Gould Academy, Guatemala, March 2027.
This 12-day expedition takes 9th grade students from Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine into the heart of Guatemala’s indigenous highlands. From the cobblestone streets of colonial Antigua to the volcanic rim of Lake Atitlán, from a homestay kitchen in a Kaqchikel farming family’s home to a reforestation nursery in the cloud forest above Santiago Atitlán, every site has a story. Every community member is a teacher.
The program is built around three anchors: vetted homestay immersion with Antigua-area families, direct partnership with Wellkind Guatemala and the Quixayá agricultural cooperative, and a structured Lens of Inquiry framework tied to Gould’s Four Point model. Student travelers engage, work alongside, and listen.
Daily reflection sessions connect field observations to the questions that matter most: how traditional Mayan land practices function as applied ecology, how cooperative structures enable food sovereignty, and what it means to sustain a community, a language, and a forest at the same time. Students arrive curious. They leave with context no classroom can provide.
How do Mayan cultural traditions, land, and ecological knowledge shape sustainable communities in the Guatemalan Highlands?
- Lenses of inquiry
- Ecological observation
Students examine active volcanism, watershed ecology, and cloud forest hydrology as living systems that shape every community and agricultural practice encountered on the program.
- Indigenous agricultural systems
From the milpa fields of Quixayá to the reforestation nurseries of Wellkind Guatemala, students investigate how Mayan land stewardship functions as applied science rather than tradition alone.
- Cultural continuity and community exchange
Through homestays, cooperative visits, and direct exchange with Tz’utujil and Kaqchikel community members, students study how cultures adapt, persist, and make deliberate choices about what they keep.
- The Four Point framework in the field
Every field experience is examined through Gould’s core commitments to wilderness, travel, service, and personal challenge, connecting the program to Gould’s academic mission at every step.
Gould Academy, Guatemala, 12 days.
Day 1
Arrival and orientation in Antigua
Students encounter Guatemala’s volcanic landscape and colonial architecture for the first time and are introduced to the program’s driving inquiry.
Day 2
Coffee, farmers, and the living economy
Students trace a coffee crop from the soil to the global market and examine how small-scale producers navigate cooperative economics.
Day 3
Homestay day 2 and Spanish immersion
Students practice cross-cultural communication and develop direct observation skills through market navigation and community interaction.
Day 4
Highland transition and Iximché
Students examine the long arc of Mayan highland civilization and study how communities maintain identity through centuries of disruption.
Day 5
reforestation and lake ecology
Students work alongside the Wellkind field team to understand how watershed restoration connects forest health, lake ecology, and community water systems.
Day 6
Quixayá permaculture field visit and move to San Juan
Students investigate indigenous agricultural systems as ecological science through four hours at a 400-acre Kaqchikel Maya cooperative.
Day 7
Sunrise, music, and the living culture of San Juan
Students explore cooperative economics, traditional textiles, and Tz’utujil land practices as expressions of community self-determination.
Day 8
Santiago Atitlán: cloud forest, conservation, and community
Students trace the connection between highland forest restoration and lakeshore water security through field work with Wellkind staff.
Day 9
Return to Antigua and Volcán Pacaya
Students observe active volcanism and plate tectonics directly, connecting the geological forces beneath the landscape to every ecosystem and community visited.
Day 10
Cacao, chocolate, and closing synthesis
Students examine cacao as an agricultural system, cultural heritage, and global commodity, then synthesize the full program arc through the Lens of Inquiry framework.
Day 11
Ecofiltro, traditional cooking, and farewell
Students encounter social enterprise at scale and close the program together over a traditional meal they prepare themselves.
Day 12
Departure
Students depart with a final morning synthesis connecting academic content to personal growth and future application.
Wellkind Guatemala: reforestation and lake ecology
Student outcome: Students examine indigenous-led watershed restoration as applied ecological science, tracing the direct connection between cloud forest health above the lake and water quality in the communities below.
Morning: Led by the Wellkind Guatemala field team, students begin at the lakeshore with Tul reed planting. Reed restoration supports riparian ecology and water filtration along the shores of Lake Atitlán. Students receive an introduction to the lake’s watershed system, the pressures it faces from agricultural runoff and deforestation, and the restoration strategy Wellkind has been building with indigenous communities for years.
Afternoon: Full day at the Wellkind Guatemala native species nursery. Students tour the propagation facility, learning how species are selected for watershed restoration and how survival rates are sustained above 80% through community ownership models. Hands-on nursery work includes potting, transplanting, and tagging seedlings. Students hear from Wellkind community staff about the relationship between forest cover, spring recharge, and long-term water security for lakeside villages. Lunch is shared with the Wellkind team in the community. Students then spend time with local children from Tzununá who use the community library each afternoon, a moment of direct cultural exchange that requires no agenda.
