Nutritional Security Outreach Volunteer

Description

This project is part of the Mid-Service Leave Pilot. Volunteers serving under this pilot will receive a 15-day leave near the midway point of service (between year one and year two). For this leave, the Peace Corps will provide round-trip airfare between the country of service and the Volunteer’s home of record and 15 days of per diem.

Situated in West Africa, Guinea has abundant natural resources and contains the headwaters of the region's major rivers. Good management of resources, water, forests, and soils facilitate potential farming, animal rearing, and create jobs for youth and women's groups. However, a study by the World Food Program in June 2024 indicated that poverty is alarming, 13.9 million inhabitants remain food insecure and malnourished, 33.9% are under pressure and 29.9% increase with a potential shift of 7.9% of the population to emergency food security status in the 2024 June to August lean season. Furthermore, the government of Guinea has identified the fight against malnutrition as a national priority. Through field actors, the aim is to raise public awareness about good dietary practices and to take actions in favor of nutritional security. Among these commitments, two essential topics are being emphasized: breastfeeding and the consumption of local, diverse, and balanced products. By committing to breastfeeding and promoting local food, the country is laying the groundwork for a future where nutrition will be a true driver of public health and economic development.

Nutritional Security Outreach Volunteers work alongside community health workers, teachers, community groups, and small holder farmer households to increase awareness and knowledge of nutrition and to promote the local production of sustainable and nutritious foods. As a Volunteer, you will work with many stakeholders to support this goal including local cooperatives, individuals, households, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government field agents, and researchers. Volunteers form strong collaborative partnerships with community members, especially women and youth, to analyze community needs. Volunteers work alongside their host community to promote long term, sustainable use of new agricultural techniques for diversified and nutrient-rich food production and natural resource management.

According to the needs of the assigned community, Volunteers work to promote sustainable agricultural practices through the following activities:

Improve the nutrition and food security through multi-purpose community gardens, tree planting (e.g., moringa), and fruit and vegetable production.

Promote alternative farming practices such as small animal husbandry (poultry and/or bees), food transformation and conservation, soap making with natural resources such as herbal products or honey.

Increase dietary diversity through nutrition education and food preparation techniques.

Increase the capacity of women of reproductive age and key household decision-makers to increase the dietary diversity of households.

Increase household incomes by working with community members to identify and develop income generating activities.

During Pre-Service Training (PST), you will learn how to build individual home gardens and other farming techniques. You will be encouraged to learn from previous mistakes and successes with supervision, guidance, and constructive feedback from staff. Peace Corps staff will lead guided farm visits and share learning resources such as tutorials and training manuals. Peace Corps provides Volunteers with a technical supply fund to buy seeds and garden tools. After training, you will build a demonstration garden and nursery with your community counterpart in your worksite. In addition, you will do community or cross-sectoral exchange travel to amplify learning and invite peers and stakeholders in and around your community. You will receive continued training on nutrition-sensitive home and community gardening, food processing, beekeeping, small-scale local poultry farming, and other agricultural practices.

Program

PCV

Post

Guinea

Required Skills

Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in agriculture and one or more of the following criteria:

• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field

OR

• 5 years' professional work experience

Desired Skills

Additionally, Guinea strongly prefers that its Volunteers meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Demonstrated leadership experience or experience in community organizing and mobilization.

• Experience or expressed interest in nutrition, vegetable gardening, nursery management, tree planting, small-scale poultry farming or beekeeping.

• Hands-on experience with community garden or farm management.

• Experience related to natural resource management, food security, household nutrition education, and/or income generating activities.

• A desire to work with rural community groups as well as with community health centers and schools.

• An interest in learning about Guinean rural agriculture practices.

• A strong desire to work as part of a multicultural team.

• Flexibility, readiness to master new techniques, and a sense of humor.

Language Requirement

None

Language Requirements Information

There are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position.

Language Skills Additional Information

French is the official language of Guinea, but it is used almost exclusively by professionals and as a second language. Six indigenous languages are more commonly spoken and have the shared status of national languages. They are Pular (or Fula), Maninka, Susu, Kissi, Kpelle, and Toma.

Nutritional Security Outreach Volunteers will be taught to speak French until they reach the level of novice high before switching to the appropriate local language of their community. You will receive 120+ hours of local language training during Pre-Service Training.

During the first half of PST, Volunteers will be taught to speak French until they reach the level of high novice before switching to the appropriate local language of their community. Volunteers receive between 10-20 hours of French lessons a week during PST to provide them with the basic language needed to navigate transportation and basic needs. Invitees are highly encouraged to take a French course prior to service and to continue with tutoring during PST and after arriving in their community. Volunteers are provided with a monthly allowance for language tutoring. Invitees are encouraged to take a French course prior to service and to continue with tutoring during Pre-Service Training and afterward once in their communities Volunteers are provided with a monthly allowance for tutoring.

