Volunteer in South America

The Amazon rainforest is one of the planet’s most diverse ecosystems, being the home to 30% of all known plant and animal species, as well as a variety of indigenous cultures and settlers who make their living in this seemingly inhospitable terrain. Joining this GVI Amazon adventure in Ecuador takes will take you into the heart of this lush and remote part of the world to help protect the precious rainforest and aid community development initiatives. Volunteers support wildlife conservation by c...

This South American volunteer programme takes volunteers to Peru and Ecuador to learn Spanish and teach literacy and numeracy to the children of underprivileged communities. GVI, along with leaders and teachers of the communities in both countries, developed this educational programme to help communities who otherwise may not have access to a full formal education. During your time in Peru, volunteers work in the understaffed schools of the ‘pueblos jovenes’ (young towns) surrounding the beau...

Volunteering in Peru will see you working with children in the ‘pueblos jovenes’ or ‘young towns’ that surround the beautiful colonial city of Arequipa, nestled in south-western Peru into a stunning region in which the desert meets the foothills of the Peruvian Andes. Volunteers joining this project will be working with children from nursery through initial primary school levels and will be typically working with children from the ages of 4 and upwards concentrating on basic education and litera...

This two week or more volunteer program takes you to the foot of the Misti volcano, in the south of the Peruvian Andes and the surrounding communities, around the town of Arequipa, where indigenous culture is still very strong. Here you will embark on building energy-efficient stoves within the homes of families in the community of Villa Santa Rosa de Chiguata. These will decrease wood consumption and remove smoke from inside the house. During your time you will also undertake 20 hours of one-on...

Volunteers joining this project will be working with children from kindergarten through initial primary school levels and, typically be working with children from the ages of 4-5 and upwards concentrating on basic education and literacy and teaching English. As their teachers, those volunteers placed with kindergarten will be helping them master all the classroom basics, from holding a pencil, drawing lines, to their first letters and numbers etc. For those volunteers with more advanced Portugue...

This volunteer program based in Ecuador offers volunteers the fantastic opportunity to volunteer with children, learn Spanish, live with a local family in the beautiful market town Otavalo, experience indigenous Andean culture, travel to nearby rural mountains for project work, and explore the stunning Ecuadorian area and South America. These long-term volunteer placements provide the children with much needed continuity and assistance which greatly aids their development. Two weeks off is s...

Volunteers will be teaching children a range of subjects, including basic literacy and numeracy, in ‘pueblos jovenes’ or ‘young towns’ that surround the beautiful colonial city of Arequipa. These long-term placements provide the children with much needed continuity and assistance which greatly aids their development. This GVI volunteer program runs in conjunction with leaders and teachers of the communities and volunteers will run educational reinforcement programs, and assist at understaffed sc...

Volunteers joining this program will be working with children aged 4 and upwards. Volunteers will plan and teach classes to support the children through the early years of their educational lives, and will be working on basic education and literacy. Working with young children is an immensely rewarding experience and although often challenging, every day is full of fun and laughter. Volunteers are able to make the classes fairly informal, fun and interactive with lots of different activities for...

GVI gives you the opportunity to complete a BTEC in the heart of the Ecuadorian rainforest. By joining GVI's Rainforest Expedition in the Ecuadorian Amazon, South America, Expedition members will get a unique, first-hand experience of an extraordinary environment, whilst gaining a Level 3 BTEC Advanced Certificate on a five or ten week expedition. The BTEC teaches you to supervise biological surveys and upon its completion you should feel confident enough to plan and run survey teams in the fie...

This two week or more volunteer program brings you into the heart of the Ecuadorean Andes and surrounding indigenous communities, around Otavalo, home to the Otavaleño indigenous who hold remarkably strong ties to their native culture and traditions. Here you will embark on building energy efficient stoves with the families in the communities, which decrease wood consumption and remove smoke from inside the house. You will also undertake 20 hours of one-on-one spanish and head out horseback ridi...

