MOOD TRAVEL ABROAD × JARUM × DIGITAL NOMADS FOR GOOD
Volunteer in Medellín: Give Back in Moravia
Saturday, October 3, 2026 · 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Moravia, Medellín, Colombia
Free to join. Registration required.
Save My Free Spot
Looking for a meaningful way to give back while you are in Medellín?
Join MOOD Travel Abroad, JARUM and Digital Nomads for Good for a community volunteer day in Moravia, one of Medellín’s most remarkable neighborhoods.
We will spend the morning alongside local youth helping clean up areas of their community, connecting with the kids through activities, meeting other travelers, expats, digital nomads and locals, and learning more about the people and history behind this neighborhood.
And when the work is done, we are heading to an Afro-Colombian restaurant for lunch together.
Come give a few hours. Meet some good people. Experience another side of Medellín. And leave the neighborhood a little better than we found it.
What We Are Doing
Our volunteer morning will take place in Moravia, working alongside JARUM and youth from the community.
Community Cleanup
We will work together to clean areas of the neighborhood and help create a cleaner environment for the people who call Moravia home.
Work Alongside Local Youth
This is not about arriving and saving a community. It is about showing up, working alongside local young people and community organizations, listening, learning and contributing where we have been invited to help.
Activities With the Kids
We will spend part of our morning connecting with children participating in JARUM’s community through fun activities and conversation.
Lunch Together Afterward
Anyone who wants to continue the day is invited to join the group at an Afro-Colombian restaurant. Lunch is optional and pay your own way.
Your Saturday
9:00 AM — Meet the group. Check in, meet everyone and get ready for the morning.
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM — JARUM and Moravia volunteer experience: community cleanup, activities with local youth and time connecting with the neighborhood.
12:00 PM to 2:00 PM — Optional group lunch at an Afro-Colombian restaurant. Timing is estimated and may vary slightly based on the volunteer activities.
Why Moravia?
To understand why we are volunteering here, you need to understand a little of Moravia’s story.
Moravia is much more than another neighborhood on a Medellín map. For decades, this area was home to Medellín’s municipal landfill. Beginning in the late 1970s, thousands of people settled around the area, with some families finding ways to survive through materials recovered from the waste.
The landfill eventually closed, but the community remained. What followed was a long story of neighborhood organization, environmental recovery, urban transformation and community leadership.
Today, Moravia represents something much bigger than its past. It is a living Medellín community shaped by people who have organized, built, planted, created, educated and worked to transform their own neighborhood.
When we volunteer here, we are not coming to fix Moravia. We are coming to support people already doing the work. That is an important difference. Learn more about Moravia’s transformation from the City of Medellín.
Meet JARUM
JARUM is a nonprofit organization born right here in Moravia. Founded in 2016 during Moravia’s environmental transformation, JARUM grew from a landscaping and social intervention project into an organization committed to improving Medellín through environmental education and community participation.
Its work includes landscaping, plant production, ecotourism and socio-environmental education. JARUM’s work is rooted in a simple idea: meaningful environmental transformation happens with the community, not around it.
For this volunteer day, we will be supporting JARUM’s work in Moravia and working alongside youth from the community.
Meet Digital Nomads for Good
Digital Nomads for Good is helping travelers and remote workers turn living abroad into giving where you live. The organization connects digital nomads with vetted local charities and opportunities to contribute meaningfully to the communities they temporarily or permanently call home.
Medellín is the organization’s pilot city, where Digital Nomads for Good works with a network of local foundations. Their philosophy fits this day perfectly: do not just live somewhere, become part of the community while you are there.
Meet MOOD Travel Abroad
MOOD Travel Abroad creates travel experiences built around culture, community and connection. We believe some of the best travel experiences do not happen behind the window of a tour bus. They happen when you meet people, when you learn the story behind the neighborhood, when you eat together, when you participate instead of simply observe.
Our Medellín Volunteer Day is part of our commitment to creating opportunities for travelers, expats and locals to experience Colombia beyond tourism while supporting the communities that make this city special. Travel. Culture. Community. That is the MOOD.
What Should I Bring?
We are asking volunteers to arrive ready to work and, where possible, help us with supplies for the day.
