El Nahual Community Center was founded in 2004 in order to address shortcomings in the Guatemalan national education system, particularly in Quetzaltenango and its surrounding communities. El Nahual is located on the outskirts of Quetzaltenango in a sector called Pacajá. This location, which straddles urban and rural areas, was chosen to allow El Nahual to serve as a hub of support for the often marginalized communities outside the city center.
El Nahual is a fully licensed non-profit organization funded by its Spanish language school. We are unique in that we require the individuals who choose to study with us to donate their time to volunteer in the low-income communities we serve. Our volunteers often take classes in the mornings and then get involved in our service projects, the bulk of which involve helping out with our educational programs for children and adults. We seek passionate, enthusiastic individuals who want to teach English, art, drama, music, and sports; who will help build our new community center, work in our organic garden, help us plan fundraisers, or assist with a myriad of tasks from repairing bicycles to computer maintenance to distributing publicity around town and abroad.