Evening: Return to Bambu Guest House, Tzununá. Structured reflection session: “What does stewardship look like from here?” Students write in field journals and share observations with the group.
Overnight: Bambu Guest House Eco-Retreat, Tzununá, Lake Atitlán
Lens of inquiry question: How does the decision to restore a forest at altitude change the quality of life at the lakeshore below, and who makes that decision?
Logistics note: Boat transport on lake, physical outdoor labor, sun and heat exposure mitigation, community interaction protocols, water safety near shore.
Guatemala testimonials
Learning outcomes
- Field research skills
- Sustained observation and scientific journaling across contrasting field environments
- Inquiry-based questioning developed through direct exchange with community members and researchers
- Synthesis of observations from multiple sites, communities, and ecosystems into coherent understanding
- Direct application of Gould’s Four Point framework across wilderness, travel, service, and personal challenge
- Practical navigation of unfamiliar cultural and physical environments with growing confidence
- Ecological understanding
- Direct observation of active volcanism, lava flow, and tectonic plate interaction at Volcán Pacaya
- Understanding of how volcanic geology shapes soil fertility, agricultural systems, and community settlement patterns
- Watershed ecology: the relationship between cloud forest cover, spring recharge, lake health, and community water systems
- Riparian restoration methods and the function of reed systems in water filtration
- Indigenous conservation models and permaculture principles examined as applied ecological science
- Global systems thinking
- Agricultural economics traced from farm to global market through coffee and cacao as paired case studies
- Analysis of cooperative structures, producer-owned supply chains, and the economics of food sovereignty
- Comparison of extractive and regenerative economic models at the farm, cooperative, and national policy scale
- Critical engagement with the role of tourism in both supporting and undermining conservation outcomes
- Cultural competency
- Respect for Kaqchikel and Tz’utujil knowledge systems as rigorous, living intellectual traditions
- Cross-cultural communication skills developed through homestay immersion and direct community engagement
- Practical Spanish use in authentic domestic, agricultural, and commercial settings
- Understanding of how cultural continuity functions as a form of ecological and community resilience
- Personal growth
- Confidence navigating unfamiliar environments, relationships, and routines without a structured safety net
- Comfort with ambiguity and open-ended questions that do not have predetermined answers
- Independence and personal responsibility in an international context
- Community bonds built through shared physical and intellectual challenge that carry back to campus
Impact partners
Guatemala partners
Wellkind Guatemala
Reforestation and watershed NGO, Lake Atitlán and the Western highlands
Wellkind Guatemala works with indigenous communities around Lake Atitlán to restore native forest cover, rehabilitate riparian corridors, and build community capacity for long-term land stewardship. The organization has planted over 200,000 trees across 15+ indigenous community partnerships, with survival rates above 80% sustained through community ownership models. Founded by Somos co-founder Shad Qudsi, Wellkind’s community relationships are the direct reason Somos programs access sites and conversations that are not available through conventional tour operators.
Quixayá Agricultural Cooperative
Indigenous permaculture community, Kaqchikel highlands
Quixayá is a 400-acre regenerative agricultural project governed by approximately 1,200 Kaqchikel Maya members. The cooperative practices traditional milpa polyculture, volcanic slope terracing, and integrated water management systems developed and refined over generations. Access is through Wellkind’s partnership with the community, not through tourism channels. Students who visit Quixayá are guests of an organization that has chosen to share its knowledge on its own terms.
Belize partners
T.R.E.E.S. — Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society
Jungle research and education station, Maya Mountains, Cayo District
T.R.E.E.S. is a functioning field research station in the Maya Mountains of Belize’s interior. Scientists at the station conduct active research in avian ecology, bat biology, and tropical forest monitoring. Educational groups study here as participants in real conservation work. Students handle live animals, collect field data, and learn the reasoning behind long-term ecological monitoring from professional researchers on the ground.
Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary (SACD)
Marine protected area and community conservation, Sarteneja, northern Belize
The Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation and Development manages the Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, one of Belize’s most ecologically significant marine protected areas. The sanctuary holds one of the country’s most stable manatee populations, the only recorded bull shark nursery in Belize, and the only stromatolite reef system in the country. The rangers who lead student programs are former fishermen who made the decision to transition into conservation work.
