Start your Togo volunteer experience with the language and cultural immersion program in the bustling city of Kpalimé, host to many exciting tourist attractions. The first week of orientation covers basic Ewé language classes, discussions on culture, history, life, safety, and other issues of Togo. Further enrich your Togo volunteer trip by joining a one-day guided tour designed to explore the richness of Togo's arts and crafts such as wood carving, drum making, and weaving, and to view some of Kpalimé’s cultural sites.

FIRST WEEK PROGRAM

Day 1: Airport arrival and hotel transfer
Day 2: Orientation at the contact office

A 3-hour orientation on Togo covers language, religion, history, culture, politics, geography, and necessary health and safety precautions.

Day 3: Togolese language class begins.
Day 4: Togolese language class continues.
Day 6: Togolese language class continues.
Day 7: Togolese language class ends; cultural tour of Kpalimé and area.

Explore nearby areas or visit the village chief to discuss the rich culture, history, and lifestyles of Togo.

Language class runs for 3-4 hours each day. During their free time, volunteers can explore the city of Kpalimé and nearby villages on their own.

SECOND WEEK PROGRAM

Transfer to a small, beautiful ethnic village where people still practice traditional methods of farming, cooking, and other daily activities. Experience the hospitality, warm welcome, and a true-to-life picture of rural Togo while living with a Togolese family for several days, an experience not possible on a typical tourist journey. Continue practicing the language with local villagers while supporting the host family in preparing meals, working on the family farm, and observing traditional ceremonies.

Day 8: Departure to the village in Togo’s plateau region

Villages in the plateau region offer some of the most intriguing sights and sounds of Togo: tropical forests, traditional African village scenery, cocoa farms, cultural festivals, native fruits, and herbal plants. The native ethnic groups of the region are pleasantly hospitable and kind. Our volunteers are sure to encounter a very unique culture and lifestyle.

Days 9, 10 and 11: Village stay and cultural immersion with Togo families

Work on a farm, cook native dishes, visit a local village, and explore local lifestyles while practicing the language with local villagers. Put your new language skills to use at the local markets. The village stay includes exploration of nearby villages, green forests, magnificent landscapes, and different aspects of rural life in Togo.

Day 12: Meet the village chief and short Cultural Program.

Greet the village chief in a traditional manner. Join the cultural program beginning after dinner. Local artists will present local ethnic music and dance to demonstrate intriguing cultural aspects of the Togolese village to the volunteers. Participants can join the cultural dance program and volunteers can dance with the local people.

Day 13: Explore the beauty of plateau region

Visit Badou, in the heart of the cacao area, featuring spectacular waterfalls, lush hills and calm forests. Before moving on to Kpalimé visit Atakpamé, the preferred residence of the German administrators. Located in the heart of a beautiful mountainous area, Atakpamé is the center of Togo’s cotton-growing belt. In the rainy season, behold the breathtaking beauty of the Cascade of Ayomé and Kpimé, which shrink to mere trickles during the rest of the year.

Day 14: Explore the wooded Kpalimé area

Explore the thick vegetation, hilly terrain and noticeably cooler climate of the Kpalimé area. Observe the brilliant butterflies dancing gently above the lush foliage.

Start from the village of Klouto and hike to the butterflies’ natural habitat. Detour to nearby Chateau Viale, an astonishing medieval-style stone fortress built by a Frenchman in 1944 as a retreat for his wife. Continue up Mt Klouto (741m) and look across the border into Ghana.

Program itineraries are sample itineraries and are subject to change to meet the needs of Volunteers and our home office.

After 2 weeks of extensive language training, cultural orientation, and village stay, participants will begin their planned volunteer work projects. Our staff will take you to your host family and familiarize you with the area where you will stay during your time as a volunteer in Togo.