Our Story
Who We Support
Pulseras
School Sales
Photo/Video
Student Trips
Pulsera Trip Details
Students who volunteer for the Pulsera Project are eligible to travel with us on two trips to Nicaragua each year - one in late December and another in mid-July. These ten day adventures are often life changing experiences for those who go, sometimes dramatically altering their understanding of the world and humanity. Groups of 10 - 14 are led by at least four experienced Pulsera Project staff/volunteers who have been to Nicaragua many times. Most students who travel with the project attend a university. Occasionally a high school senior joins the group.
On these Nica adventures, we build, eat, read, surf, hike, work and play with the kids and adults who are part of our enormous Nicaraguan family - which consists of hundreds of people in towns across Nicaragua. We hike up mountains and through small pueblos, tour colorful marketplaces and visit volcano islands. We have visited an organic coffee plantation, a solar center, and female-led fair trade co-ops, all part of our passion for investigating fair trade. Some of our Nica partners are non-profit organizations that focus on education, so we visit schools where they work.
Every trip we visit neighborhoods where our pulsera co-op members live. Mercedes, Alfredo, and Luis David lead small community development projects for neighborhood kids – projects funded by the Pulsera Project – and we visit them for a rich look into the “real” Nicaragua.
Many international service groups separate volunteer service time from relaxation time, but we combine them. When we take surfing lessons and have an all-day fiesta on the beach, we do that together with many young Nicaraguans. This is how we build a sense of family and a sense that we are all working together. The same is true for work projects. When we buy lumber or paint, we work together with many Nicaraguans to accomplish our goals.
Pulsera Project trips bring alive progressive ideas about international service and cultural exchange. Rich cultural exchange does not simply involve economically rich people giving money or things to the poor. That's a pretty outdated idea, but it’s one that is common in the minds of many. Instead, progressive ideas about international service and cultural exchange focus on the whole range of human riches that can improve our lives and the lives of others - not just financial riches. Our focus is on sharing – rather than giving. Sharing implies an exchange with others who also give. The things others share are often not economic, but their knowledge and perspectives can influence and enrich our lives.
You do not have to speak Spanish to join a project trip, but there’s no question that speaking Spanish would enrich your experience and the experience of many others. We give preference to Spanish speakers or Spanish students who apply, but we ultimately value leadership qualities more than language skills.
Pulsera Project trips are not for spectators or tourists!! Many of our activities involve travel or projects that include dozens of people, so we seek people who LOVE to lead – people who love to have their head in the game – people who are quick to ask “What can I do? How can I help?” Leaders have many styles, from quiet to outgoing, but all share a willingness to give of themselves – and the ability to act - for a larger cause.
Project trips include educational readings, talks, and discussions. The Pulsera Project works on the front-lines of fair trade, international development, and altruism, and we work to advance the knowledge and philosophies that drive these fields. At times, we explore related fields, like cognitive science, which help us investigate revolutionary ideas, instead of following conventional or prevailing views. Students who love to question and challenge conventional thinking will feel at home in our explorations of many topics. We love independent thinkers!!!
Pulsera Project trips are really fun !! If you haven’t seen the trip video from last summer, this will give you some idea.
http://vimeo.com/28553410
A sense of fun is the numero uno requirement on a Pulsera trip. It usually only takes a day before a group becomes like a traveling family, and the more we travel together, the closer the group becomes.
The cost of a typical ten day trip is about $800 plus airfare. (Airfare from Baltimore is about $700.) This covers basically everything - lodging, all food, transportation in a 25 passenger micro-bus, and all activities.
If you, or you and a friend, have volunteered for the Pulsera Project and are thinking about joining us on a future trip, read some of the student trip stories on the Pulsera Project website and check out the video from our latest summer trip. That’'s the best way to get a sense of what you'’ll experience if you go. Then, send us an e-mail and we'll keep you posted on plans, dates, and details for upcoming trips !
Colin Crane (American University), Brianna Harris (Drexel University), and Eric Chamness (College of Charleston) hang out with three of the Los Quinchos boys on the Summer 2010 Pulsera Trip. Can you find the mango?
