Check out our Spring Break Info Sheet for all the details on the MPI Spring Break experience, then submit your applications to springbreak@mannaproject.org.

It's not too late to be a Program Director this year. Now accepting applications for several positions in Nicaragua and Guatemala. Aug-Dec 2010, Jan-Aug 2011 or Aug10-Aug11. Please go to http://www.mannaproject.org/apply for more information

The Manna Project International (MPI) Board of Directors is excited to officially announce the founding of MPI’s third international site, to be located in Chaquijyá, Guatemala. This expansion will begin this summer, in July of 2010, when Co-Site Directors Dana Zichlin and Kat Mueller, and an inaugural team of program directors, land in Guatemala to formally launch the site and begin programming.

The decision to approve the Guatemala site comes on the heels of an eight-week feasibility trip conducted by Dana, Maddie Jalandoni (Nica Program Director alum 08-09), and Chris Taylor (MPI Expansion Coordinator). During this exploratory phase, the team identified the site location, established promising partnerships with local leaders and laid the groundwork for MPI programming. Based on this preparatory work, we believe that we have found the right community, partners and team to start a successful new MPI site.

MPI’s holistic approach to community development is rooted in a belief that every community is unique and should be addressed in its entirety. Chaquijyá is no different. Chaquijyá is a primarily agricultural community of about 6,000 residents, located 134 km from Guatemala City, and just outside the university city of Sololá. Seventy-seven percent of the community lives in poverty, and thirty-four percent lives in extreme poverty earning less than US$1 per day. Most residents are bilingual, speaking a mix of the native Kachiquel as well as Spanish, although many of the older residents speak primarily Kachiquel. We anticipate that our primary community partner will be ASOATITLAN, a young organization founded by a local resident to improve the quality of life in Chaquijyá through economic, political, social, and environmental empowerment.

This expansion is a big step forward for MPI. First and foremost, it means bringing MPI’s holistic community development model to a new country. We hope the programs and partnerships that we build will have a lasting impact on the lives of people in Chaquijyá and the surrounding communities. This will not be possible without the dedication and hard work of the Program Directors and short-term volunteers who are the lifeblood of our organization. We have been fortunate to see volunteer interest grow year after year and with the launch of the Guatemala site, MPI can now offer fifty percent more international volunteer positions. This expansion also builds the variety of field opportunities we can offer, by adding a new location as well as the potential for various new programming focuses. Lastly, as an organization, this expansion builds on and continues our rapid growth—from operating one site in Nicaragua in 2004 to three international sites and nine domestic campus chapters just six short years later.

We hope that you feel the same sense of excitement about this next step in MPI’s development as we do, knowing that you have contributed so much in helping us get to where we are today. We look forward to continuing to share our progress as the Guatemala site is established.

-MPI's Board of Directors

Luke Putnam, Greg Pasquali, Marcela Camargo, Lori Scharffenberg, Maria Domanskis, and Zak Schwarzman

Tell your friends! We are currently accepting PD applications on a rolling basis. There are limited spots available so apply before it's too late!

For the next two months, Dana Zichlin and Maddie Jalandoni will be exploring the opportunity for a new Manna site in Xela, Guatemala. Follow their adventures here!

Interested in our 13-month volunteer opportunities? Our online application is now available.

We're thrilled to launch this new website. Please take a look around and let us know what you think! Any and all feedback is welcome. Special thanks to Anne Dugan and Bistro Studios who helped make this project come together.

We're looking for two or three young, entrepreneurial community development leaders to found a holistic community development site in the international location of their choice.