Peru partner
Amazon Conservation / Los Amigos Biological Station
Rainforest research and conservation hub, Madre de Dios, Peruvian Amazon
Amazon Conservation has operated the Los Amigos Biological Station in the lowland Amazonian forest of Madre de Dios since 2000, making it one of the longest-running research centers in the Peruvian Amazon. The station sits within a 360,000-acre conservation concession and has hosted over 210 research projects, inventoried 4,369 species across 31 taxonomic groups, and produced 230+ peer-reviewed publications. When Somos groups work here, they support the physical infrastructure that makes the science possible: trail maintenance, facility upkeep, and learning space improvements that expand the station’s capacity to host researchers, students, and field scientists. The researchers and conservation staff at Los Amigos are the teachers; students arrive to work alongside them.
- Meet the Founders
The People Behind Somos
Shad Qudsi
Kyle Weinstein
- Travel with Purpose. Travel with Somos.
Shad Qudsi and Kyle Weinstein saw this from different angles, and neither could look away.
Shad came to Guatemala as an environmental educator and stayed. He founded Wellkind Guatemala, an NGO focused on reforestation and watershed restoration around Lake Atitlán, and spent a decade building relationships with indigenous communities that go far deeper than any tour operator reaches. He watched travel companies bring people who were genuinely moved by what they saw, who returned home with stories and photographs and a new sense of perspective, while the communities that had hosted them remained exactly where they were. The relationship never had time to form. He kept asking what it would look like to do it differently.
Kyle was born and raised in the western highlands of Guatemala, the same landscapes where Somos operates today. He spent years leading expeditions across eight Mesoamerican countries with National Geographic, G Adventures, and Intrepid Travel. While he loved the work, he witnessed places he loved become the backdrop for other people’s growth, with little return to the communities that made those experiences possible. That tension eventually became the the reason he co-founded Somos, to promote a different model.
The model is educational travel built on real partnerships with indigenous communities, local NGOs, and in-country leaders who are the protagonists of every program, not the supporting cast. Students do not come to help, they come to learn from people who know things they do not. The difference is structural, and it matters.
The communities Somos works with do not need visitors to save them. They need advocates who listen, partners who return, and students who go home with a genuine understanding of what is at stake and what is working.
That is what Somos builds.
- Safety Comes First
Safety & Student Support
Every Somos program runs on protocols developed and refined across 10+ years of operations. Safety is what makes everything else possible
- 24/7 in-country support
- CPR and first-aid certified guides
- Licensed and insured transport
Every vehicle used in a Somos program is operated by a vetted, licensed, and insured provider with documented experience transporting student groups.
- 10+ years of field-tested risk management
Safety protocols are location-specific. Jungle environments, high-altitude environments, water transport, and remote research stations each have dedicated protocols refined through a decade of in-country operations.
- Included in trip
- All ground transportation in private, licensed, insured vehicles
- Airport arrival and departure transfers
- All accommodations
- All breakfasts
- Most lunches, including meals at community partner sites
- Most dinners, including welcome and farewell dinners
- Professional bilingual guides throughout the program
- All activity fees, entrance fees, and workshop materials
- Community partner donation included in program cost
- Pre-trip materials for teachers and students
- 24/7 in-country support and emergency communication
- Not Included in trip
- International airfare (unless noted in your program quote)
- Travel insurance (required for all participants)
- Personal expenses and souvenirs
- Optional tips for guides and drivers (appreciated, never required)
- Pricing & Packages
Flexible Pricing Options
- $3,450 per traveler
This investment includes all in-country land costs: accommodations, private transportation, all meals, field guides, and community partner impact fees.
| Program Detail | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Group Size | 8–16 students |
| Deposit Amount | $500 per traveler to secure registration |
| Commitment Deadline | October 15, 2026 |
Payment terms and cancellation policy
Deposit A deposit of $500 per traveler secures your dates and confirms partner availability. The deposit goes toward your total program cost and is fully refundable within 30 days of booking. After 30 days, it is non-refundable. If you book within 60 days of departure, full payment is due at the time of booking.
Full payment Full payment is due 60 days before departure. Payment may be made in full at any time, or a monthly payment plan may be arranged during onboarding. All plan milestones and deadlines are confirmed at that stage.
Cancellation To cancel, notify Somos at team@somos.travel. Refunds are calculated from the date notice is received, excluding the deposit in all cases.
- 61 days or more before departure: 100% refund of all payments excluding the deposit.
- 60 to 30 days before departure: 50% refund of all payments excluding the deposit.
- Less than 30 days before departure: No refund.
Your deposit, honored for life Your deposit is non-refundable, but it never expires. It may be applied to any future Somos program at any time. We stand behind this because we intend to be your travel partner for the long term, not just for one trip.
Trip confirmation In the event Somos is unable to run a program due to insufficient enrollment, you will receive a full refund of all payments including the deposit.
