Program Reviews

This internship was a highly valuable and rewarding experience. It allowed me to step beyond the digital, academic side of my studies and gain hands-on experience through building and working on site. Being able to see ideas translated into physical reality gave me a much deeper understanding of the design and construction process.

Working in a new environment pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me develop practical skills, adaptability, and confidence. The experience also gave me insight into collaborative, community-driven work and reinforced my interest in hands-on, impact-focused projects. Beyond the professional growth, I also formed strong, lasting friendships and bonds with the people I worked alongside, which made the experience even more meaningful.

Overall, the internship was both personally and professionally enriching, and it has strongly influenced how I view my future work and career direction.

Quería hacer parte de un proyecto que usaba materiales naturales para una arquitectura social y sostenible. Definitivamente una experiencia genial tanto en el aspecto humano como profesional, lo recomiendo al 100%. De pronto un poco más de organización en los proyectos para poder empezar desde el inicio de la pasantía. Suggestion : hacer como un calendario de los objetivos de las semanas global al inicio de la pasantía y yendo detallándolo más y más cada semana.

Algo que sería bien también, tener un espacio de trabajo con más calma, a veces es difícil de concentrarse cuando Liam grita. Obviamente, es un niño y es difícil de hacerle entender, pero a veces fue muy complicado para mi y varios de mis colegas poder trabajar en esas condiciones. Con todo el respeto y el cariño del mundo claro 🫶🏼

English:
I wanted to be part of a project that used natural materials for social and sustainable architecture. It was definitely a fantastic experience, both personally and professionally, and I highly recommend it. Perhaps a little more organization in the projects would be helpful to get a head start on the internship. Suggestion: create a calendar of the weekly objectives at the beginning of the internship and then refine them more and more each week.

Another great thing would be a quieter workspace. Sometimes it's hard to concentrate when Liam shouts. Obviously, he's a child and it's difficult to make him understand, but sometimes it was very difficult for me and several of my colleagues to work under those conditions. With all due respect and affection, of course.

I really enjoyed learning more about traditional architecture and working alongside the locals to create beautiful designs that embrace their heritage. I hope to employ similar design philosophies to the work I do in preserving the cultural heritage of my country. I enjoyed getting to know our neighbours and the local population. Learning and understanding Ecuadorian culture made me feel more ate home during my time there. I really enjoyed my experience and found the work meaningful, but at times I felt overwhelmed by how much there was to do.

It was such a humbling but important experience. I learned a whole new approach to life, and am so thankful for all the opportunities to immerse Joshua and his team have created. I enjoyed the parallel nature of work and culture, how integrated the local people are into any project. I wanted to learn more about the field I am studying in, to figure out what I wanted to do in my career. Some things aren't communicated well in advance by Joshua. I understand that it's culturally day-to-day basis, but I would've appreciated more information about my homestay, for example.

I absolutely loved my stay at El Terreno. I had the opportunity to apply my passion of social entrepreneurship to craft a project with the incredible support of the El Terreno staff and mentors. I am so grateful for El Terreno as it has shaped my life trajectory and pushed me to become a better individual both personally and professionally!

I loved how involved in the community I got to be as well as the autonomy in directing the project, while also receiving mentorship support and guidance...

El Terreno is a wonderful experience to learn about the realities of economic, social, and cultural problems, and engage in meaningful work that contributes to sustainable solutions. My original motivation for the internship was to engage in legal matters in a very substantive way rather than just paper-pushing, which is usually offered to undergraduates. What I enjoyed most about the internship was the communal living. I was deeply integrated with fellow interns, associates, etc. and that allowed me to learn so much not only about the other projects in the community, but also the various cultures represented by those individuals.

I had an absolutely incredible experience at El Terreno during my 6-week stay. I am so happy that I chose El Terreno as my final destination when I was looking for humanitarian work in Latin America. I loved the community, and the project was really well set up. I felt supported along the way and have learned so much about the community and about myself, both professionally and personally. Not only did I feel challenged, but I can say I’ve definitely developed some very important skills and got to see the impact the team and I made along the way. Joshua’s project is very interesting and inspiring. I would 100% recommend this to anyone who’s looking for meaningful work and some adventure along the way!

My ten months at El Terreno has been another deeply enriching and eye-opening experience in my life: one I can definitely call a whole 'chapter'. What stood out most to me was El Terreno’s commitment to working with the local community, rather than for it. It never felt externally driven or detached from the realities on the ground: "what you see, is what you get, and you have to work with that". I had a chance to engage with the local culture, reflect on different dimensions of development work, and grow both professionally and personally. While there are always areas to improve within organisations - particularly around project continuity and intercultural collaboration - I leave with a strong sense of appreciation and insight. El Terreno not only provided me with a valuable internship for my graduation semester, but it also - thanks to the community, Joshua, Karina, the animals, and all the wonderful people I met - turned my time in Ecuador into something much more: a place that felt like home.

I enjoyed my experience in Ecuador. My first big trip “alone”. People there were really nice, locals and other El Terreno members as well. The work was a good challenge for me. I hope that people will like the house when it will be done. The place is safe, the accommodations were better than I expected. The food was good, but I found it a bit repetitive. There are a lot of activities to do around. If I had the choice, I would have stayed longer. Thanks for Joshua, Karina and all the others for this unforgettable experience ! ¡Gracias y hasta luego!

I loved the days up at the school, getting to know the kids, chatting, playing, working on the garden together. I loved the days we spent walking around the land, identifying and mapping the ojos de agua. I loved all of the mingas. I loved being invited along to attend the meetings (even if I didn’t understand everything!). I loved being invited to join the disfile for carnaval with one of the families.

I loved how much I learnt! From Sebastian, not only about various farming techniques, native plants and trees, how the water supply works etc but also about cultura andina, traditional methods, beliefs, medicines and how integral it is to the communities. I learned so much from Joshua and Karina about life in Ecuador in general - politics, culture, places! From the communities about life in the Andes.

Seeing real progress. Although not complete, we planted in the garden and only had some parts left to finish. With the reforestation project, we mapped, observed whilst Sebastian coordinated where and when with the community and then planted in the minga!

I loved the structure of the project. Daily check ins were great to get energised, feel appreciation, check in with each other and to stay up to date about what everyone else was up to.

Delicious communal lunch was very much appreciated for the great food and social aspect also.

Quilico is perfect. Comfortable, beautiful surroundings, sociable. Great recommendations for local walks - the Komoot link was great! List of things to do on days off. Joshua also shared lots of info of things happening around Guaranda.