Day 1: Arrival in Quito
Arrive in Quito and transfer to hotel. Participants will settle in before attending a welcome orientation to go over program details. Then, there will be a group reflection on course themes.

Day 2: Quito - Chuga
Enjoy breakfast at hotel before an Equator Museum visit, where you'll learn about the region's geography, identity & Indigenous history. Then, participate in a Quito Walking Tour to learn about architecture, politics, and urban culture.

Next, the group departs for rural Chuga (approx. 5 hours). Students are welcomed with a formal community ceremony ("bienvenida"), demonstrating local leadership structures and communal values.

Day 3-6: Service-Learning Activites
Students stay in community lodging connected to the local parish building, using individual tents with cots provided. This offers the safest and most culturally respectful way to integrate with the host community.

Students will begin their core service project: Water Reservoir Construction. Students work in small teams alongside community members across two reservoir sites.

Tasks include:
● Cement lining
● Reinforcing structures with rebar
● Digging ditches and gutters
● Installing irrigation hosing (“mangueras”)
● Transporting materials via narrow mountain paths

Impact: The completed reservoirs will benefi t 100–110+ local residents, strengthening agricultural production and household water access.

Daily Activities Include:
Agricultural Immersion:
● Fruit orchard work (the region is known for abundant fruit production)
● Tortilla and bread preparation with local women
● Organic garden maintenance
● Learning small‑scale farming trade systems
● Animal care: feeding cuyes (guinea pigs), poultry, and milking cows

Cultural Exchange:
● “Day in the Life” shadowing rural households
● Sports with local children
● Nightly guided reflections led by the expedition instructor
● Dinner discussions using readings such as Amartya Sen’s “Development as Freedom”

Other Activities:
● Days for Girls Menstrual Hygiene Kit Distribution + Training: Participants will work alongside community partners to distribute reusable menstrual hygiene kits to girls and women. The group will help facilitate or observe an educational session focused on menstrual health, hygiene practices, and confidence building. This experience helps participants better understand the barriers that period poverty creates for girls’ education, health, and participation in daily life.
● Chachimbiro Hot Springs Visit: Learn about local tourism, natural resources, and community gathering spaces.

Why this matters: These experiences align with global learning outcomes and offer tangible insight into
gender‑inclusive rural development.

Day 7: Ibarra
Depart Chuga for Ibarra (2 hours). Enjoy lunch as a group before visiting the Salinas community & transition to the Otavalo region through a historic train ride.

Visit Afro-Ecuadorian Women’s Economic Development Project Dance & Music Performance. Then, take a Totora Lake tour (45‑min boat ride) and learn about totora reed weaving & a women-led cooperative (“Pachamama”).

Continue the day visiting women-led initiatives that support local families through traditional, sustainable practices. At Totora Sisa, women use natural totora fiber as a primary source of income for their families. At Hampi, participants will learn about the use of natural herbs and the soap-making process. The experience also includes a boat ride (lancha), offering time on the lake and a deeper connection to the surrounding landscape and community.

End the day with a group farewell dinner and final reflection. Overnight at hotel.

Day 8: locations
Visit the Peguche Waterfall, a spiritual site for the indigenous community. Then, walk through the Plaza de Ponchos Market, one of Latin America’s largest Indigenous markets.

Travel as a group back to Quito and transfer to airport for return flights.