maya capital of Guatemala. On our way up, we’ll take a break stop at the largest Central American open-air market in the town of Chichicastenango, boasting a massive array of world-renowned handicrafts from local indigenous groups.

Upon our arrival in to Xela, we’ll relax for the evening after our travel day and market tour to ready our legs for the hike in the morning. We’ll be led by an international volunteer non-profit, Quetzaltrekkers, a grassroots fundraising with the overall aim of combating the unfortunate reality of children both living and working on the streets.The organization's mission is to see that tourism dollars directly benefit those Guatemalans that need them most: street children and children at risk of becoming such. They do this by running tourist-oriented, guided-treks through the beautiful Guatemalan highlands. 

 Days 4-6:  Early Morning Sunrises over a majestic lake fueled by local coffee!

Lake Atitlan is a sight to behold! The lake has no major roads that circumference it and instead opt to travel via boat from village to village. Atitlan suffers from lack of environmental protections and was recently named by Global Nature Fund as “Threatened Lake of the Year”. A large portion of that impact is due in part to agriculture and rapidly growing development along the shoreline.  We’ll have an incredible opportunity to stretch our legs out once more as we hike up to a lookout point to watch a breathtaking sunrise over the ancient lake. As we make our way back down through coffee berry fields we’ll get our morning buzz from a tour at a local coffee cooperative, La Voz. 

Day 7-8: Angels in Antigua

We'll head from the agricultural region to the colonial capital. Over the two days we’ll include leisure time for participants to indulge in the pastel beauty of the beautiful architecture through strolls along the cobblestone paths of the picturesque town. We will meet have a chance to visit a heartwarming children's home led by twin nuns from Barcelona. These sisters do everything from teaching surfing to soccer with their children, providing them with the best possible life that they can outside of their own family. The dedication of the nuns resonates through the walls of the school and the smiles of many children that reside there within.

Day 9-12 "Getting to the Roots of Malnutrition in Guatemala."

We’ll travel to the site of the infamous Rio Negro massacres to work with the men and women of Qachuu Aloom. The Maya families that will will meet will introduce the group to the Qachuu Aloom Mother Earth Association, which oversees seed saving, microlending, nutritional education,and other programs in Rabinal and surrounding communities. With financial support from End World Hunger Foundation, the organization promotes and preserves native vegetable and medicinal seeds, promote food sovereignty and improve their food security and local economies. While there we will also have the opportunity to visit a new program building sand dams to capture rainwater.  The dams are viewed as critical to keeping farming viable in these remote towns.

We'll also take time to relax in these final days, and debriefing our program over a farewell dinner before everyone flies out from Guatemala City.