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Group Leader Responsibilities

Candido and Sasha at the Cotton Tree Lodge gardenSustainable Harvest International welcomes volunteer groups to work with our field programs in Central America through our Smaller World Tour program.  Trips are typically 1-2 weeks in length and groups are made up of 8-15 volunteer participants.  Groups may be formed from your community, group of friends, congregation, school or organization.

Each Smaller World Tour is accompanied by a trip leader from Sustainable Harvest International.  We ask each group to designate a group leader who will assist the SHI trip leader throughout the trip.  Group leaders must be 18 years of age or older, demonstrate that they have the ability to lead a group and agree to the responsibilities outlined below.  As with all of our volunteers and Smaller World Tour participants, group leaders are covered by SHI’s liability insurance policy.  SHI will waive the program free for one group leader per trip.  To apply as a group leader, please download and complete this form and attach a short essay (2-3 paragraphs) describing why you would be an excellent Smaller World Tour group leader.

GROUP LEADER RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Serve as a liaison between the group and SHI staff.
  • Recruit members of the trip group (a group must have 12 or more participants to waive the program free of the group leader).
  • Motivate trip participants to register and prepare for the trip in a timely fashion
    • All trip participants must submit a completed registration form 60 days prior to the trip.
    • All trip participants must pay their program fee in full 60 days prior to the trip.
  • Assist with making group travel arrangements
  • Coordinate fundraising activities
  • Encourage and/or lead pre-trip research and discussion (reading list, discussion topics and materials can be provided by SHI)
  • Distribute orientation materials to the group (provided by SHI)
  • Manage group dynamics, using appropriate disciplinary measures, during the tripStephanie and new friends in La Majada, Honduras
  • Act as group leader in the event of an emergency during travel or in the event that the larger group is split into smaller groups for various activities
  • If the group leader speaks Spanish, assist with translation during the trip
  • Engage trip participants in activities related to the Smaller World experience after returning home—community presentation, sponsorship, correspondence with beneficiary families/communities and related cultural activities


Already the designated Group Leader?
In order to help your group have the most meaningful experience on your upcoming Smaller World Tour, we have compiled resources to get you thinking about sustainability, serviced-based trips, poverty and the mission of Sustainable Harvest International.  Please review the menu items on the right with your group prior to departure.

For further insight, please be sure you and your group members view the articles in our Trip Preparation section.

English

“Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) is the ideal partner… It is one thing to visit the SHI website and read the various reports and informational materials, but seeing the program in action was incredible. It is obvious that SHI is making a real difference in improving the lives of these farmers and their families.”

~Diane Ragone, Ph.D., Director, The Breadfruit Institute, National Tropical Botanical Garden

 
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