World Bound Youth: Ecuador

Leave distractions behind and join us on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure

Whether it’s trying out the haggling culture of Quito’s bustling artisanal markets or learning cultural traditions and crafting from the Cotacachi people, whether it’s hiking volcanoes in the Andes or spotting wildlife while rafting through the Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador provides endless opportunities to learn about who we are and who we can become. Sights you’ve never seen, flavours you’ve never tasted, the music you’ve never heard; all of this and more await in Ecuador!

World Bound Ecuador isn’t just about having fun and adventuring away from home. It’s about providing a rustic-but-comfortable, engaging space for young people to explore their independence. It’s an opportunity to meet other young people from around the world and share unique experiences in a land of unparalleled biodiversity. It’s the opportunity to build self-confidence by learning invaluable life skills directly from people who are working to give their communities a better future. It’s the possibility of taking a moment to breathe, reflect, and return home transformed, with a clearer vision of who you are, what you can do, and where you want to go.

Are you ready?

Click here for the itinerary, packing list, and travel info

DETAILS
Date: Summer 2025
Ages: 13–18 (co-ed)
Also available for 18+. Contact us if interested.
Locations: Quito (Ecuadorian capital), Otavalo (largest Indigenous settlement in Ecuador), Cuicocha (lagoon), Cochasqui (archaeological site), Cayambe (volcano), Cotopaxi, Napa River region.

FREE 1-year Duke of Edinburgh’s Award membership package ($600 value) through Vancouver Outdoor School included with all World Bound trips.

Includes:
– Pre-course check-in (zoom conference with attendees)
– Direct contact with our Duke of Edinburgh Award Centre
– 24/7 instruction & support by Fireside
– Most meals, accommodation (eco-lodge, cabins, tenting, homestay)
– Private ground transportation
– Flight coordination
– Admission into parks
– Horseback riding
– White water rafting
– World Bound curriculum, World Bound Certificate of Completion, and t-shirt

Does not include: Flights to and from Ecuador, anything not mentioned above.

More info: office@firesideadventures.ca

You won’t want to miss these experiences

Together with our Indigenous partner Equator Face, and other partners such Kayak Ecuador, Huasquila Eco-Lodge and others, we will explore and discover the wonders of Ecuador. Here are just a few adventures we’ll have along the way:

Explore the Amazon Rainforest, travel along peaceful rivers, bathe under glittering waterfalls, and hike the Ecuadorian highlands! All while surrounded by monkeys, manatees, sloth, and so much more!
Meet face-to-face with wildlife that may not live to see 2030, due to climate change and deforestation. Then, deepen your understanding of these organisms’ environmental and cultural significance from experts and Indigenous knowledge keepers.
Learn traditional cooking, crafting, and even hunting skills from Indigenous Amazonian communities.
Join environmental activists in working to understand and stop illegal gold mining in the Amazon.
Sleep beside ancient pre-Incan ruins surrounded by llamas at Parque Arueologico Cochasquí.
Step back to an era of majestic architecture as we visit Basilica del Voto Nacional and walk up Quito's Virgen de El Panecillo.

Check out what our 2023 World Bound Italy youth have to say about their experience!

Climate Activist Specialization: The Climate Explorer

The fight against climate change is a global one, so a climate activist must become comfortable venturing into new environments, integrating with local cultures, and learning the languages and traditions of the people they meet. World Bound Youth: Ecuador is the expedition for aspiring climate explorers.

During this course, youths will learn to move between haggling in bustling cities, rafting through the deep rainforest, and horseback riding through mountain highlands. Along the way, they’ll spend time living with Indigenous families, learning their languages, artisan skills, and worldview to create an authentic local connection. Our Climate Explorers will leave Ecuador with all the tools they need for future adventures.

Two adventurers roasting guinea pigs in the traditional manner

Our World Bound Climate Change Curriculum

World Bound Youth: Ecuador is all about connecting Ecuador's Indigenous perspectives of leadership and climate change education with youth who need meaningful and impactful experiences that fundamentally prepares them for the life and world ahead of them. No, we aren’t going to bombard them with dark and gloomy discussions of a climate change apocalypse. No, we aren’t going to give them fluffy affirmations and take them on a journey of false hopes. We certainly aren’t going to bore them with international policies that have no relevance to reality. What we’re going to do is give our youth is what the want and need: meaningful skill-building leadership training by Indigenous educators that will truly prepare them for real, hands-on climate activism.

We do this through our World Bound Curriculum: a set of place-based, outdoor-oriented educational modules that will inform this expedition. This curriculum is driven by our five World Bound Pillars, described below. For more detailed information about the curriculum, please visit our World Bound Curriculum page.

*This is a map of the locations we’ll be staying*

Group of teens in a waterfall in Ecuador

Pillar 1: Integrating Climate Change Principles and Perspectives

Indigenous Knowledge: Engage with Indigenous Amazonian perspectives on nature with Cotachi homestay families and Equator Face guides.
Intercultural: Connect hemispheres by integrating North and South American views of climate change
Economic: Learn about the intersection between climate change and economy from Ecuadorian businesses owners practicing sustainability

Pillar 2: Exploring Real-world Environments

Rainforest environments: The Amazon Rainforest
Mountain environments: The Andes mountain range
River environments: The Amazon River
Urban environments: Quito

Three youths in traditional Indigenous clothing with a Cotacachi woman

Pillar 3: Volunteering and Connecting within Communities

Learning traditions, language, and crafting skills of the Cotacachi Indigenous peoples during a multi-day homestay experience
Agricultural volunteer work on community ‘mingas’
Learn from activists fighting illegal gold mining on the Amazon River

Pillar 4: Strengthening Life, Social, and Leadership Skills

Wilderness exploration skills (rafting, mountaineering, horseback riding)
Indigenous Amazonian craft skills (weaving, hunting,
Cooking skills (including ‘Cooking Guinea Pigs 101’)
Sustainable, community-run agricultural practices
Language skills (Spanish and Quechua)
Haggling skills

Pillar 5: Sustaining Climate Action through Solution-focused Approaches

Membership in the World Bound Youth: Climate Ambassador community
Year-round participation in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (which supports climate action)
Membership in the Vancouver Outdoor School Youth Network
Internships as a climate ambassador and mentor in local sustainable businesses and future expeditions