Mountain Air and Village Service

Arrive into Las Americas International Airport (SDQ) in Santo Domingo and meet your Program Leaders who will be with you for the duration of the program. Head directly to Jarabacoa, a more than three-hour drive, and settle in, relaxing after your long flight. Join the group for an orientation discussion about the week ahead, expectations for your adventure, and an introduction to the local culture. Have a hot, local dinner and get some sleep for a big day tomorrow.

Learn about the environmental initiatives taking place in the region and the harmonious balance between ecological and economic projects aimed at creating sustainable jobs and improving the health of the environment. Begin your service today by heading deeper into the mountains to help build aqueducts for communities without running water, working on the next steps of an ongoing project that includes prepping, digging, fitting, and finishing plumbing from a dammed river upstream to the nearby homes. Projects may also include parallel elements to protect the runoff water from polluting downstream, such as working on bio-treatment systems.

Spend these days continuing work on infrastructure projects. After service, share a coffee with neighbors and get to know the local community. Explore the mountains, eat delicious Dominican food, and learn about local music and history. Discuss your service experience focusing on responsible tourism and water access, making connections between the local ecological and community resources and how they’re interconnected.

Take a two-hour bus ride to the coastal towns of Sosúa and Cabarete where you’ll spend the rest of the day relaxing on the North Coast beaches. Eat coastal specialties and swim in the turquoise water of the Caribbean, soaking up the sun after a week of hard work.

Snorkel to start your day before saying goodbye to the coast and heading back to Jarabacoa. Settle into your old home and refuel before departing on a hike to one of the beautiful waterfalls in the region. Join your group for a mid-trip discussion where you’ll begin to reflect on what you’ve experienced and learned so far.

Head back to the capital in the morning for a tour of the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo, a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to the first university, cathedral, and hospital in the Americas. Tour the walled city and learn about the deep history of the first European settlement in the Americas. After touring the Colonial Zone, head to a special dinner and dance show at a typical Dominican restaurant.

At the end of each program, students reflect on their experiences and the issues they engaged with, and talk about how to apply this new understanding to their own worlds. During or after their closing discussion, groups participate in Rustic Ties, a unique and powerful activity that allows students to capture the memories and learning moments of their program to process and share with their communities back home.

Say goodbye to your new friends and to the beautiful Dominican Republic. Your Program Leaders will take you to the airport for your departure as you say goodbyes and reflect on your adventure.