Volunteering in Guatemala: How I Put My Marketing Skills to Meaningful Use

After studying Spanish with Spanish Marks over the past few years, I decided to visit Guatemala to volunteer at an organisation there, explore the beautiful country and also improve my Spanish at the same time.

Spanish Marks made the whole process really easy, providing me with a volunteering placement at Trama Textiles in Xela. A female-run weaving cooperative, they were looking for help with their social media, website and marketing, and with my background in social media, this was the perfect opportunity to use my skills to help the cooperative.

You get the chance to interact with local weavers and artisans

Everyone at Trama Textiles was so friendly and you get the chance to interact with the local weavers and artisans, along with the other volunteers that might be there.

Being based in Xela provides you a great chance to explore more of Guatemala too. From the volcano hikes surrounding Xela, to weekend trips to Lake Atitlan, there are so many amazing places to visit. Xela itself is also a really interesting city, and with much fewer tourists than other areas, you really do get a sense of typical Guatemalan life.

I stayed with a family in the city which again gives you a great insight into Xela life and is the best way to fully immersive yourself in Spanish – my language skills have improved hugely during the 3 weeks here!

Rustom and Sandy are so welcoming and when travelling solo, it was a real reassurance having contacts in Xela to provide recommendations or be there in case of any issues. I can’t recommend enough a trip to Guatemala to volunteer and travel around this amazing country!