Honduras: Rural Economic Advisor - Volunteer in Honduras (Spanish, Canadians Only)

Location Gracias Lempira, Honduras

Start Date Aug - Oct 2019 (flexible)

Length of Placement 7 Months

Language Requirements English, Spanish

Please submit a Spanish Resume and Statement of Interest

Open to Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada only

The Volunteer’s Role

Do you hold a fluent level of Spanish and an Economics background? Bring these 2 competencies to volunteer in a rural part of Honduras!

As the Rural Economic Advisor, you will use your economic analysis skills to perform rural field studies related to the environmental impacts of forest degradation. After an initial assessment of existing gaps and challenges, you will assist in developing or refreshing a research methodology to carry out your field work. A fluent level of Spanish will be necessary to interact with the project team and various target communities that the project addresses. Through research and field work, you will assist the project team by drafting a final report with economic analysis and recommendations for action.

Apply today to this exciting volunteer opportunity in Honduras!

As a volunteer, you will:

• Research & preparation work

• Conducting household surveys based on the proposed methodology in collaboration with the project management team

-Rural Household Survey on:

-- Calendar of work within productive activities at the domestic level (Identify roles of each family member)

-- Educational level of household members.

-- Migratory trends, social networks, alternative forms of family income, history of cultivation in the landscape and the possible willingness of farmers to switch to other crops, with the use of appropriate technologies.

-Produce a report on the management of forest resources, such as:

-- Average farm size (areas destined for agricultural productive activities, forest cattle ranching)

-- Type of land tenure, including forest tenure (private, state, leased, communal, communal and informal), women's ownership and use, and whether there are conflicts in land management and conflict resolution mechanisms.

-- Decision making in relation to access, use and control of resources. As well as decisions on purchases and acquisition of consumer and production goods disaggregated by sex.

-- Conventional or conservation practices associated with crop production (integrated pest management, use of synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides and disease control, buffering for riparian forest conservation, forms of irrigation, organic agriculture, mechanized labor, soil conservation, live fences and replanting or re-seeding of crops),

-- Soil fertility management.

-- Surveys on the number of rural households adopting climate-smart technologies (e.g. ecological stoves, dendro-energetic plantations, agroforestry systems, agro-ecological systems, etc.).

-Perform economic research on assets and access to the local agricultural market, such as:

-- Types of agricultural assets (financial, social, physical, human and natural) or services to which farmers may have access related to the forest,

-- Type of market for the sale of crops (local, regional, national, international, virtual).

-- Income and source (forestry, agricultural, non-agricultural) at the level of rural families, disaggregating by sex what is legally perceived by each member of the family.

-Attend meetings with project team and support the presentation of findings

Essential Academic Qualifications:

• University degree in economics, agronomy, with postgraduate training in rural economic development or equivalent

Essential Professional Background:

• Capable of carrying out research studies and carrying out agricultural and rural development projects, programs and policies

• Development of diagnosis and analysis of the situation and changes in agriculture in a region and its environment, and identification of difficulties and obstacles to development

• Support on the drafting of proposals for development projects and policies

Support Package

• Modest monthly living allowance (varies depending country)

• Accommodation while in placement

• Return airfare and visa/work permit costs

• Cost of required vaccinations, antimalarial medication and health insurance

• Pre-departure training and in-country orientation

• Travel and accommodation for reintegration debriefing weekend

• Access to Employee Assistance Program while in placement and upon return

• Travel and accommodation for the pre-departure training course and for in-country orientation

https://cusointl.org/30kXxDK