- Positive vibes: come ready to work, connect and have fun.
- Garbage bags: we will need them for the neighborhood cleanup.
- Work or cleanup gloves: bring a durable pair you do not mind getting dirty.
- Water: stay hydrated throughout the morning.
- Small towel: Medellín can get warm once we are moving.
We are also looking for volunteers to help us collectively provide 30 bananas, 30 individual bags of Doritos and 30 individual cookies for the kids. You do not personally need to bring 30 of everything. During signup, let us know if you would like to contribute toward one of the snack needs.
What Should I Wear?
This is not the day for your fresh vacation outfit. Wear clothes you can get dirty, comfortable sneakers with good grip, a hat or cap, sunscreen, and comfortable clothes appropriate for outdoor activity. Bring water and a small towel. Expect to move around, clean, walk and work.
Who Should Join?
This day is for you if you are an expat living in Medellín, a digital nomad calling Medellín home for a while, a traveler looking for something more meaningful to do in Colombia, a local who wants to connect with new people, new to Medellín and looking for community, or someone who has been here for years but wants to experience another side of the city.
You can come alone. In fact, we encourage it. You will leave knowing people you did not know when you arrived.
How Much Does It Cost?
$0. Free.
There is no fee to participate in the volunteer day. Registration is required so we know how many volunteers to expect and can coordinate the day’s supplies and activities responsibly. The optional Afro-Colombian lunch afterward is pay your own way.
Frequently Asked Questions
MOOD Travel Abroad is hosting a free community volunteer day in Moravia, Medellín on Saturday, October 3, 2026, in collaboration with JARUM and Digital Nomads for Good. Registration is required.
Volunteers will participate in a neighborhood cleanup alongside youth from Moravia and spend time participating in activities with children connected to JARUM. The focus is on working alongside the community and supporting work already being led locally.
Meetup is at 9:00 AM. Volunteer activities with JARUM are scheduled from approximately 9:00 AM until 12:00 PM. The optional group lunch is expected to run approximately 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM.
The exact meetup instructions are provided in your confirmation email after you register. Please register using the form on this page and check your inbox immediately afterward.
Yes. Participation in the volunteer day is completely free. Registration is required. The optional group lunch afterward is not included. Everyone will purchase their own food and drinks directly from the restaurant.
No. You do not need previous volunteer experience or special skills. Come ready to participate, follow the guidance of our community partners and work respectfully alongside local residents.
No. Spanish is helpful but is not required to participate. This is also an opportunity to connect across languages and cultures.
Absolutely. This event is intentionally designed to make it easy to meet people. Expats, travelers, digital nomads and locals are welcome.
Wear comfortable clothes you do not mind getting dirty, sturdy sneakers, and a hat. We also recommend sunscreen. Bring water and a small towel.
Bring positive energy, cleanup gloves, garbage bags if possible, water and a small towel. We are also coordinating snacks for the children and hope to collectively provide 30 bananas, 30 individual bags of Doritos and 30 individual cookies.
JARUM is a nonprofit organization founded in Moravia in 2016 during the neighborhood's environmental transformation. Its work includes landscaping, plant production, ecotourism and socio-environmental education, with community participation at the center of its approach.
Digital Nomads for Good connects digital nomads and international residents with vetted local charities so they can contribute to the communities where they live and travel. Medellín is its pilot city.
MOOD Travel Abroad is a travel company focused on experiences that connect people through travel, culture and community. We create opportunities for travelers to go beyond traditional tourism and develop meaningful relationships with the destinations they visit.
Moravia has one of Medellín's most remarkable stories of community led transformation. We are volunteering here because organizations and residents are already doing meaningful work in their community. Our role is to show up, listen, work alongside them and support that effort.
After the volunteer activities, we will head together to an Afro-Colombian restaurant for an optional group lunch. Lunch is pay your own way and gives everyone a chance to relax, eat, meet other volunteers and continue the conversation.
Complete the free registration form on this page. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the meetup location, schedule, what to wear, what to bring and final instructions.
Give Back. Meet People. Experience Medellín Differently.
Saturday, October 3, 2026 · 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM · Moravia, Medellín · Free
Your meetup instructions and final volunteer details will be emailed to you immediately after registration.