Volunteer Opportunities in Guatemala

Maya Pedal is a grass-roots NGO based in San Andres Itzapa, Guatemala. We work with local communities to create long-lasting sustainable solutions to local problems, predominantly through ‘bici-maquinas’; pedal-powered machines made from donated and disused bikes. Right now, we are focused on a project to bring safe drinking water to a rural community and improve the working lives of farming families living there by installing water filters and appropriate pedal-powered machines. Key to this project is training local young women and girls in WASH and the building and maintenance of concrete bio-sand filters, so that they can pass this knowledge on to their community and make the positive impact sustainable for the long-term. It will also give the young women and girls transferable skills for them to be empowered to have better and brighter futures.

Trama Textiles is an association of 17 different community weaving cooperatives in the western highlands of Guatemala. It is 100% worker-owned by more than 400 indigenous female backstrap loom weavers.

Mayan Institution Ochoch Hik´eek is an educational organization striving to contribute towards the development of future leaders who will solve community problems and appreciate Mayan land in the framework of the multicultural state of Guatemala.