The local organization “Jardìn de Epífitas” is working on the creation of a botanical garden, at the San Cristóbal Hill. The aim is to promote a environmental culture through the organization of workshops in the city, where examples of sustainable development such as: recycling, production of clean energy, responsible use of natural resources,etc, are shown.

This organization is also promoting the reproduction of local species in order to include local flora in reforestation, conservation and restoration projects in the urban and suburban areas of the city.

Volunteers will participate on different tasks:
•Rescue of various vegetable plants.
•Care, cultivation and exhibition of the recovered plants for educational purposes.
•Training on vegetable growing and educative projects.
•Development of artistic activities in the garden.
•Research projects on sustainable development.
•Work on the creation of the Botanical Garden at the San Cristobal Hill.

Volunteers will stay at a house in San Cristobal, sharing a room with up to 4 volunteers.

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas

3 months minimum

Basic level of Spanish to communicate with staff and locals.

At any time.

1500 Mexican pesos per month. Meals are not included.

Founded in 2006, Natate –the House in the Tree in Tsotsil, one of the Mayan dialects, is an independent civil association which works in the promotion of the international volunteering, for the solidarity and the comprehensive education for everyone, without a profitable objective, nongovernmental and non-religious.

»To develop the volunteering service and promote the international solidarity under an intercultural and peaceful spirit.
»To promote and develop the comprehensive education for young people.
»To promote programs for the development of sustainable lifestyles.
»To back and support groups of marginalized people and vulnerable minorities.
»To promote the respect to human rights and dignity

International Camping
Training Courses and Seminars
Information and Awareness Campaigns
National and International Volunteering

Natate is a member of the Coordinating Committee for the International Volunteer Service (CCIVS) and this lets it have access to programs and collaboration with more than 200 organizations in more than 80 countries. For more information visit www.unesco.org/ccivs

Through projects organized jointly with civil organizations, municipalities, groups and international and local organizations, Natate encourages the participation of young people in the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage, the protection of the environment, the construction of houses for the poorest, the improvement of social-educational structures, the utilization of alternative techniques of construction and sustainable technologies in several communities of the region of Chiapas.

Natate considers the volunteering as a mutual exchange between a person or a group that offers his/her time, work and energy for the benefit of a project of common interest and a community which offers to the volunteers a learning, experimentation, personal and collective development opportunity. The volunteering is also considered as a social tool which collaborates to the promotion of the inter-cultural dialogue to create Peace, and creates a relationship between the local action and the global reflection.

Volunteering is not an activity, is a way of life, a way of acting!

In all the projects proposed by Natate, the citizen participation and specially that one of the young people is really important.

•Environmental activities: cleaning, construction, recycling, awareness raising, reforestation
•Education: Work with children, artistic workshops, protection of the environment, recreational.
•Health: Support on the creation of workshops and translation of documents on sexual and reproductive health.
•Office work: Translation, promotion of volunteering, presentations, preparation of activities, camp leader, updating the web page, contact with international organizations.
•World heritage: restoration, renovation, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage.
•Construction: Support to low income families in the construction and improvement of their houses.

Depending on the project, volunteers work up to 35 hours per week.

The volunteers are responsible for the organization of their trip, to look for the best prices, to deal with the visa, if it is necessary. These procedures can be done once you are accepted in a project. We suggest looking up the costs of the trip before the registration, to avoid the cancellation of your participation for economical reasons. We suggest to the volunteers coming from other continents, arriving one or several days before the beginning of the project, so they can adapt to their new schedules.
To travel to Mexico, it is advisable to verify the prices of the flights, since it can be really expensive. A lot of airlines fly to Mexico, including: Aeromexico, Lufthansa, Air France, Air Canada, United Airlines, KLM, Alitalia, among others.

There are a lot of opportunities for the volunteers to enjoy and discover this part of the country. In San Cristobal de las Casas and in the rest of the state there are a lot of possibilities to discover the Mexican and Chiapas culture. Guatemala is also near and the volunteers can take advantage of this geographical situation. During the project, the recreational activities will be limited to the surrounding area where the project is located. These activities will be organized jointly with the hosting community.

The projects proposed by Nataté have a monthly participation fee that has to be covered by volunteers. This fee is: 1,500 Mexican pesos, volunteers should buy and prepare their own meals. This participation fee covers, administration costs, lodging, light and tab water. In projects where meal is included the participation fee is 2,500 and 2,900 depending of the project.

•Nataté provides accommodation for the projects that take place in San Cristobal de las Casas. It is a house at the city center, with all facilities (kitchen, 3 toilets, a small patio) and 6 shared bedrooms.

•Volunteers buy their own food at their charge except in projects NAT11, NAT17 and NAT24 where the food is included in the participation fee.

•Volunteers can cook at home. Mexican food is good, and meat represents an important part of the diet. However vegetarians and vegans will not have any trouble finding what they need for their diets.

•In the case of projects outside of San Cristobal de las Casas, the lodging conditions are different. The information is written in each project description.

At the moment, Natate cannot propose a responsibility civil insurance, so we request the volunteers to have an accident and civil responsibility insurance and a trip insurance eventually.

The drug situation in Mexico is complicated. Even though the most part of the violence exists between the cartels and the dealers, the volunteers must be aware of the risks implied in the drugs’ use. Anyway, the drugs’ consume is strictly forbidden in the house where Natate accommodates its volunteers or in any of its projects. Natate will not tolerate to anyone the drugs’ use in the volunteers’ accommodation or in the projects. Breaking this rule will be enough reason for the volunteer to be asked to quit the project.

Nataté performs projects in the state of Chiapas, located in the Southeast of Mexico; it is known for its touristic sites, which include natural attractive areas, pre-hispanic archaeological sites, colonial cities and the direct contact with different cultural groups that cohabit in this state. It has the highest native population in the country and has natural marvels which cannot be compared like the archaeological zone of Palenque and the Agua Azul waterfalls. It adjoins to the East with Guatemala, to the West with Oaxaca, to the North with Tabasco, to the South with the Ocean Pacifica and to the Northwest with Veracruz. The dominating and official language is Spanish. The mayan dialects spoken in Chiapas are: chol, tojolabal, tzeltal, tzotzil, mam y lacandon, which are related to Mayan origin dialects from the Peninsula of Yucatan and Central America.

San Cristobal de las Casas is the largest city in terms of tourism. It is a city where people of different ethnics, races and cultures coexist. It is located in the Chiapas highlands.

Nowadays, San Cristobal de las Casas is one of the most beautiful and original cities from the region of the Altos of Chiapas (and America), and also it must be added the evocative colonial image that it has conserved along the centuries. Because besides that, it has also an everyday life that could be almost called traditional, with its market, its people and a lot of natives with their colorful dressings, coming from several communities and who arrive to the place to sell or exchange their products.

The local organization “Jardìn de Epífitas” is working on the creation of a botanical garden, at the San Cristóbal Hill. The aim is to promote a environmental culture through the organization of workshops in the city, where examples of sustainable development such as: recycling, production of clean energy, responsible use of natural resources,etc, are shown.

