El Terreno

It was an incredible experience. Not only did I find a space to work on my own project, but I was also surrounded by an inspiring and collaborative atmosphere. I loved how everyone in the house was deeply involved in their own projects as well as with the local communities. Joshua was a great help with my photography project, connecting me with other people and communities. This project opened my eyes to new perspectives and possibilities. I never thought I could do all these things at 20 years old, and visit so many places, meet so many new people & cultures but with the trust of Joshua & everyone else in the house everything became possible!

After finishing my third year of civil engineering in Canada I wanted to find an internship abroad, I had a focus on international development and I didn't want to go abroad to work with big international companies. This internship was perfect for me as it really highlighted the community aspect, working with local organizations and farmers was a great opportunity for me not only to explore aspects of my field but also to create connections and see the impact my work is making. Our mentor, Sebastian, was extremely helpful to us, we learnt a lot about agroforestry and natural water conservation. Joshua was also very friendly and I enjoyed the close-knit atmosphere El Terreno had. Atandahua was an extremely picturesque town and I enjoyed living with a local family there and speaking to them about their life. As for the specific work we did, we conducted interviews, followed the standard design ideation process, surveyed natural wells, compiled the data and also presented to the community. I also had the opportunity to go on trips all around Ecuador during the weekends! It was overall an incredible experience. I did this internship for 2 months and I can't wait to return to Ecuador to see how our project has evolved!

Overall, I'm very grateful for my time in El Terrano. The program worked closely with the community, allowing you to really experience Ecuador and the local culture. It's clear that the program is aimed to give back to the community and help to improve the live's of those living there. Joshua was super supportive of the other interns and I. He closely listens to your goals, while also being able to offer you suggestions on what could make your involvement even more exciting. Joshua helped to organize multiple trips into the local community, outside of Atandahua, which enriched my entire trip even more. I got to work closely with various professionals, and after working on so many hypothetical projects in school, this brought a certain level of realistically to the project and made everything even more interesting. The man we worked to design a cabin for during my 6 weeks there, was super sweet and humble, which really made you want to do good work and create a good design. There's a wide variety of activities you can do on the weekends in your spare time, which gave a nice balance of work to pleasure, and the opportunity to explore the rest of Ecuador. I'm super happy with my experience and would honestly recommend it to anyone interested in traveling and doing work like this.