Engage, Share, Thrive.
Engage with our beloved community,
Share your passions,
Thrive with our team.
The Cojolya Association offers in-depth volunteer internships for students and experienced individuals searching for a challenging and gratifying volunteer experience. If you want to empower women or offer your design abilities to a non-profit organization and brand that practices fair trade in an environment with an inspiring indigenous history and an impressive textile tradition, Cojolya could be your second home!
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As we are a small organization, our interns have the freedom to take on large amounts of responsibility and implement new ideas. In fact, some of our most innovative designs and programs were started by past interns. The cost of living in Santiago Atitlán is low, and Cojolya will assist volunteers and interns in finding local housing. We are always willing to work with colleges and universities for students seeking college credit for internships.
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Volunteers
If you are planning on volunteering/interning, Cojolya is looking for people with open minds who can communicate in Spanish and are interactive, flexible, hard-working, friendly, and collaborative. We can design a position for you according to our needs and your abilities. We are looking for help in the following departments, and we have more comprehensive profiles and requirements upon request:
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Sales/digital marketing/e-commerce
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Learning/Evaluation for our social and educational programs
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Design
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Our interns work with us
For over 30 years, much of Cojolya’s success has been possible thanks to constant support from volunteers, who have contributed their knowledge and experiences to help us reach our objectives in different areas of work for the Association. Through our experience in opening our office to foreigners who have come from countries all over the world such as Brazil, Germany, France, the United States, and Canada, we know how to make you feel comfortable in our lovely town of Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala.
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We strive to match the talents and experiences of our volunteer interns with the current needs of the association. Past interns have worked in the areas of photography, videography, NGO program management, fundraising, web design, communications, and more. We also offer a textile design internship, which allows senior or graduate level design students to work closely with Maya backstrap loom weavers to design and produce one or two original sample pieces.
Embrace and celebrate the intricate beauty of Santiago Atitlán
"I have great admiration for these women who are participating in the conservation of their culture, as well as for their immense know-how and talent. I feel lucky and thankful to work side by side with them. Their traditions are beautiful and fascinating, and I believe that there is a real future for hand-made and fair-trade products. It is so important to pay attention to the humans behind the products we buy. I can see now that empowering these women and preserving the art of weaving have a real impact in the culture and everyday life here."
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-Céline Gaiardo, Design Intern 2015 - 16