This organization is also promoting the reproduction of local species in order to include local flora in reforestation, conservation and restoration projects in the urban and suburban areas of the city.

Volunteers will participate on different tasks;-

•Rescue of various vegetable plants.
•Care, cultivation and exhibition of the recovered plants for educational purposes.
•Training on vegetable growing and educative projects.
•Development of artistic activities in the garden.
•Research projects on sustainable development.
•Work on the creation of the Botanical Garden at the San Cristobal Hill.

Volunteers will stay at a house in San Cristobal, sharing a room with up to 4 volunteers.

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas

3 months minimum

Basic level of Spanish to communicate with staff and locals.
Number of volunteers. 3 volunteers.

At any time.

1500 Mexican pesos per month. Meals are not included.

Founded in 2006, Natate –the House in the Tree in Tsotsil, one of the Mayan dialects, is an independent civil association which works in the promotion of the international volunteering, for the solidarity and the comprehensive education for everyone, without a profitable objective, nongovernmental and non-religious.

»To develop the volunteering service and promote the international solidarity under an intercultural and peaceful spirit.
»To promote and develop the comprehensive education for young people.
»To promote programs for the development of sustainable lifestyles.
»To back and support groups of marginalized people and vulnerable minorities.
»To promote the respect to human rights and dignity

International Camping
Training Courses and Seminars
Information and Awareness Campaigns
National and International Volunteering

Natate is a member of the Coordinating Committee for the International Volunteer Service (CCIVS) and this lets it have access to programs and collaboration with more than 200 organizations in more than 80 countries. For more information visit www.unesco.org/ccivs

Through projects organized jointly with civil organizations, municipalities, groups and international and local organizations, Natate encourages the participation of young people in the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage, the protection of the environment, the construction of houses for the poorest, the improvement of social-educational structures, the utilization of alternative techniques of construction and sustainable technologies in several communities of the region of Chiapas.

Natate considers the volunteering as a mutual exchange between a person or a group that offers his/her time, work and energy for the benefit of a project of common interest and a community which offers to the volunteers a learning, experimentation, personal and collective development opportunity. The volunteering is also considered as a social tool which collaborates to the promotion of the inter-cultural dialogue to create Peace, and creates a relationship between the local action and the global reflection.

Volunteering is not an activity, is a way of life, a way of acting!

In all the projects proposed by Natate, the citizen participation and specially that one of the young people is really important.

•Environmental activities: cleaning, construction, recycling, awareness raising, reforestation
•Education: Work with children, artistic workshops, protection of the environment, recreational.
•Health: Support on the creation of workshops and translation of documents on sexual and reproductive health.
•Office work: Translation, promotion of volunteering, presentations, preparation of activities, camp leader, updating the web page, contact with international organizations.
•World heritage: restoration, renovation, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage.
•Construction: Support to low income families in the construction and improvement of their houses.

Depending on the project, volunteers work up to 35 hours per week.

The volunteers are responsible for the organization of their trip, to look for the best prices, to deal with the visa, if it is necessary. These procedures can be done once you are accepted in a project. We suggest looking up the costs of the trip before the registration, to avoid the cancellation of your participation for economical reasons. We suggest to the volunteers coming from other continents, arriving one or several days before the beginning of the project, so they can adapt to their new schedules.
To travel to Mexico, it is advisable to verify the prices of the flights, since it can be really expensive. A lot of airlines fly to Mexico, including: Aeromexico, Lufthansa, Air France, Air Canada, United Airlines, KLM, Alitalia, among others.

There are a lot of opportunities for the volunteers to enjoy and discover this part of the country. In San Cristobal de las Casas and in the rest of the state there are a lot of possibilities to discover the Mexican and Chiapas culture. Guatemala is also near and the volunteers can take advantage of this geographical situation. During the project, the recreational activities will be limited to the surrounding area where the project is located. These activities will be organized jointly with the hosting community.

The projects proposed by Nataté have a monthly participation fee that has to be covered by volunteers. This fee is: 1,500 Mexican pesos, volunteers should buy and prepare their own meals. This participation fee covers, administration costs, lodging, light and tab water. In projects where meal is included the participation fee is 2,500 and 2,900 depending of the project.

IV. ACCOMMODATION &FOOD:
•Nataté provides accommodation for the projects that take place in San Cristobal de las Casas. It is a house at the city center, with all facilities (kitchen, 3 toilets, a small patio) and 6 shared bedrooms.

•Volunteers buy their own food at their charge except in projects NAT11, NAT17 and NAT24 where the food is included in the participation fee.

•Volunteers can cook at home. Mexican food is good, and meat represents an important part of the diet. However vegetarians and vegans will not have any trouble finding what they need for their diets.

•In the case of projects outside of San Cristobal de las Casas, the lodging conditions are different. The information is written in each project description.

At the moment, Natate cannot propose a responsibility civil insurance, so we request the volunteers to have an accident and civil responsibility insurance and a trip insurance eventually.

The drug situation in Mexico is complicated. Even though the most part of the violence exists between the cartels and the dealers, the volunteers must be aware of the risks implied in the drugs’ use. Anyway, the drugs’ consume is strictly forbidden in the house where Natate accommodates its volunteers or in any of its projects. Natate will not tolerate to anyone the drugs’ use in the volunteers’ accommodation or in the projects. Breaking this rule will be enough reason for the volunteer to be asked to quit the project.

Nataté performs projects in the state of Chiapas, located in the Southeast of Mexico; it is known for its touristic sites, which include natural attractive areas, pre-hispanic archaeological sites, colonial cities and the direct contact with different cultural groups that cohabit in this state. It has the highest native population in the country and has natural marvels which cannot be compared like the archaeological zone of Palenque and the Agua Azul waterfalls. It adjoins to the East with Guatemala, to the West with Oaxaca, to the North with Tabasco, to the South with the Ocean Pacifica and to the Northwest with Veracruz. The dominating and official language is Spanish. The mayan dialects spoken in Chiapas are: chol, tojolabal, tzeltal, tzotzil, mam y lacandon, which are related to Mayan origin dialects from the Peninsula of Yucatan and Central America.
San Cristobal de las Casas is the largest city in terms of tourism. It is a city where people of different ethnics, races and cultures coexist. It is located in the Chiapas highlands.
Nowadays, San Cristobal de las Casas is one of the most beautiful and original cities from the region of the Altos of Chiapas (and America), and also it must be added the evocative colonial image that it has conserved along the centuries. Because besides that, it has also an everyday life that could be almost called traditional, with its market, its people and a lot of natives with their colorful dressings, coming from several communities and who arrive to the place to sell or exchange their products.

Alianza Cívica Chiapas is a non-governmental organization formed in 1994 by the initiative of a group of citizens and other civic organizations interested in active participation in the construction of a collective consciousness of participation through civic education, civic activities and actions that promote citizen participation in public affairs. Their aim was to enable the full respect of human rights in its various aspects (Civil Rights, Political, Economic, Social, Cultural, Environmental).

