Coastal Rainforest Project + Brazil Explorer

Product Details

Join a Quest team in Brazil for three months combining a three week ‘Brazilian Immersion and Language’ phase in exotic Salvador de Bahia, followed by one month volunteering on a ‘Community, Conservation and Development Project’ on an island paradise.

Your expedition culminates with a spectacular six week Explorer taking you from Brazil's seductive golden coastline to the mysterious depths of the Amazon. If you're looking to combine worthwhile community work with a Brazilian adventure then this Expedition is for you.

Brazilian Immersion and Language

Set in the sunshine city of Salvador de Bahia, you'll be fully integrated into the musical Afro-Brazilian community of Candeal. Your mornings will be spent learning practical Brazilian Portuguese whilst afternoons will be packed with a range of activities from the famous dance-like martial art of Capoeira to the renowned Brazilian art of beach life! You'll feel the reggae rhythms of Brazil whilst learning Carnival-style drumming and dance with local groups. This is a truly unique opportunity where not only will you learn Portuguese but you will experience the pace and pulse of local life.

The Community Development Project

Located off the Brazilian coastline, amongst an archipelago of 26 islands, is the tiny community of Cairu. The island and those surrounding it are key areas of biodiversity, with around 430 kilometres of mangroves, Atlantic Rainforest and pristine white sand beaches. Sadly the Atlantic Rainforest is extremely threatened, since it was first mapped 500 years ago 95% has been destroyed and it continues to be cut down at an alarming rate. Cairu is one of the last remaining fragments of rainforest.

Quest invites you to come and work with local people to increase environmental awareness and to foster sustainable development to guarantee the future survival of this forest and its communities.

Activities:

Forest regeneration - Help restore the Atlantic Rainforest by preparing seedlings in our nursery and planting native species deep in the forest. You'll be accompanied by local guides (and donkeys!) on your excursions and use Global Positioning Systems to keep track on the trees' progress.

Teaching English - Local teenagers are always keen to learn English. Most can sing a few pop songs but have little understanding of the language so your help is invaluable. Last year's classes proved so popular that we had to find new classrooms in the beautiful monastery just to house all the keen students.

Improve Local Living Conditions - You'll make life better for local families by repairing and improving living conditions. Work will include renovating a local community centre or installing solar stoves to lessen the impact on the forest for fuel wood.

Community Theatre - You'll collaborate with a local theatre group to devise a production that communicates important conservation messages in fun and engaging ways. You'll tour the islands on our cine-theatre boat showing films to children in the surrounding islands.

Capoeira - You'll help support a local initiative offering Capoeira lessons to local kids. You'll get super fit with daily classes in the famous Brazilian dance-like martial art. A qualified Master and his troupe of gravity-defying assistants will provide you with expert training in the art of Capoeira and teach you how to play traditional Capoeira musical instruments such as the berimbau and djembe drums.

Your work life will be incredibly varied and will include a lot of time working directly with the local community so you need to be enthusiastic and open to meeting and working with people. It's a wonderful chance to live in a stunning tropical island community and get involved with life instead of just being a tourist and sunning yourself on the beach!

The Brazil Explorer Expedition

This is an opportunity to experience the unique hidden highlights this intriguing country has to offer. A land of cultural and geographical diversity, of captivating cities and stunning wildlife, of adrenaline sports and welcoming people, you'll feel it all! You'll take a four day surf course, go wildlife spotting, horse riding and piranha fishing, live on a riverboat and explore the depths of the Amazon, stay in native villages, trek the rolling dunes and crystal lakes of the North-east coast, hang glide over Rio de Janeiro and then dance in its hottest night-spots. There really is something for everyone!

Why Quest?

Quite simply because we have the best reputation in the gap year market. We are second to none when it comes to safety, value for money and downright fun! If you'd like to speak to a past student they would be more than happy to bend your ear on everything you could get up to!