Ecuador: Bearing Good Fruit
Faith in Action
Quito, Mindo & the Amazon, Ecuador
Fair Trade Enterprise & Rainforest Discovery
1 Week of Service • Cultural Immersion • Servant Leadership
Did You Know?
Ecuador is considered one of the most biodiverse — or “megadiverse” — countries on Earth, with nearly 30% of its land under environmental protection. But that protection comes at a cost: many communities living closest to these protected lands are among the country's poorest, since conservation restrictions limit traditional ways of making a living. In response, small Ecuadorian enterprises are pioneering a “bioeconomy” — fair trade chocolate, coffee, and textile cooperatives that let families earn a sustainable living while protecting the rainforest around them.
Bearing Good Fruit
Jesus described a life of faith the same way a farmer describes a good harvest: “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:16). In Ecuador, that's not just a metaphor — it's a daily reality for the small cacao and coffee cooperatives your team will serve alongside this week. Every bag of beans sorted, every root protected, every fair-trade wage earned instead of an exploitative one is a tangible act of stewardship over what God called “very good” in Genesis 1. Students who serve in Ecuador come home changed — not because they solved global poverty, but because they discovered what it looks like to help a small enterprise, and the families it supports, bear good fruit.
The Worldwide Faith in Action Difference
Cross-Cultural Ministry • Daily Devotions • Fair Trade Enterprise Partnership • Sustainable Agriculture • Andean & Amazonian Culture • 1 Week of Hands-On Service
The Worldwide Navigators Difference
Sojourn – Gain a better understanding of the community you’re visiting. Learn about different religions or spiritual practices. How do these impact the communities? How does religion or spirituality influence local traditions?
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Savor – Will you choose sweet or savory? Take the time to visit local markets and discover unique local ingredients. Learn how to prepare traditional meals & local favorites.
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Tip of the Tongue – Each morning, take the time to learn a few basic greetings and phrases in the local language. Learn how to write greetings & your name in the local script.
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A Wrinkle in Time – History influences our present. Discover the history of the country you visit. Hear the stories of your guides & their family history. Where do they come from?
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Journal Journeys – Take some time to reflect on the day’s events and document your journey. Spend a moment journaling about the day had & day ahead. These are memories for a lifetime!
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Culture – From local dances, festivals, or simple gestures to communicate – all of these make up a country’s culture. Learn and practice cultural norms & how to show respect in the culture you visit.
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Welcome to Ecuador! After arriving into Quito, we’ll settle into our accommodations and gather for a welcome dinner featuring local Ecuadorian dishes. Opening devotional and orientation: what does it mean to serve as the hands and feet of Christ in a new culture?
Program orientation, followed by a visit to an organization promoting sustainable production and fair trade for Ecuadorian families. Visit the offices of a company dedicated to producing some of Ecuador’s highest-quality organic chocolate. Evening devotional on cultivating a servant’s heart.
Depart for Cayambe, about two hours from Quito. Visit the Quitsato Sundial, which marks the equatorial line and zero parallel, and a production facility for herbal teas and edible mushrooms. Return to Quito in the evening. Devotional: praying for the week ahead.
Our week of service begins! Travel to the Cloud Forest to serve alongside a small, family-owned eco-business built on habitat restoration, agro-ecology, and ethical use of natural resources. Hands-on work varies by the week’s greatest need — planting, restoration projects, or production support.
A morning canopy zipline above the Cloud Forest, then an afternoon of hands-on service at an artisanal coffee farm in Mindo — assisting with harvesting, processing, or roasting alongside the families who run it.
Return to Quito to serve alongside a social enterprise focused on recycling and the commercialization of waste — a hands-on look at how sustainable business tackles environmental and economic challenges together.
Travel to the Amazon city of Tena to serve alongside a business built on the harvest of guayusa leaves, used to produce energy drinks sold internationally. Learn what it takes to become Fair Trade Certified, and help with the day’s harvest or processing work.
Travel to the community of Santa Rita to serve alongside a cacao farm and its interpretation center. Participate in a traditional lunch and hands-on chocolate-making, and close the week with a celebration alongside the families we’ve served.
On the return to Quito, stop by the Termas de Papallacta hot springs complex in the Andes for a relaxing close to the week. Farewell dinner in Quito’s historic old town.
Final group devotional and debrief: what did God teach us this week? Depart for home via Quito’s airport.
Extend Your Trip
- Optional Extension: Days 11–14 — The Galápagos Islands
For schools wanting to go further, extend the trip 4 additional days to the Galápagos Islands — the living laboratory that inspired Darwin’s theory of evolution. Snorkel alongside sea lions, spot giant tortoises roaming free, and encounter blue-footed boobies and marine iguanas found nowhere else on Earth.
Choose Your Impact
Every Faith in Action trip pairs a full week of hands-on service with a tour component that immerses students in local history, culture, and faith. This Ecuador itinerary can be shortened, extended, or modified to fit your school’s calendar and budget.
- Value — 7–8 Day Group Trips
Airfare • Ground Transportation • 2.5–3 Star Accommodations • Daily Devotions & Debriefs • 2 Meals Per Day • Tour Entrance Fees • Daytime Tour Director • 1 Week of Service (Fair Trade Enterprise)
- Classic — 9–10 Day Group Trips
Airfare • Ground Transportation • 2.5–3 Star Accommodations • Daily Devotions & Debriefs • 2 Meals Per Day • Tours & Entrance Fees • Daytime Guided Tour Director • 1 Week of Service (Fair Trade Enterprise) + Cultural Excursions
- Epic — 10–14 Day Group Trips
Airfare • Ground Transportation • 3.5–4 Star Accommodations • Daily Devotions & Debriefs • 2 Meals Per Day • Tours & Entrance Fees • 24/7 Guided Tour Director • 1 Week of Service (Fair Trade Enterprise) + Extended Cultural Immersion • Final Night Celebration Dinner & Commissioning Service
Interested in adding or modifying activities? All Faith in Action itineraries can be customized — extend the service week, add a second enterprise partner, or swap in additional cultural excursions.
Value
3-6 Day
Group Trips
- Airfare
- Transportation
- 2.5 - 3-Star Accommodations
- Daily Activities & Excursions
- 2 Meals Per Day
- Tours & Entrance Fees
- Daytime & Self-Guided Tour Director
- 1 Impact Project
Classic
7-12 Day
Group Trips
- Airfare
- Transportation
- 2.5 - 3-Star Accommodations
- Daily Activities & Excursions
- 2 Meals Per Day
- Tours & Entrance Fees
- Daytime Guided Tour Director
- Up to 2 Impact Projects
Epic
7-14 Day
Group Trips
- Airfare
- Transportation
- 3.5 - 4-Star Accommodations
- Daily Activities & Excursions
- 2 Meals Per Day
- Tours & Entrance Fees
- 24/7 Guided Tour Director
- Up to 3 Impact Projects
- Final Night Celebration Dinner
Interested in adding or modifying activities? No problem! All Worldwide Navigator itineraries can be customized to your liking!
In collaboration with our partners