Academic Trips

This comprehensive trip includes visiting the Colonial Zone in Santo Domingo, where students visit many places they have studied in the classroom. 

Cien Fuegos is an inner-city neighborhood in Santiago, a community known as an example of urban poverty. Students meet with local community leaders and learn about the realities of life for the people who live in Cien Fuegos. This neighborhood has been marginalized since its inception, and its people continue to suffer the effects of immigration from rural campos, the ups and downs of work at the free trade zone factories nearby, and the contamination from the landfill located in their community, where all of the trash from Santiago is collected and burned.

Cilpen Global is a company born out of the need to give a sustainable solution to solid waste management, including its final disposal site (landfills). Today, under strategic alliance with the City Council of Santiago, it technically manages the Rafey landfill with the aim of mitigating its impact and reducing contamination levels.

Visiting the Dominican-Haitian border divided by the Massacre River allows students to further appreciate the complexities of Dominican-Haitian relations and trade. For this experience Encuentro Dominicano partners with the Jesuit organization Centro Montalvo- Dajabón (formerly known as Solidaridad Fronteriza), which is part of a larger network of Jesuit institutions that work to advocate for Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic.

Chocolate de la Cuenca de Altamira (Chocal) is a community association of cocoa producers, founded in 2008 and managed by thirty local women. The association grows organic cocoa and produces excellent quality chocolate products in the spectacular scenery surrounding the Bajabonico River. It also produces a wide variety of cocoa liqueurs and tropical wines from the various fruits found in the region such as banana, mandarin, mango, cherry, passion fruit, and jagua.