•Promoting the reading habit in 400 children from a district La Garita in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, through the installation of a mobile library, which allows the formation of cultural identity, to promote Human Rights and children's rights, as well as the values for healthy community living.
•Generate meeting spaces that encourage youth organization to express concerns, to express their creative ideas, active participation, dissemination and exchange of proposals and projects for the recognition of this sector, the creation of public and youth policies and building a better society.

Volunteers will stay at a house in San Cristobal, sharing a room with up to 4 volunteers.

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas.

3 months minimum.

Basic level of Spanish to communicate with staff and locals and a lot of self-initiative.

Number of volunteers. 3 volunteers.

At any time.

1500 Mexican pesos per month. Meals are not included.

Founded in 2006, Natate –the House in the Tree in Tsotsil, one of the Mayan dialects, is an independent civil association which works in the promotion of the international volunteering, for the solidarity and the comprehensive education for everyone, without a profitable objective, nongovernmental and non-religious.

»To develop the volunteering service and promote the international solidarity under an intercultural and peaceful spirit.
»To promote and develop the comprehensive education for young people.
»To promote programs for the development of sustainable lifestyles.
»To back and support groups of marginalized people and vulnerable minorities.
»To promote the respect to human rights and dignity

International Camping
Training Courses and Seminars
Information and Awareness Campaigns
National and International Volunteering

Natate is a member of the Coordinating Committee for the International Volunteer Service (CCIVS) and this lets it have access to programs and collaboration with more than 200 organizations in more than 80 countries. For more information visit www.unesco.org/ccivs

Through projects organized jointly with civil organizations, municipalities, groups and international and local organizations, Natate encourages the participation of young people in the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage, the protection of the environment, the construction of houses for the poorest, the improvement of social-educational structures, the utilization of alternative techniques of construction and sustainable technologies in several communities of the region of Chiapas.

Natate considers the volunteering as a mutual exchange between a person or a group that offers his/her time, work and energy for the benefit of a project of common interest and a community which offers to the volunteers a learning, experimentation, personal and collective development opportunity. The volunteering is also considered as a social tool which collaborates to the promotion of the inter-cultural dialogue to create Peace, and creates a relationship between the local action and the global reflection.

Volunteering is not an activity, is a way of life, a way of acting!

In all the projects proposed by Natate, the citizen participation and specially that one of the young people is really important.

•Environmental activities: cleaning, construction, recycling, awareness raising, reforestation
•Education: Work with children, artistic workshops, protection of the environment, recreational.
•Health: Support on the creation of workshops and translation of documents on sexual and reproductive health.
•Office work: Translation, promotion of volunteering, presentations, preparation of activities, camp leader, updating the web page, contact with international organizations.
•World heritage: restoration, renovation, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage.
•Construction: Support to low income families in the construction and improvement of their houses.

Depending on the project, volunteers work up to 35 hours per week.

The volunteers are responsible for the organization of their trip, to look for the best prices, to deal with the visa, if it is necessary. These procedures can be done once you are accepted in a project. We suggest looking up the costs of the trip before the registration, to avoid the cancellation of your participation for economical reasons. We suggest to the volunteers coming from other continents, arriving one or several days before the beginning of the project, so they can adapt to their new schedules.
To travel to Mexico, it is advisable to verify the prices of the flights, since it can be really expensive. A lot of airlines fly to Mexico, including: Aeromexico, Lufthansa, Air France, Air Canada, United Airlines, KLM, Alitalia, among others.

There are a lot of opportunities for the volunteers to enjoy and discover this part of the country. In San Cristobal de las Casas and in the rest of the state there are a lot of possibilities to discover the Mexican and Chiapas culture. Guatemala is also near and the volunteers can take advantage of this geographical situation. During the project, the recreational activities will be limited to the surrounding area where the project is located. These activities will be organized jointly with the hosting community.

The projects proposed by Nataté have a monthly participation fee that has to be covered by volunteers. This fee is: 1,500 Mexican pesos, volunteers should buy and prepare their own meals. This participation fee covers, administration costs, lodging, light and tab water. In projects where meal is included the participation fee is 2,500 and 2,900 depending of the project.

IV. ACCOMMODATION &FOOD:
•Nataté provides accommodation for the projects that take place in San Cristobal de las Casas. It is a house at the city center, with all facilities (kitchen, 3 toilets, a small patio) and 6 shared bedrooms.

•Volunteers buy their own food at their charge except in projects NAT11, NAT17 and NAT24 where the food is included in the participation fee.

•Volunteers can cook at home. Mexican food is good, and meat represents an important part of the diet. However vegetarians and vegans will not have any trouble finding what they need for their diets.

•In the case of projects outside of San Cristobal de las Casas, the lodging conditions are different. The information is written in each project description.

At the moment, Natate cannot propose a responsibility civil insurance, so we request the volunteers to have an accident and civil responsibility insurance and a trip insurance eventually.

The drug situation in Mexico is complicated. Even though the most part of the violence exists between the cartels and the dealers, the volunteers must be aware of the risks implied in the drugs’ use. Anyway, the drugs’ consume is strictly forbidden in the house where Natate accommodates its volunteers or in any of its projects. Natate will not tolerate to anyone the drugs’ use in the volunteers’ accommodation or in the projects. Breaking this rule will be enough reason for the volunteer to be asked to quit the project.

Nataté performs projects in the state of Chiapas, located in the Southeast of Mexico; it is known for its touristic sites, which include natural attractive areas, pre-hispanic archaeological sites, colonial cities and the direct contact with different cultural groups that cohabit in this state. It has the highest native population in the country and has natural marvels which cannot be compared like the archaeological zone of Palenque and the Agua Azul waterfalls. It adjoins to the East with Guatemala, to the West with Oaxaca, to the North with Tabasco, to the South with the Ocean Pacifica and to the Northwest with Veracruz. The dominating and official language is Spanish. The mayan dialects spoken in Chiapas are: chol, tojolabal, tzeltal, tzotzil, mam y lacandon, which are related to Mayan origin dialects from the Peninsula of Yucatan and Central America.
San Cristobal de las Casas is the largest city in terms of tourism. It is a city where people of different ethnics, races and cultures coexist. It is located in the Chiapas highlands.

Nowadays, San Cristobal de las Casas is one of the most beautiful and original cities from the region of the Altos of Chiapas (and America), and also it must be added the evocative colonial image that it has conserved along the centuries. Because besides that, it has also an everyday life that could be almost called traditional, with its market, its people and a lot of natives with their colorful dressings, coming from several communities and who arrive to the place to sell or exchange their products.

The cultural center Talentos y Vida A.C (Talents and Life) was founded on October 2007, to open a space for the community and offer a cultural alternative for the people of Yecapixtla. The aim was to promote an integral development for all people, focusing on children and youngsters, through workshops, conferences, cinema, field trips, promotion of cultural heritage and environment. The center works on 5 basic dimensions of human development; Physical, psychological, cognitive, artistic and spiritual.

Talentos y Vida’s aim is to encourage the local and universal cultural development, starting from the basic training, moving through different artistic expressions until the transcendental dimension and achieving a personal integral development for the local community.

