INTAG SPANISH SCHOOL


The Intag Spanish School is located in the poor, rural agricultural village of Pucará (population 300). Nestled at 2081 meters in the cloud forest-swathed mountains of the western slope Andes, the town serves as the gateway to the sub-tropical Intag River Valley and the Alto Chocó cloud forest: one of the world's 10 most bio-diverse ecosystems.

The Intag Spanish School was founded in 2009 with the following goals:

»To provide the highest quality Spanish language    instruction to students of all ages
»To give meaningful employment to Pucara's young    adults
»To create a stream of volunteers interested in helping    advance sustainable development projects in the    community
»To promote community and ecological tourism projects    in the Intag Valley
»To build solidarity between international entities and    local ecological and sustainable development initiatives


With the support of C.A.S.A Interamericana we have built a small Centro Cultural that houses the Spanish School. Complete with four class rooms, bathroom, reception area, gardens, and additional outdoor learning areas, the Centro Cultural is located next to the church in the center of town and enjoys stunning views of the cloud forests and Andes.

Students can customize their Spanish lessons according to level, topical interest, grammar versus conversational skills, daily hours, and group size.

Most people elect to have 1-on-1 lessons for 4 hours in the morning.

We recommend a maximum group size of 3 for a single instructor and a maximum of 6 hours of instruction (3 hours in the morning and 3 in the afternoon) daily.

INSTRUCTORS


Intag Spanish School instructors are all young adults from the community of Pucará. Intag Spanish School instructors have graduated from a state-certified Teaching Spanish as a Second Language course and are licensed by Ecuador's Education Ministry.

THE COMMUNITY OF PUCARÁ

Pucara's people are diverse: Indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian but mostly Mestizo (a mix of Indigenous and Caucasian blood lines). Although economically poor, Pucareños enjoy an ecological richness that has allowed their survival despite the lack of historic economic development. Visitors should prepare to see poverty but not abject destitution.
There is little money but people eat well. You will be hard-pressed to find a warmer more open people anywhere in the world. You will be received with open arms.

HOUSING IN THE COMMUNITY OF PUCARÁ

Housing is provided through a home-stay program that allows students to live and share with local families. This provides extra income to community members as well. Although basic, all homes have electricity, running water, showers and clean, outdoor latrines. Students are provided with a private bedroom that they can lock with their own key.
Home-stay participants receive three bountiful meals a day and vegetarians and vegans can be accommodated. Students staying long-term are asked to change families once a week in order to share the income benefits of the home-stay program and get to know more of the community.

SPANISH SCHOOL TOURS

The Intag Spanish School offers four guided week-end tours highlighting the Intag Valley's ecological diversity and alternative development projects.
All tours are accompanied by at least one certified Native Guide trained in first aid and teaching natural history. Detailed descriptions and up to date prices are available on your arrival.

1. Walking the Rio Toabunchi Valley from Santa Rosa to Apuela
2 day, easy walk along a mountain river through cloud forests and ending at volcanic hot springs. Overnight at Permaculture farm on the river.

2. Trail de los Machetes
2 day, difficult trek starting at 3800 meters and descending from high grassland páramo to sub-tropical cloud forest. Beautiful hike for people in good physical shape.

3. Junín Weekend
2 day cultural tour visiting local sustainable development initiatives including the El Rosál soap-making cooperative and the beautiful bamboo Eco-Cabins in Junín. This tour has a strong political focus concentrating on the mining conflict that has so much defined Intag´s social and economic development.

4. Ago-Ecological Weekend
2 day Agro-Ecological tour focusing on sustainable agriculture with visits to small-scale organic coffee farms, the local fair-trade coffee cooperative and a bio-gas project, with an overnight at a beautiful permaculture farm on the Cristopamba River.

PRICES

Homestay

Private Room + 3 daily meals $10/day

Weekend Tours

Because of constantly fluctuating prices of basic goods and services, the Weekend Tour prices also change accordingly. Up to date tour prices are listed at the Intag Spanish School but do not exceed $60 per person for any of the four Weekend Tour packages.

HOW TO GET TO PUCARÁ

There are two bus companies that go to Pucará from the main bus terminal in Otavalo (see departure schedules below).
It takes 2-3 hours depending on road conditions. The trip is beautiful as you ascend the western Cordillera of the Andes and cross the continental divide at 4000 meters, before descending almost 2000 meters in 36 kilometers to Pucará. The road is very steep and windy. If you are prone to car sickness you may want to take Dramemine before your departure.
Ask to get off "frente de la capilla en Pucará." The Intag Spanish School is located in the Centro Cultural Pucará to the left of the church.
It is a good idea to buy your ticket the day before if possible so you don't get stuck standing up (and missing the beautiful views).

Compania Otavalo departs every day at:

8:00am, 10:00am, 13:00pm, 14:00pm

Compania 6 de Julio departs every day at:

12:00pm, 15:00pm