Force majeure In the event Somos is unable to provide the program due to circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, war, terrorism, civil unrest, or pandemic, Somos reserves the right to reschedule the program or provide a full or partial refund of payments made, excluding the $500 deposit, at its sole discretion.
Somos strongly recommends comprehensive travel insurance for all participants. Many policies cover cancellation costs in circumstances that fall outside these refund tiers.
- Frequently Asked Questions
For teachers and administrators
The Guatemala program is built to support experiential education models, environmental science and social studies curricula, and global competency frameworks. It has been custom-designed for Gould Academy's Four Point framework and adapts readily to IB, AP Environmental Science, and school-specific immersion or global citizenship requirements. During the design phase, Somos works directly with your faculty to identify specific learning standards the program can map to.
Somos recommends a minimum of one adult for every five students. For groups of 10 or fewer, two adult leaders are standard. Somos guides are present at all times during activities, with lead guide and assistant guide coverage built into every day.
Every guide team carries a comprehensive medical kit and holds current CPR and first-aid certification. Somos maintains 24/7 in-country emergency communication, and every program location has a documented emergency action plan. Guatemala City's main hospital network is within range of all program sites for serious emergencies. For wilderness and field locations, evacuation protocols are prepared in advance and rehearsed by guide staff.
A signed agreement and deposit secures your dates. The program can be designed and refined well ahead of the commitment deadline, which allows schools to complete internal approval processes before financial commitment is required. See the payment and cancellation section of this page for full terms.
Yes. Every Somos program begins as a starting point, rather than a fixed product. Somos works with faculty and program coordinators to align activities, discussion frameworks, and field site selection with your school's specific academic and experiential goals.
- Frequently Asked Questions
For parents and students
Yes. The Guatemala program is designed for students at all levels of international experience. Guide support is present throughout, the pace is deliberate, and the program structure gives students time to orient at each new location before the next challenge. Students who have never left the country routinely describe the program as the right level of stretch.
Moderate. Participants should be comfortable walking several miles on uneven terrain, including cobblestone streets, forest trails, and hillside farmland. The Volcán Pacaya hike is a moderate 1.5-hour ascent and is the most physically demanding activity on the itinerary. Students who are reasonably active and in good health should have no difficulty. There are no running or climbing requirements.
Somos uses WhatsApp for in-country group communication, and most program accommodations have reliable Wi-Fi. Students are typically able to reach home every evening, though connectivity may be limited at certain locations. Somos provides parents with a daily communication framework before departure so expectations are clear on both sides.
Yes. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and common allergy requirements are all routinely managed. Somos coordinates with every accommodation and community partner in advance. Please note dietary needs on your registration form so they can be confirmed with all sites before arrival.
Homesickness is common in the first few days of international travel and is treated as a normal part of the experience. Somos guides are trained to check in with students individually, and the daily reflection structure provides a supported space for students to name how they are feeling. Group leaders are always informed. For persistent or serious distress, Somos coordinates directly with parents and, if needed, with the school's counseling team.
A budget of 100 to 150 US dollars comfortably covers independent meals noted in the itinerary, souvenirs, and personal purchases. Tips for guides and drivers are optional and appreciated; Somos recommends budgeting an additional $20 to $30 if families wish to offer tips.
Guatemala packing list
Daily Wear & Travel Days
• Lightweight pants or travel trousers (2–3 pairs)
• Short-sleeve shirts (4–5)
• One light fleece or zip-up jacket (Atitlán evenings are cool)
• Comfortable walking shoes with ankle support
• Sandals for guesthouse and casual use
• Underwear and socks for full duration
• Rain jacket or packable poncho (March can bring afternoon showers)
Daily Wear & Travel Days
• Sturdy closed-toe shoes or trail runners (not sandals)
• Sun hat or cap with brim
• Sunscreen, SPF 30 or higher
• Insect repellent with DEET
• Lightweight daypack or dry bag
• Reusable water bottle (minimum one liter)
• Field journal and pens (provided by Somos, but bring your own if you prefer)
Community visits and cultural sites: Covered shoulders and knees required for church entries and some community visits One pair of nicer casual clothes for welcome and farewell dinners Bathing suit and small towel (Quixayá has a spring-fed swimming pool)
Optional: Binoculars (useful at Atitlán and reforestation sites) Camera or GoPro Small padlock for hostel lockers Headlamp or small flashlight
Documents and essentials: Passport (valid at least six months beyond return date) Printed copy of travel insurance Emergency contact card Any required prescription medications with original labeling Copy of vaccination records if applicable
Guatemala testimonials
Ready to design this program?
Every Somos program begins with a conversation. Tell us about your school, your students, and what you want them to leave knowing.