The association organizes and participates on cultural festivals and workshops during the year: ecological festival (March), childhood day (April), Mother’s day (May), Father’s day (June), summer camps (July), independence day celebrations (September), local fair (October), day of the death (November), festival to promote the Yecapixtla ex-convent a cultural world heritage site (December).
Hosting from 150 to 300 people that participate in each event.
The activities are co-organized between the locals, the city hall and the church, working for all those actions that favor the cultural growth at the community.

Volunteers will stay at the cultural center in a shared space.

Yecapixtla, is located 20 minutes from Cuautla, Morelos.

From 3 months to 1 year.

Basic level of Spanish and a great sense of initiative.

Number of volunteers. 2 volunteers.

At any time.

1500 Mexican pesos per month. Meals are not included.

Founded in 2006, Natate –the House in the Tree in Tsotsil, one of the Mayan dialects, is an independent civil association which works in the promotion of the international volunteering, for the solidarity and the comprehensive education for everyone, without a profitable objective, nongovernmental and non-religious.

»To develop the volunteering service and promote the international solidarity under an intercultural and peaceful spirit.
»To promote and develop the comprehensive education for young people.
»To promote programs for the development of sustainable lifestyles.
»To back and support groups of marginalized people and vulnerable minorities.
»To promote the respect to human rights and dignity

International Camping
Training Courses and Seminars
Information and Awareness Campaigns
National and International Volunteering

Natate is a member of the Coordinating Committee for the International Volunteer Service (CCIVS) and this lets it have access to programs and collaboration with more than 200 organizations in more than 80 countries. For more information visit www.unesco.org/ccivs

Through projects organized jointly with civil organizations, municipalities, groups and international and local organizations, Natate encourages the participation of young people in the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage, the protection of the environment, the construction of houses for the poorest, the improvement of social-educational structures, the utilization of alternative techniques of construction and sustainable technologies in several communities of the region of Chiapas.

Natate considers the volunteering as a mutual exchange between a person or a group that offers his/her time, work and energy for the benefit of a project of common interest and a community which offers to the volunteers a learning, experimentation, personal and collective development opportunity. The volunteering is also considered as a social tool which collaborates to the promotion of the inter-cultural dialogue to create Peace, and creates a relationship between the local action and the global reflection.

Volunteering is not an activity, is a way of life, a way of acting!

In all the projects proposed by Natate, the citizen participation and specially that one of the young people is really important.

•Environmental activities: cleaning, construction, recycling, awareness raising, reforestation
•Education: Work with children, artistic workshops, protection of the environment, recreational.
•Health: Support on the creation of workshops and translation of documents on sexual and reproductive health.
•Office work: Translation, promotion of volunteering, presentations, preparation of activities, camp leader, updating the web page, contact with international organizations.
•World heritage: restoration, renovation, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage.
•Construction: Support to low income families in the construction and improvement of their houses.

Depending on the project, volunteers work up to 35 hours per week.

The volunteers are responsible for the organization of their trip, to look for the best prices, to deal with the visa, if it is necessary. These procedures can be done once you are accepted in a project. We suggest looking up the costs of the trip before the registration, to avoid the cancellation of your participation for economical reasons. We suggest to the volunteers coming from other continents, arriving one or several days before the beginning of the project, so they can adapt to their new schedules.
To travel to Mexico, it is advisable to verify the prices of the flights, since it can be really expensive. A lot of airlines fly to Mexico, including: Aeromexico, Lufthansa, Air France, Air Canada, United Airlines, KLM, Alitalia, among others.

There are a lot of opportunities for the volunteers to enjoy and discover this part of the country. In San Cristobal de las Casas and in the rest of the state there are a lot of possibilities to discover the Mexican and Chiapas culture. Guatemala is also near and the volunteers can take advantage of this geographical situation. During the project, the recreational activities will be limited to the surrounding area where the project is located. These activities will be organized jointly with the hosting community.

The projects proposed by Nataté have a monthly participation fee that has to be covered by volunteers. This fee is: 1,500 Mexican pesos, volunteers should buy and prepare their own meals. This participation fee covers, administration costs, lodging, light and tab water. In projects where meal is included the participation fee is 2,500 and 2,900 depending of the project.

IV. ACCOMMODATION &FOOD:
•Nataté provides accommodation for the projects that take place in San Cristobal de las Casas. It is a house at the city center, with all facilities (kitchen, 3 toilets, a small patio) and 6 shared bedrooms.

•Volunteers buy their own food at their charge except in projects NAT11, NAT17 and NAT24 where the food is included in the participation fee.

•Volunteers can cook at home. Mexican food is good, and meat represents an important part of the diet. However vegetarians and vegans will not have any trouble finding what they need for their diets.

•In the case of projects outside of San Cristobal de las Casas, the lodging conditions are different. The information is written in each project description.

At the moment, Natate cannot propose a responsibility civil insurance, so we request the volunteers to have an accident and civil responsibility insurance and a trip insurance eventually.

The drug situation in Mexico is complicated. Even though the most part of the violence exists between the cartels and the dealers, the volunteers must be aware of the risks implied in the drugs’ use. Anyway, the drugs’ consume is strictly forbidden in the house where Natate accommodates its volunteers or in any of its projects. Natate will not tolerate to anyone the drugs’ use in the volunteers’ accommodation or in the projects. Breaking this rule will be enough reason for the volunteer to be asked to quit the project.

Nataté performs projects in the state of Chiapas, located in the Southeast of Mexico; it is known for its touristic sites, which include natural attractive areas, pre-hispanic archaeological sites, colonial cities and the direct contact with different cultural groups that cohabit in this state. It has the highest native population in the country and has natural marvels which cannot be compared like the archaeological zone of Palenque and the Agua Azul waterfalls. It adjoins to the East with Guatemala, to the West with Oaxaca, to the North with Tabasco, to the South with the Ocean Pacifica and to the Northwest with Veracruz. The dominating and official language is Spanish. The mayan dialects spoken in Chiapas are: chol, tojolabal, tzeltal, tzotzil, mam y lacandon, which are related to Mayan origin dialects from the Peninsula of Yucatan and Central America.

San Cristobal de las Casas is the largest city in terms of tourism. It is a city where people of different ethnics, races and cultures coexist. It is located in the Chiapas highlands.

Nowadays, San Cristobal de las Casas is one of the most beautiful and original cities from the region of the Altos of Chiapas (and America), and also it must be added the evocative colonial image that it has conserved along the centuries. Because besides that, it has also an everyday life that could be almost called traditional, with its market, its people and a lot of natives with their colorful dressings, coming from several communities and who arrive to the place to sell or exchange their products.

Jaguar de Madera (wooden jaguar) is a reference center on Eco-technologies, it was created in 2008, as a response to a series of processes of bio-construction, where some of its members participated. Since 2009, thanks to the collaboration of various organizations, Jaguar de Madera has been functioning as a training center. The mission is to teach and promote the use of adequate technologies, as an alternative to the conventional models that affect the quality of life of the population from the Usumasinta-Grijalva river.

