Building Projects · Jadán
Every July, we build in Jadán.
Jadán is a rural parish about 45 minutes from the center of Cuenca. For a week, volunteers work on homes there: bathrooms where there were none, roofs, floors and walls. For 2027 the emphasis is bathrooms.
No construction experience and no Spanish required.
Dates
July 23 – Aug 2, 2027
Cost
$1,700
Deposit
$500, non-refundable
Register by
April 1, 2027
Before you decide
Open whatever you want to know more about.
How the projects are chosen
Local leaders in Jadán, working with the parish government and Priscila Bonete, our project leader there, identify the households that need work, and we go and look at them together.
Then we price the materials, weigh the skills each job takes, and decide what we can reasonably take on with the volunteers and the money we have that year. The need is large and we are a small organization.
What the week looks like
- Friday: land in Cuenca. Dinner with the team and the Jadán leaders, where you find out what you’ll be building.
- Saturday to Thursday: work days in Jadán. On the worksite by 8:00, lunch brought out to you, back to your host family or the hotel by 4:00. Evenings are with the community.
- Tuesday afternoon: a short work day, a hike on Pachamama, then dinner in Cuenca.
- Thursday evening: Pampa Mesa. Every family brings food and lays it out on one long cloth.
- Friday to Sunday: back in Cuenca. Hike in Cajas or wander the city.
- Monday: fly home on your own schedule.
Who runs the build
A maestro and a project manager direct the activities and assignments on the work sites. You’ll be handed a job you can manage, whatever your skills are, and there is real work for people who have never held a trowel.
Housing
Volunteers stay either with a host family in Jadán or at a hotel in Cuenca. We will talk with you about which you would prefer.
With a family in Jadán. Volunteers stay with a host family for the week, sharing meals and daily life in a community where homes are spread across the mountainside. That time together, not just the job site, is where relationships take root.
Homes in Jadán can be very rustic, and a family stay can be challenging, but it is a chance to make a deep connection with a family. Places for family stays are limited.
At a hotel in Cuenca. Volunteers who stay in the city travel out to Jadán with the group each work day and come back to the hotel in the evening.
Where we have worked before
From 2015 we worked with leaders in Nueva Prosperina, a barrio in northeast Guayaquil: bathrooms, roofs, floors, reinforced walls, and food and basic supplies during the pandemic. Since 2022 Guayaquil has not been safe enough for volunteer trips. Our work there continues through Nomads Scholars.
Group trips
Bringing a group at another time of year?
A college spring break, a church or school team, any group that wants to come together. Tell us about your group and when you would like to come, and we will work out a week in Jadán that fits.
Not traveling?
Fund the materials.
Cement, block, roofing, doors and windows, all bought locally. About 250 blocks make a bathroom, and a hundred dollars buys roughly 160 of them. Most of the people who make this work possible never get on the plane.