Volunteering and People-to-People Activities in Cuba

As a Global Volunteer in Cuba, you explore the country and culture through her people. Cubans and Americans together—building bridges over which our governments can walk. These add-on activities provide meaningful, intriguing, and memorable opportunities for exchanges that round out your service experience. The people-to-people costs are included in the two-week program contribution. One-week volunteers may participate in these activities for a $300 fee.

In Havana:

Muraleando Community Art Project
A local art cooperative that transformed a dirty garbage dump into an art loving, creating, and respecting community. Local artists train others, sell their artwork, and speak to visitors about what it means to be an artist in today’s Havana.

Finca la Vigía: Ernest Hemingway’s Home in Cuba
Hemingway’s estate offers visitors a look into his past, and what his life was like at the time he lived and worked in Havana. Volunteers can walk around his home, see his vintage boat, and enjoy the solitude of the beautiful grounds.

Almacenes de San José Artisan Market
Located on the historic Port of Havana, this restored warehouse houses dozens of artisan stalls showcasing paintings, sculptures, guayabera shirts, woodwork, leather items, jewelry, pottery, and traditional handicrafts.

Old Havana
A UNESCO World Heritage Site; a must see walking tour through the heart of this historic city. An experienced guide will lead you down cobblestone streets and picturesque tree-lined squares, through an eclectic mix of shops, cafés, monuments, and churches. Pause on a park bench or enjoy a cup of coffee at an outdoor café and soak up all Havana has to offer.

Lectures
Learn about Cuba’s highly effective education system (UNESCO reports Cuba’s literacy rate at 99.7%) from an experienced teacher. Hear a Cuban professor/lawyer describe U.S. – Cuba relations from the Cuban perspective and explain the significance of the Cuban revolution and its place in the country’s history.

Classic Cars
Enjoy a guided tour of the city in an iconic 1950’s convertible for which Havana is so well known.

Fusterlandia
Cuban artist José Fuster has transformed an impoverished neighborhood into a whimsical art attraction, featuring thousands of Gaudí-inspired mosaics.

Museum of the Revolution
Housed in the old Presidential Palace, this museum is dedicated to the Cuban Revolution with exhibits that tell the stories of the Castros, Che Guevara, and their contemporaries.

In Ciego de Ávila:

Two-week Ciego de Ávila volunteers enjoy people-to-people activities around Ciego de Ávila over the middle weekend and the last two days of the second week in Havana. One-week Ciego de Ávila volunteers do not visit Havana as part of the program, but can make separate arrangements.

Salsa Lessons
Learn the language of this Caribbean dance from local instructors. Move to the music or watch from the sidelines—but beware, the music is hard to resist. The following are only a few people-to-people activities in Cuba offered by Global Volunteers.

Morón Teatro
This professional theater company has won multiple awards for acting, design, and staging, including Cuba’s 2015 Community Culture Award. As a community theater, it presents unique performances on stage and in the streets, parks, and plazas. Volunteers learn about the history and the work of the theater group, converse with the artists and enjoy a high-quality show.

Ciego de Ávila Museum
Explore the history of our host community from its colonial foundations through the revolution and today.

La Trova
A vibrant alfresco music house—tap your toes or practice those salsa skills.

Nicolás Guillén Foundation
A national poet of Cuba, Nicolás Guillén was a 20^th century journalist, political activist, and writer. The foundation was formed by local residents, Larry and Lena, who invite you into their back yard patio to learn about Guillén and listen to wonderful Cuban jazz.

Local Artisans
Visit a shop where artisans create incredible sculptures with vintage silverware (Oh, which one to buy and take home?), peek inside a cigar factory, and check out the works of a local watercolorist.