• At the moment, the center is working on different proposals and workshops on: sustainable construction;
•environmental education;
•bike-machines (bike-blender, bike-washing machines, etc);
•vegetable growing;
•integral farming;
•bio-fertilizers;
•water caption systems;
•dry latrines;
•digestors for water treatment and carpentry;

These activities take place in and outside the center.

•Help with the maintenance of the workshop and agro-ecological practices areas.
•Collaborate with the design and creation of the demonstrative area.
•Help with the farm and compost area.
•Continue with the construction of gardens, greenhouses and ecological paths in the center.
•Help during the implementation process of adequate technologies that will be structured during the first weeks.
•Search and contact local producers and co-operatives that need the products from the center (organic fertilizers, compost, animals, vegetables, mushrooms, etc.)
•Construction of demonstrative houses at the center and in various communities in the surrounding areas of San Cristobal de las Casas.
•An awareness raising campaign on the use of sustainable practices will be taking place permanently.

Volunteers will stay at a house in San Cristòbal de las Casas, sharing a room with up to 4 volunteers.

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas.

From 3 months to 1 year.

Interest on environmental construction.
Good level of Spanish. Motivation, capabilities of proposing solutions and actions for the center.
Interest and capabilities for team work, to encourage the local commerce, learn and exchange knowledge with others.

Number of volunteers. 3 volunteers.

At any time.

1500 Mexican pesos per month. Meals are not included.

Founded in 2006, Natate –the House in the Tree in Tsotsil, one of the Mayan dialects, is an independent civil association which works in the promotion of the international volunteering, for the solidarity and the comprehensive education for everyone, without a profitable objective, nongovernmental and non-religious.

»To develop the volunteering service and promote the international solidarity under an intercultural and peaceful spirit.
»To promote and develop the comprehensive education for young people.
»To promote programs for the development of sustainable lifestyles.
»To back and support groups of marginalized people and vulnerable minorities.
»To promote the respect to human rights and dignity

International Camping
Training Courses and Seminars
Information and Awareness Campaigns
National and International Volunteering

Natate is a member of the Coordinating Committee for the International Volunteer Service (CCIVS) and this lets it have access to programs and collaboration with more than 200 organizations in more than 80 countries. For more information visit www.unesco.org/ccivs

Through projects organized jointly with civil organizations, municipalities, groups and international and local organizations, Natate encourages the participation of young people in the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage, the protection of the environment, the construction of houses for the poorest, the improvement of social-educational structures, the utilization of alternative techniques of construction and sustainable technologies in several communities of the region of Chiapas.

Natate considers the volunteering as a mutual exchange between a person or a group that offers his/her time, work and energy for the benefit of a project of common interest and a community which offers to the volunteers a learning, experimentation, personal and collective development opportunity. The volunteering is also considered as a social tool which collaborates to the promotion of the inter-cultural dialogue to create Peace, and creates a relationship between the local action and the global reflection.

Volunteering is not an activity, is a way of life, a way of acting!

In all the projects proposed by Natate, the citizen participation and specially that one of the young people is really important.

•Environmental activities: cleaning, construction, recycling, awareness raising, reforestation
•Education: Work with children, artistic workshops, protection of the environment, recreational.
•Health: Support on the creation of workshops and translation of documents on sexual and reproductive health.
•Office work: Translation, promotion of volunteering, presentations, preparation of activities, camp leader, updating the web page, contact with international organizations.
•World heritage: restoration, renovation, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage.
•Construction: Support to low income families in the construction and improvement of their houses.

Depending on the project, volunteers work up to 35 hours per week.

The volunteers are responsible for the organization of their trip, to look for the best prices, to deal with the visa, if it is necessary. These procedures can be done once you are accepted in a project. We suggest looking up the costs of the trip before the registration, to avoid the cancellation of your participation for economical reasons. We suggest to the volunteers coming from other continents, arriving one or several days before the beginning of the project, so they can adapt to their new schedules.
To travel to Mexico, it is advisable to verify the prices of the flights, since it can be really expensive. A lot of airlines fly to Mexico, including: Aeromexico, Lufthansa, Air France, Air Canada, United Airlines, KLM, Alitalia, among others.

There are a lot of opportunities for the volunteers to enjoy and discover this part of the country. In San Cristobal de las Casas and in the rest of the state there are a lot of possibilities to discover the Mexican and Chiapas culture. Guatemala is also near and the volunteers can take advantage of this geographical situation. During the project, the recreational activities will be limited to the surrounding area where the project is located. These activities will be organized jointly with the hosting community.

The projects proposed by Nataté have a monthly participation fee that has to be covered by volunteers. This fee is: 1,500 Mexican pesos, volunteers should buy and prepare their own meals. This participation fee covers, administration costs, lodging, light and tab water. In projects where meal is included the participation fee is 2,500 and 2,900 depending of the project.

IV. ACCOMMODATION &FOOD:
•Nataté provides accommodation for the projects that take place in San Cristobal de las Casas. It is a house at the city center, with all facilities (kitchen, 3 toilets, a small patio) and 6 shared bedrooms.

•Volunteers buy their own food at their charge except in projects NAT11, NAT17 and NAT24 where the food is included in the participation fee.

•Volunteers can cook at home. Mexican food is good, and meat represents an important part of the diet. However vegetarians and vegans will not have any trouble finding what they need for their diets.

•In the case of projects outside of San Cristobal de las Casas, the lodging conditions are different. The information is written in each project description.

At the moment, Natate cannot propose a responsibility civil insurance, so we request the volunteers to have an accident and civil responsibility insurance and a trip insurance eventually.

The drug situation in Mexico is complicated. Even though the most part of the violence exists between the cartels and the dealers, the volunteers must be aware of the risks implied in the drugs’ use. Anyway, the drugs’ consume is strictly forbidden in the house where Natate accommodates its volunteers or in any of its projects. Natate will not tolerate to anyone the drugs’ use in the volunteers’ accommodation or in the projects. Breaking this rule will be enough reason for the volunteer to be asked to quit the project.

Nataté performs projects in the state of Chiapas, located in the Southeast of Mexico; it is known for its touristic sites, which include natural attractive areas, pre-hispanic archaeological sites, colonial cities and the direct contact with different cultural groups that cohabit in this state. It has the highest native population in the country and has natural marvels which cannot be compared like the archaeological zone of Palenque and the Agua Azul waterfalls. It adjoins to the East with Guatemala, to the West with Oaxaca, to the North with Tabasco, to the South with the Ocean Pacifica and to the Northwest with Veracruz. The dominating and official language is Spanish. The mayan dialects spoken in Chiapas are: chol, tojolabal, tzeltal, tzotzil, mam y lacandon, which are related to Mayan origin dialects from the Peninsula of Yucatan and Central America.

San Cristobal de las Casas is the largest city in terms of tourism. It is a city where people of different ethnics, races and cultures coexist. It is located in the Chiapas highlands.

