On Saturday, June 20, our students departed for a new host family and a new setting to begin their Service Term, the second half of SST. Stay tuned for more updates about the communities in which the students are living and the volunteer work they're doing with nonprofits, community organizations, and municipal governments!
News
Farming in San Pablo
Apr 01 2026
I’m stationed in the town of Latacunga for service, and am working with an organization called Pastoral Social Cáritas. One of the projects that the organization is working on is a farm in San Pablo, which is about a 25-minute drive from their office in Latacunga. I’ve been helping out around the farm, and I think I can safely say that it has been some of the most unpredictable weeks of my life. It definitely caught me off guard at first; however, I’m growing to appreciate not knowing what might be coming next and have been viewing each day like a new adventure.
During my first week on the job, we drove to a small indigenous village up in the mountains in search of alpacas. After a long drive up a winding road and an accidental detour at the wrong alpaca farm, we finally made it to our destination. The goal was to buy two alpacas for the farm. The organization eventually wants to be able to have students come to visit the farm, and they are hoping to have alpacas there for the kids to learn from. When we got to the village, we had to share with the community there why we were looking to buy the alpacas. Once we explained our goals, we were able to meet the alpacas and learn a bit more about the pricing. It was interesting to see what the process of buying animals can look like here, and it’s not every day you get to see a herd of alpacas. We didn’t end up buying them that day as they were not in our budget; however, it was still definitely a memorable experience.
Some memorable tasks we have done on the farm include planting various vegetables and vaccinating both chickens and bunnies. Over the past few days, we have been working to dig out the garden beds and plant a wide variety of vegetables, including onions, lettuce, kale, and zucchini. I had never really planted crops like this before, so it was really cool to see the whole process of measuring out the distance between the holes, making sure the lines were straight, and also learning the proper way of putting the plants into the ground and making sure they are secure.
The farm is also home to many animals, including both chickens and bunnies. I was taught how to properly vaccinate the chickens using a drop of the vaccine in either their eye or beak. I also had the chance to give a bunny a shot, which I was definitely scared to do at first, but after learning the proper procedure, I was able to do it successfully!
Even though I never expected to do any of these activities, I’m so glad I was able to learn from the people I’m working with and step out of my comfort zone.
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