IPSL: Guatemala - Ecology, Culture and Justice

Financial Aid is available for eligible students. IPSL also accepts AmeriCorps Segal Education awards.

Join IPSL on the shores of spectacular Lake Atitlán living and working alongside indigenous Mayan people. The IPSL Guatemala experience can be created as a customized, graduate, undergraduate, gap year, volunteer, or service-learning program. The choice is yours!

The ‘Food Justice, Permaculture, and Indigenous Rights’ program is a unique and interactive study abroad and service opportunity where participants engage with the culture, food, lifestyle, agriculture economy and the human, animal, and environmental health of Guatemala through expert lecturers, service projects and site visits. During this program, participants critically examine the social, political, and cultural impact of food production on the environment, animals, and people of Guatemala both in and out of the classroom setting. In addition, participants can focus on refugee issues including those fleeing from violence, those affected by climate change and those impacted by years of the political landscape and "the disappeared".  The program is offered in both a regular (for credit) and 'Lite' version (experience only).

 

Other courses include Community Organizing and Social Activism (COSA) in Guatemala, Applications of Mayan Technology in Contemporary Health Systems, Language Across the Curriculum and Independent Study.

 

In addition to completing a variety of workshops, service projects, conversations, and activities relevant to the educational theme, participants also indulge in the pure beauty that the Guatemalan landscape provides. From towering volcanoes to lush jungles full of life, students can expect to bear witness to a multitude of breathtaking landscapes and once in a lifetime experiences. 

 

Create a program that immerses you in the culture and deepens your understanding of Guatemalan societies in a way that goes beyond that experienced in traditional study abroad programs.