Nowadays, San Cristobal de las Casas is one of the most beautiful and original cities from the region of the Altos of Chiapas (and America), and also it must be added the evocative colonial image that it has conserved along the centuries. Because besides that, it has also an everyday life that could be almost called traditional, with its market, its people and a lot of natives with their colorful dressings, coming from several communities and who arrive to the place to sell or exchange their products.

La Albarrada was founded on 1987, and since its creation it offered a farm-school for the training
of men and women from the communities around San Cristòbal de las Casas. The number of training workshops for work and social formation was increased in five main areas: agriculture, artistic, technical, services and social work.

Nowadays, with its training and formation actions, the Albarrada helps in the consolidation of social networks for sustainable development and improves life quality for people, families and communities.

Albarrada's goals are to develop activities for the social development of communities, offering education, training, technical assistance, production and services for social organizations, civil societies, groups and people from rural and indigenous areas, as well as for marginalized urban populations; providing capabilities, values and knowledge that allows them to improve their life quality.

Volunteers will help the staff in the different areas of work. They will have the opportunity to participate and support Human Development workshops (Identity, self esteem, limits, assertivity, creative conflict resolution, violence, gender equality, human relationships, communication, sexuality, environmental education, culture and peace). Health (family planning, STD, prevention of addictions and HIV, prevention of maternal mortality. Technical assistance for the construction of houses, smoke free wooden stoves and ovens, solar water purifiers, latrines; as well as in the areas of gardening, flower cultivation, agriculture and design of integral farming.

Volunteers can also learn from the other areas at the center and can integrate them according to their interests.

Volunteers will stay at the center, in a shared room.

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas.

From 2 months to 1 year.

Interest in the work areas of the center and social work.

Number of volunteers. 4 volunteers

Any time from February to November.

1500 Mexican pesos per month. Meals are covered by the project.

Founded in 2006, Natate –the House in the Tree in Tsotsil, one of the Mayan dialects, is an independent civil association which works in the promotion of the international volunteering, for the solidarity and the comprehensive education for everyone, without a profitable objective, nongovernmental and non-religious.

»To develop the volunteering service and promote the international solidarity under an intercultural and peaceful spirit.
»To promote and develop the comprehensive education for young people.
»To promote programs for the development of sustainable lifestyles.
»To back and support groups of marginalized people and vulnerable minorities.
»To promote the respect to human rights and dignity

International Camping
Training Courses and Seminars
Information and Awareness Campaigns
National and International Volunteering

Natate is a member of the Coordinating Committee for the International Volunteer Service (CCIVS) and this lets it have access to programs and collaboration with more than 200 organizations in more than 80 countries. For more information visit www.unesco.org/ccivs

Through projects organized jointly with civil organizations, municipalities, groups and international and local organizations, Natate encourages the participation of young people in the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage, the protection of the environment, the construction of houses for the poorest, the improvement of social-educational structures, the utilization of alternative techniques of construction and sustainable technologies in several communities of the region of Chiapas.

Natate considers the volunteering as a mutual exchange between a person or a group that offers his/her time, work and energy for the benefit of a project of common interest and a community which offers to the volunteers a learning, experimentation, personal and collective development opportunity. The volunteering is also considered as a social tool which collaborates to the promotion of the inter-cultural dialogue to create Peace, and creates a relationship between the local action and the global reflection.

Volunteering is not an activity, is a way of life, a way of acting!

In all the projects proposed by Natate, the citizen participation and specially that one of the young people is really important.

•Environmental activities: cleaning, construction, recycling, awareness raising, reforestation
•Education: Work with children, artistic workshops, protection of the environment, recreational.
•Health: Support on the creation of workshops and translation of documents on sexual and reproductive health.
•Office work: Translation, promotion of volunteering, presentations, preparation of activities, camp leader, updating the web page, contact with international organizations.
•World heritage: restoration, renovation, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage.
•Construction: Support to low income families in the construction and improvement of their houses.

Depending on the project, volunteers work up to 35 hours per week.

The volunteers are responsible for the organization of their trip, to look for the best prices, to deal with the visa, if it is necessary. These procedures can be done once you are accepted in a project. We suggest looking up the costs of the trip before the registration, to avoid the cancellation of your participation for economical reasons. We suggest to the volunteers coming from other continents, arriving one or several days before the beginning of the project, so they can adapt to their new schedules.
To travel to Mexico, it is advisable to verify the prices of the flights, since it can be really expensive. A lot of airlines fly to Mexico, including: Aeromexico, Lufthansa, Air France, Air Canada, United Airlines, KLM, Alitalia, among others.

There are a lot of opportunities for the volunteers to enjoy and discover this part of the country. In San Cristobal de las Casas and in the rest of the state there are a lot of possibilities to discover the Mexican and Chiapas culture. Guatemala is also near and the volunteers can take advantage of this geographical situation. During the project, the recreational activities will be limited to the surrounding area where the project is located. These activities will be organized jointly with the hosting community.

The projects proposed by Nataté have a monthly participation fee that has to be covered by volunteers. This fee is: 1,500 Mexican pesos, volunteers should buy and prepare their own meals. This participation fee covers, administration costs, lodging, light and tab water. In projects where meal is included the participation fee is 2,500 and 2,900 depending of the project.

IV. ACCOMMODATION &FOOD:
•Nataté provides accommodation for the projects that take place in San Cristobal de las Casas. It is a house at the city center, with all facilities (kitchen, 3 toilets, a small patio) and 6 shared bedrooms.

•Volunteers buy their own food at their charge except in projects NAT11, NAT17 and NAT24 where the food is included in the participation fee.

•Volunteers can cook at home. Mexican food is good, and meat represents an important part of the diet. However vegetarians and vegans will not have any trouble finding what they need for their diets.

•In the case of projects outside of San Cristobal de las Casas, the lodging conditions are different. The information is written in each project description.

At the moment, Natate cannot propose a responsibility civil insurance, so we request the volunteers to have an accident and civil responsibility insurance and a trip insurance eventually.

The drug situation in Mexico is complicated. Even though the most part of the violence exists between the cartels and the dealers, the volunteers must be aware of the risks implied in the drugs’ use. Anyway, the drugs’ consume is strictly forbidden in the house where Natate accommodates its volunteers or in any of its projects. Natate will not tolerate to anyone the drugs’ use in the volunteers’ accommodation or in the projects. Breaking this rule will be enough reason for the volunteer to be asked to quit the project.

Nataté performs projects in the state of Chiapas, located in the Southeast of Mexico; it is known for its touristic sites, which include natural attractive areas, pre-hispanic archaeological sites, colonial cities and the direct contact with different cultural groups that cohabit in this state. It has the highest native population in the country and has natural marvels which cannot be compared like the archaeological zone of Palenque and the Agua Azul waterfalls. It adjoins to the East with Guatemala, to the West with Oaxaca, to the North with Tabasco, to the South with the Ocean Pacifica and to the Northwest with Veracruz. The dominating and official language is Spanish. The mayan dialects spoken in Chiapas are: chol, tojolabal, tzeltal, tzotzil, mam y lacandon, which are related to Mayan origin dialects from the Peninsula of Yucatan and Central America.