Living Conditions

Volunteers are assigned to rural villages where support for household nutrition related capacity building is requested. These villages can range in size from several hundred to a few thousand people. Staff work with communities to prepare housing and ensure that it is safe and secure, near a source of water, accessible to a market, and within walking distance of clear cell phone reception.

Houses are typically simple round huts with one to three room structures, with either metal or thatched roofs. Many are situated within a family compound. Most Volunteer houses do not have electricity or running water. Houses may have indoor toilets and shower areas, but most have nearby or attached access to a private pit latrine and bathing area.

Cell phone services improve each year but can sometimes fluctuate by location. Phones work in almost all areas of the country, but internet access can be limited at the village level. A basic cell phone is given to Volunteers. During training, Volunteers are also provided with a one-time allowance to purchase a tablet in country. Current Volunteers have found it helpful to bring their own laptop for personal use in their community. Regional offices are also equipped with internet access.

Personal appearance is important to the people of Guinea. During Pre-Service Training, the standard professional dress code is business casual. Following PST, when you are placed in the community, you will need to dress appropriately for socializing in the community and for working. Respecting Guinean culture and tradition by dressing appropriately helps you gain respect in your host community. It will also facilitate integration and increase your credibility and effectiveness.

Volunteers are provided bikes for transport should they choose; however, many communities are within walking distance to the Volunteer’s worksite. For longer distances, Volunteers use small passenger vehicles to go into the regional capital or to gain access to public transportation.

At most main meals, rice, maize, cassava, or local grain called “fonio” are eaten along with leaves (like spinach and potato leaves), with a peanut or tomato-based sauce served with vegetables, meat, or fish. Fruits such as mangoes, avocados, pineapples, papayas, oranges, and limes are available seasonally. Vegetables are not as common, and those that are usually cooked into sauces. One of your goals is to work with community members to highlight the importance of eating these vegetables in new ways.

Though people in Guinea are generally tolerant, values and mores concerning sexual orientation and gender identity are well defined and there are restrictive laws that target certain sexual behaviors. Volunteers will need to be mindful of cultural norms and country-specific laws and use their best judgment to determine how to approach topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity in their communities. Staff and other currently serving Volunteers will address this topic during PST and identify some potential support mechanisms for incoming Trainees.

During your service, you will have an incredible experience that will have many challenges, but will undoubtedly bring incredible rewards as you develop social and working relationships with a variety of people, learn to communicate in local languages, develop an understanding of local expectations and customs, along with an appreciation of local foods, and learn to live and work in Guinea.

Primary Sector

Agriculture

Secondary Sector

Health

TEFL certificate program

No

Apply By

15-Mar-2026

Know By

01-May-2026

Start Date

04-Oct-2026

Assignment Length (months)

24

Positions Available

15

Total Number of Positions Available

15

Accepts Couples

Yes

Couples Comments

Public Health Educator

Couples will likely be separated during the ten weeks of Pre-Service Training as they will live in modified dormitory accommodations. Once in their communities, couples will share a home that meets the same standards for all Volunteers. There will be times during service when couples will spend some days and nights apart, such as when one is attending specialized in-service training, a meeting, routine medical appointments, etc.

Accepting Applications?

Yes

Request Type

117 Agriculture and Forestry Extension

Environmental Adaptation and Resilience Activities (Public Information)

As an Agriculture Volunteer, you will be trained on best practices for smallholder agriculture to improve household food security and nutrition and adapt to a changing and uncertain environmental context. As the impacts of environmental degradation and unsustainable natural resource management practices become more evident, the social, economic, and environmental contexts that smallholder farmers operate within will continue to change. This will add to the challenges of smallholder farming, particularly for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.

As an Agriculture Volunteer, you will be trained to support food security and livelihood improvement while increasing community resilience and adaptation to global change through your activities. These activities will:

• Promote the adoption of improved, appropriate, and adaptive agricultural practices and technologies that increase productivity, including practices that:

• Improve soil health and promote circularity of on-farm organic waste

• Reflect indigenous knowledge of nature-based solutions and

• Preserve and enhance forests, biodiversity, and ecosystem services.

• Build and strengthen household resilience by integrating and diversifying existing and new agriculture-related income-generating opportunities

• Improve household nutrition, particularly that of the most vulnerable household members

Post to LinkedIn?

No