As part of this internship you will work alongside a dedicated staff supervisor to make a very real, personal difference to underprivileged children in a rural school in the Andes. You will typically be working with children aged between 5 and 12 on basic education and literacy projects, an immensely rewarding experience and although often challenging, every day is full of fun and laughter. Rural schools in Ecuador are often understaffed, with one teacher in charge of teaching up to six grades a...

Joining this internship takes you into the heart of the lush and remote Amazon rainforest in Ecuador to help protect the precious rainforest and aid community development initiatives. The Amazon rainforest is one of the planet’s most diverse ecosystems, being home to 30% of all known plant and animal species, as well as a variety of indigenous cultures. You will work alongside a dedicated staff mentor to ensure you maximize your placement, conducting research and scientific investigation, and w...

Assist children’s education projects and learn Spanish on this six month internship scheme. Volunteers on this program will train for 12 weeks alongside a dedicated staff supervisor in Ecuador, learn Spanish and teach children on a volunteer project before taking a teaching work placement in either Ecuador or Perú. You will undertake 60 hours of one-on-one Spanish classes, teach in the communities and shadow GVI field staff, be involved in teaching and training workshops, gain an internation...

This six month internship begins with a 10 week expedition in the Amazon to develop your understanding of a wide-range of tropical habitat survey techniques as well as your ability to identify the vast array of flora and fauna found in the neo-tropics. You will also experience working with the local communities, in the form of teaching English at a nearby school. You will learn how to live and work with a research team in a remote environment and obtain experience essential for your following 3 ...

Based in the beautiful area of Praia do Forte in northern Bahia, Brazil, this conservation and research project gives volunteers an opportunity to get involved in the long term future of the humpback whale. Since it began in 1988, the Brazilian Humpback Whale Project has grown to be a well-established scheme, which is perfect for GVI volunteers with an interest in marine conservation. With the option to join for two to six weeks, you will spend much of your time out on the sea (weather permit...

This volunteer holiday takes you to South America to help revolutionise knowledge of the enigmatic pink river dolphins of the Brazilian Amazon and contribute to research and conservation work preventing the demise of river dolphins worldwide. This well-established research project follows the daily lives of the 300+ recognisable dolphins in the local population. Volunteers will become part of the observation team in the magical environment of the flooded forest, in the heart of the Mamirauá rese...

Take time off to visit this volcanic archipelago west of South America, which provided the inspiration for some of Charles Darwin’s most famous work. This volunteer programme provides practical experience for people interested in contributing to conservation projects, giving volunteers the chance to live and work alongside local communities and play a part in protecting ecologically important forest habitats. You will work in the midst of some fascinating wildlife in an area with an enormous num...

GVI know the importance of conservation work and education which is why we have merged three of our most popular programs in the culturally rich continent of South America for a unique volunteer tour. Five weeks will be spent volunteering on a conservaion expedition deep in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest. Another five weeks will see volunteers heading to Otavalo to teach local Andean communities. But how could any trip to South America be complete without visiting Peru? With an additional 4 weeks t...

From the edge of Patagonia's stunning ice cap to one of its most spectacular glaciers, this kayaking course takes students to rarely-seen places. You will learn a variety of kayaking skills, including route-finding, rescue and rolling. The overall focus of this instructional course is to arm you with the skills and experience to launch into your own paddling adventures with confidence and good judgment. Your experienced instructors help you to push yourself and your skill levels, making this cou...

From climbing to the summit of snow-capped peaks and crossing the incredible Patagonian Ice cap, to mastering ice and snow climbing techniques, the Patagonia Mountaineering course gives you have the opportunity to enjoy the extremes of the mountains. For 40 days your home will be the remote Patagonian Ice Cap, the third largest in the world, where you will learn the mountaineering skills you need to thrive in the backcountry, and ultimately be confident planning your own mountaineering expeditio...

The Mountain Guide School provides you with the training, skills, and certifications you need to begin a career as a mountain guide. Training and working in the mountains of Patagonia, Alaska, and New Zealand, you will lay a foundation of strong technical skills such as belaying, building an anchor, or judging the avalanche hazard of a slope. Later, as you make the transition from student to practitioner, you’ll put these skills to use every day, for months on end. In this way, the skills you le...