San Cristobal de las Casas is the largest city in terms of tourism. It is a city where people of different ethnics, races and cultures coexist. It is located in the Chiapas highlands.

Nowadays, San Cristobal de las Casas is one of the most beautiful and original cities from the region of the Altos of Chiapas (and America), and also it must be added the evocative colonial image that it has conserved along the centuries. Because besides that, it has also an everyday life that could be almost called traditional, with its market, its people and a lot of natives with their colorful dressings, coming from several communities and who arrive to the place to sell or exchange their products.

Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste A.C. is an environmental NGO that supports indigenous and peasant communities, contributing to their sustainable development, socially fair and equitable in harmony with nature. They promote technical strengthening of these communities and their processes of self-organization and management as well as the defense and management of its territory and its natural assets, all through research, communication, discussion, dissemination, general support, trainings, technical and legal assistance.

Volunteers will help with;
•Translation of documents
•Update website and blogs
•networking (Facebook, twitter)
•Maintaining the rural Demonstration Center in Environmental Technologies
•Support in conducting fortnightly videodebate and weekly radio programs
•Those specific activities which are related to the professional development and skills of the volunteer.

Volunteers will stay at a house in San Cristóbal de las Casas, sharing room with up to 4 volunteers.

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas.

From 6 months up to 1 year.

Interest in agricultural activities, craft, technical and social work services.

Number of volunteers. 2 volunteers.

Any time.

1500 Mexican pesos per month. Meals are not included.

Founded in 2006, Natate –the House in the Tree in Tsotsil, one of the Mayan dialects, is an independent civil association which works in the promotion of the international volunteering, for the solidarity and the comprehensive education for everyone, without a profitable objective, nongovernmental and non-religious.

»To develop the volunteering service and promote the international solidarity under an intercultural and peaceful spirit.
»To promote and develop the comprehensive education for young people.
»To promote programs for the development of sustainable lifestyles.
»To back and support groups of marginalized people and vulnerable minorities.
»To promote the respect to human rights and dignity

International Camping
Training Courses and Seminars
Information and Awareness Campaigns
National and International Volunteering

Natate is a member of the Coordinating Committee for the International Volunteer Service (CCIVS) and this lets it have access to programs and collaboration with more than 200 organizations in more than 80 countries. For more information visit www.unesco.org/ccivs

Through projects organized jointly with civil organizations, municipalities, groups and international and local organizations, Natate encourages the participation of young people in the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage, the protection of the environment, the construction of houses for the poorest, the improvement of social-educational structures, the utilization of alternative techniques of construction and sustainable technologies in several communities of the region of Chiapas.

Natate considers the volunteering as a mutual exchange between a person or a group that offers his/her time, work and energy for the benefit of a project of common interest and a community which offers to the volunteers a learning, experimentation, personal and collective development opportunity. The volunteering is also considered as a social tool which collaborates to the promotion of the inter-cultural dialogue to create Peace, and creates a relationship between the local action and the global reflection.

Volunteering is not an activity, is a way of life, a way of acting!

In all the projects proposed by Natate, the citizen participation and specially that one of the young people is really important.

•Environmental activities: cleaning, construction, recycling, awareness raising, reforestation
•Education: Work with children, artistic workshops, protection of the environment, recreational.
•Health: Support on the creation of workshops and translation of documents on sexual and reproductive health.
•Office work: Translation, promotion of volunteering, presentations, preparation of activities, camp leader, updating the web page, contact with international organizations.
•World heritage: restoration, renovation, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage.
•Construction: Support to low income families in the construction and improvement of their houses.

Depending on the project, volunteers work up to 35 hours per week.

The volunteers are responsible for the organization of their trip, to look for the best prices, to deal with the visa, if it is necessary. These procedures can be done once you are accepted in a project. We suggest looking up the costs of the trip before the registration, to avoid the cancellation of your participation for economical reasons. We suggest to the volunteers coming from other continents, arriving one or several days before the beginning of the project, so they can adapt to their new schedules.
To travel to Mexico, it is advisable to verify the prices of the flights, since it can be really expensive. A lot of airlines fly to Mexico, including: Aeromexico, Lufthansa, Air France, Air Canada, United Airlines, KLM, Alitalia, among others.

There are a lot of opportunities for the volunteers to enjoy and discover this part of the country. In San Cristobal de las Casas and in the rest of the state there are a lot of possibilities to discover the Mexican and Chiapas culture. Guatemala is also near and the volunteers can take advantage of this geographical situation. During the project, the recreational activities will be limited to the surrounding area where the project is located. These activities will be organized jointly with the hosting community.

The projects proposed by Nataté have a monthly participation fee that has to be covered by volunteers. This fee is: 1,500 Mexican pesos, volunteers should buy and prepare their own meals. This participation fee covers, administration costs, lodging, light and tab water. In projects where meal is included the participation fee is 2,500 and 2,900 depending of the project.

IV. ACCOMMODATION &FOOD:
•Nataté provides accommodation for the projects that take place in San Cristobal de las Casas. It is a house at the city center, with all facilities (kitchen, 3 toilets, a small patio) and 6 shared bedrooms.

•Volunteers buy their own food at their charge except in projects NAT11, NAT17 and NAT24 where the food is included in the participation fee.

•Volunteers can cook at home. Mexican food is good, and meat represents an important part of the diet. However vegetarians and vegans will not have any trouble finding what they need for their diets.

•In the case of projects outside of San Cristobal de las Casas, the lodging conditions are different. The information is written in each project description.

At the moment, Natate cannot propose a responsibility civil insurance, so we request the volunteers to have an accident and civil responsibility insurance and a trip insurance eventually.

The drug situation in Mexico is complicated. Even though the most part of the violence exists between the cartels and the dealers, the volunteers must be aware of the risks implied in the drugs’ use. Anyway, the drugs’ consume is strictly forbidden in the house where Natate accommodates its volunteers or in any of its projects. Natate will not tolerate to anyone the drugs’ use in the volunteers’ accommodation or in the projects. Breaking this rule will be enough reason for the volunteer to be asked to quit the project.

Nataté performs projects in the state of Chiapas, located in the Southeast of Mexico; it is known for its touristic sites, which include natural attractive areas, pre-hispanic archaeological sites, colonial cities and the direct contact with different cultural groups that cohabit in this state. It has the highest native population in the country and has natural marvels which cannot be compared like the archaeological zone of Palenque and the Agua Azul waterfalls. It adjoins to the East with Guatemala, to the West with Oaxaca, to the North with Tabasco, to the South with the Ocean Pacifica and to the Northwest with Veracruz. The dominating and official language is Spanish. The mayan dialects spoken in Chiapas are: chol, tojolabal, tzeltal, tzotzil, mam y lacandon, which are related to Mayan origin dialects from the Peninsula of Yucatan and Central America.

San Cristobal de las Casas is the largest city in terms of tourism. It is a city where people of different ethnics, races and cultures coexist. It is located in the Chiapas highlands.

