Peace Corps

Business Development

Peace Corps Volunteers have a long history of working with individuals and communities to promote economic opportunities at the grassroots level. Watch a suite of videos featuring Peace Corps Volunteers in Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, and Tonga describing projects they helped to develop. (4 clips, 2-5 minutes each, 2004-2006)

Cape Verde: Bringing Water From "Sol" to Soul

Peace Corps Volunteers Nicholas Hanson and Brian Newhouse help develop plans to use solar stills to solve the problem of Cape Verde’s perennial water shortage. This video illustrates how students and community members can come together to achieve lasting, meaningful results. (6 min., 2008) Lesson plan

Cape Verde: Fog's Bounty

Who would have thought you could harvest water from fog? In Cape Verde, Peace Corps Volunteer Nathan Lee worked with community members to use this innovative technique to help provide fresh water for arid areas of the island. (4 min., 2009) Lesson plan

Cultural Gaffes Beyond Your Borders

This entertaining eight-minute video shows you how easy it is to commit a blunder, a gaffe, a slip-up in another culture. Things as simple and normal to you as sitting on the edge of a desk may be insulting in another country. See 14 examples of cultural gaffes acted out, then get some advice on how to try to avoid making such mistakes when you travel to another culture. (8 min., 2008)

Cultural Gaffes at Home and Beyond

In this sequel to our popular Cultural Gaffes Beyond Your Borders video, view 15 examples of social mistakes that can occur around the world, including within the United States. Expand your knowledge of some of the potential pitfalls of cross-cultural interaction; then, learn how to navigate an awkward situation with grace, and how to help others do the same. (11 min., 2009)

Dominican Republic: Dive Into Ecotourism

Natural waterfalls, waterslides, and cliff jumps help to bring tourism to a national park in the Dominican Republic. Hear how returned Peace Corps Volunteer Joe Kennedy worked with his Dominican colleagues to promote and implement ecotourism. (5 min., 2007) Transcript available in Spanish.

Fiji: The Coral Reef

This video was a Peace Corps and the University of the South Pacific project designed to help educate Fijians about the value of the coral reefs in their waters. The video provides a valuable teaching tool for any classroom studying coral reefs, covering topics such as the biology of corals, community relationships, feeding behaviors, defense adaptations, and the effect of humans on coral reefs. (6 clips, 2-5 minutes each)

Jordan: The Last Drop

Access to safe water is important to human health, irrigation, sanitation, and many other aspects of human society. Yet in many of the world’s countries, communities struggle to sustain a reliable water supply. “The Last Drop” explores Jordan’s water situation through interviews with national and local officials, water researchers, and average Jordanian people. (Video in Jordanian with English subtitles, 10 min., 2008)

Senegal: Fighting Malaria One Net at a Time

Peace Corps Volunteer April Williamson describes an initiative to collect and distribute more than 2,000 bed nets across north-central Senegal to prevent the spread of malaria.
(4 min., 2010) Lesson Plan | WebQuest

Senegal: The Growing Challenge in Senegal

Former Peace Corps Volunteers Cory Owens and Clare Major show how they worked alongside farmers in Senegal to improve their yield and help them organize. (8 min., 2007)

Togo: Road to Lamesen

This video details a project to improve health education in Togo, a country with 40 different ethnic groups speaking 50 dialects. "Road to Lamesen" investigates the intricate process and delicate gender roles in such a project. (23 minutes) Transcript

Turkmenistan: The Language of Music

While serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Turkmenistan, Dave Fossum learned to play Turkmen national music on a dutar, a two-stringed instrument. In the three parts of this slide show, learn about the dutar, appreciate the structure of Turkmen music, and watch Dave perform with his teacher in Turkmenistan. (3 clips, 3-6 minutes each, 2008)

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