Tecotours

Photo by Deborah Coleman
In the spring of 2006, AIDG’s TecoTour Program was born.
TecoTours gives participants a chance to have fun and do good on their vacation. Volunteers work with AIDG and XelaTeco to install appropriate technologies in local communities that have asked us for help. In our service-based learning program, volunteers enjoy the culture, beauty and scenery, as well as the satisfaction of helping the environment and improving people’s lives.

AIDG’s first TecoTour happened in Guatemala in July 2006 with a team of ten international volunteers. In the photo above, volunteers build an efficient Plancha stove for a family of five. The new stove uses less firewood and cuts indoor air pollution, which is a major cause of disease. In the photo on the right, a foundation to a greenhouse for a reforestation project is laid.

The funding that volunteers provide 1) supports communities in need, 2) supports our incubated business XelaTeco, by purchasing their products and installing them, and 3) supports AIDG’s mission to increase access to basic services in rural communities.