Nowadays, San Cristobal de las Casas is one of the most beautiful and original cities from the region of the Altos of Chiapas (and America), and also it must be added the evocative colonial image that it has conserved along the centuries. Because besides that, it has also an everyday life that could be almost called traditional, with its market, its people and a lot of natives with their colorful dressings, coming from several communities and who arrive to the place to sell or exchange their products.

Angels of Love Association was created in 2005 to support youth and adults with disabilities. The activities of the organization are to promote coexistence, integrate the adult with disabilities into society, enabling them to develop skills that integrate them into formal employment, develop their skills trough workshops and classes to expand their educational horizons.

Volunteers will help with;
• Support workshops
• Support in the farm, poultry care, planting and harvesting vegetables.
• Support in physical therapies.
• Recreation and sports.
• Organize outings to parks, museums, zoos and so on.
• Support for dissemination and communication (development of websites, blogs, videos).

Volunteers will stay at a house in San Cristóbal de las Casas, sharing a room with up to 4 volunteers.

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas.

From 3 months to 6 months.

Patience. Interest in supporting people with disabilities. Availability and openness to cultural exchange.

Number of volunteers. 2 volunteers.

Any time.

1500 Mexican pesos per month. Meals are not included.

Founded in 2006, Natate –the House in the Tree in Tsotsil, one of the Mayan dialects, is an independent civil association which works in the promotion of the international volunteering, for the solidarity and the comprehensive education for everyone, without a profitable objective, nongovernmental and non-religious.

»To develop the volunteering service and promote the international solidarity under an intercultural and peaceful spirit.
»To promote and develop the comprehensive education for young people.
»To promote programs for the development of sustainable lifestyles.
»To back and support groups of marginalized people and vulnerable minorities.
»To promote the respect to human rights and dignity

International Camping
Training Courses and Seminars
Information and Awareness Campaigns
National and International Volunteering

Natate is a member of the Coordinating Committee for the International Volunteer Service (CCIVS) and this lets it have access to programs and collaboration with more than 200 organizations in more than 80 countries. For more information visit www.unesco.org/ccivs

Through projects organized jointly with civil organizations, municipalities, groups and international and local organizations, Natate encourages the participation of young people in the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage, the protection of the environment, the construction of houses for the poorest, the improvement of social-educational structures, the utilization of alternative techniques of construction and sustainable technologies in several communities of the region of Chiapas.

Natate considers the volunteering as a mutual exchange between a person or a group that offers his/her time, work and energy for the benefit of a project of common interest and a community which offers to the volunteers a learning, experimentation, personal and collective development opportunity. The volunteering is also considered as a social tool which collaborates to the promotion of the inter-cultural dialogue to create Peace, and creates a relationship between the local action and the global reflection.

Volunteering is not an activity, is a way of life, a way of acting!

In all the projects proposed by Natate, the citizen participation and specially that one of the young people is really important.

•Environmental activities: cleaning, construction, recycling, awareness raising, reforestation
•Education: Work with children, artistic workshops, protection of the environment, recreational.
•Health: Support on the creation of workshops and translation of documents on sexual and reproductive health.
•Office work: Translation, promotion of volunteering, presentations, preparation of activities, camp leader, updating the web page, contact with international organizations.
•World heritage: restoration, renovation, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage.
•Construction: Support to low income families in the construction and improvement of their houses.

Depending on the project, volunteers work up to 35 hours per week.

The volunteers are responsible for the organization of their trip, to look for the best prices, to deal with the visa, if it is necessary. These procedures can be done once you are accepted in a project. We suggest looking up the costs of the trip before the registration, to avoid the cancellation of your participation for economical reasons. We suggest to the volunteers coming from other continents, arriving one or several days before the beginning of the project, so they can adapt to their new schedules.
To travel to Mexico, it is advisable to verify the prices of the flights, since it can be really expensive. A lot of airlines fly to Mexico, including: Aeromexico, Lufthansa, Air France, Air Canada, United Airlines, KLM, Alitalia, among others.

There are a lot of opportunities for the volunteers to enjoy and discover this part of the country. In San Cristobal de las Casas and in the rest of the state there are a lot of possibilities to discover the Mexican and Chiapas culture. Guatemala is also near and the volunteers can take advantage of this geographical situation. During the project, the recreational activities will be limited to the surrounding area where the project is located. These activities will be organized jointly with the hosting community.

The projects proposed by Nataté have a monthly participation fee that has to be covered by volunteers. This fee is: 1,500 Mexican pesos, volunteers should buy and prepare their own meals. This participation fee covers, administration costs, lodging, light and tab water. In projects where meal is included the participation fee is 2,500 and 2,900 depending of the project.

IV. ACCOMMODATION &FOOD:
•Nataté provides accommodation for the projects that take place in San Cristobal de las Casas. It is a house at the city center, with all facilities (kitchen, 3 toilets, a small patio) and 6 shared bedrooms.

•Volunteers buy their own food at their charge except in projects NAT11, NAT17 and NAT24 where the food is included in the participation fee.

•Volunteers can cook at home. Mexican food is good, and meat represents an important part of the diet. However vegetarians and vegans will not have any trouble finding what they need for their diets.

•In the case of projects outside of San Cristobal de las Casas, the lodging conditions are different. The information is written in each project description.

At the moment, Natate cannot propose a responsibility civil insurance, so we request the volunteers to have an accident and civil responsibility insurance and a trip insurance eventually.

The drug situation in Mexico is complicated. Even though the most part of the violence exists between the cartels and the dealers, the volunteers must be aware of the risks implied in the drugs’ use. Anyway, the drugs’ consume is strictly forbidden in the house where Natate accommodates its volunteers or in any of its projects. Natate will not tolerate to anyone the drugs’ use in the volunteers’ accommodation or in the projects. Breaking this rule will be enough reason for the volunteer to be asked to quit the project.

Nataté performs projects in the state of Chiapas, located in the Southeast of Mexico; it is known for its touristic sites, which include natural attractive areas, pre-hispanic archaeological sites, colonial cities and the direct contact with different cultural groups that cohabit in this state. It has the highest native population in the country and has natural marvels which cannot be compared like the archaeological zone of Palenque and the Agua Azul waterfalls. It adjoins to the East with Guatemala, to the West with Oaxaca, to the North with Tabasco, to the South with the Ocean Pacifica and to the Northwest with Veracruz. The dominating and official language is Spanish. The mayan dialects spoken in Chiapas are: chol, tojolabal, tzeltal, tzotzil, mam y lacandon, which are related to Mayan origin dialects from the Peninsula of Yucatan and Central America.

San Cristobal de las Casas is the largest city in terms of tourism. It is a city where people of different ethnics, races and cultures coexist. It is located in the Chiapas highlands.

Nowadays, San Cristobal de las Casas is one of the most beautiful and original cities from the region of the Altos of Chiapas (and America), and also it must be added the evocative colonial image that it has conserved along the centuries. Because besides that, it has also an everyday life that could be almost called traditional, with its market, its people and a lot of natives with their colorful dressings, coming from several communities and who arrive to the place to sell or exchange their products.