We are leading a group of experienced photographers to donate our skills to the international charitable organization, Forward Edge, who has a presence in Cuba. Kevin Kubota and Benjamin Edwards will be your leader/instructors.
For each Workshops With Purpose trip, we carefully choose a different organization to work with based on their mission and our experience with them, if any. The organization is not selected based on any religious affiliation, although they MAY have a religious foundation. We select organizations that provide charitable services to ALL people, regardless of religious belief, race, or gender. Likewise, attendees are not expected to align with any religious belief. We welcome anyone who simply wants to do good in the world with their creative talents.
We ask that you come with an open mind. Our work may require us to document the work being done by a religious organization, possibly in a religious setting. Our mission is to respect, document, and help where needed -- even if we don’t completely align. Will this work for you? If so, read on!
Entry into Cuba from the US is restricted for general tourist travel. Since we are working with a religious organization, they will be able to host us with a religious visa. This is what we’ll be applying for. This does not mean you are going as an evangelist :-)
Your workshop leaders, Kevin and Benjamin, have led numerous other workshops and have extensive international travel experience. They will provide education and coaching in the logistics of doing international charitable work, ethical storytelling, photography workflow, and photographic capture and lighting techniques for documentary and portrait work. Representatives from Forward Edge will also be coordinating and leading our group while in Cuba.
What will we be doing? Good question! We offer our skills in whatever way is most needed and helpful to the organization and the people we encounter. Forward Edge will have specific projects for us to photograph, which could include: documenting the community programs they sponsor, portraits of their staff, portraits of the local children and families, general use images for their marketing needs, in-house staff training on photography, creating outreach video or promotional pieces. We donate our services free of charge and without licensing restrictions.
The main program will cover 11 days. Five days working with Forward Edge International and 6 days touring the areas around Santiago, Trinidad, Havana, and Vinales. You have the option of ending your experience on day 8 in Trinidad and not visiting Havana and Vinales. Our 11-day program will INCLUDE team building, cultural experiences, classroom time, as well as the actual photographic/video project work for Forward Edge International.
All in-country transportation, meals, accommodations, cultural experiences, and education is included in the workshop cost. We believe that our openness to cultural experience and education is equally important to the donation of our services to the efforts of Forward Edge. We do good in the world by appreciating other cultures, finding commonality, and developing deep compassion.
OPTION 1
Full program experience, 11 days, $4750. It includes:
- Travel to Holguin, Santiago, Trinidad, Havana, and Vinales. This includes round trip airfare to Cuba from Miami.
- Workshop and service projects in Holguin with Forward Edge. Rich cultural and photographic experiences, photo walks, education programs in Holguin, Santiago, Trinidad, Havana, and Vinales.
- All accommodations, meals, transport, guides, programming, entry fees, visas, required health insurance, and photo instruction.
- It does not cover airfare to Miami.
OPTION 2
8-day Workshop experience: $4200. It includes:
- Travel to Holguin, Santiago and Trinidad. This includes round trip airfare to Cuba from Miami.
- Workshop and service projects in Holguin with Forward Edge. Rich cultural and photographic experiences, photo walks, education programs in Holguin, Santiago and Trinidad.
- All accommodations, meals, transport, guides, programming, entry fees, visas, required health insurance, and photo instruction.
- It does not cover airfare to Miami.
OPTION 3
5-day Workshop experience: $3250. It includes:
- Travel to Holguin. This includes round trip airfare to Holguin, Cuba from Miami.
- Workshop and service projects in Holguin with Forward Edge.
- All accommodations, meals, transport, guides, programming, entry fees, visas, required health insurance, and photo instruction.
- It does not cover airfare to Miami,
Option 3 is the workshop and service portion of our trip and is included in all options. We'll spend our days working closely with Forward Edge, learning about their work in Cuba and photographing for them in whatever capacity they deem helpful. They may have specific projects for us or request that we document their work.
Options 1 & 2 add more time to explore and experience Cuba! It will add:
- All accommodations while visiting other cities in Cuba (Private Bed & Breakfast).
- Entrance fees when applicable.
- All gratuities are included.
- Experienced educator guides
- Included meals: Full breakfast made to order each morning, lunches and dinners. Please advise us about any dietary restrictions or food allergies.
- Photo walks & discussions
- OFAC travel documents
Important details:
- Workshop dates: April 6th, 2019 -- April 17th, 2019.
- A non-refundable deposit of $1000 is due December 31st, 2018. Why is this non-refundable? We have a strict limit of 8 participants and a deadline of Jan. 1, 2019 to apply for our visas. If somebody decided to drop out, we will not be able to refill that vacancy and risk losing money on our empty spot and the deposits we’ve paid to organize the workshop. Make sense?
- Where do we fly in to? We’ll meet in Miami and fly together to Holguin, Cuba and return together to Miami. If you choose the shorter experience, you will fly back to Miami solo or with other team members (if leaving at the same time). Our team will make sure you are taken to the airport.
- What’s required of me? Photographic experience and proficiency with a DSLR or mirrorless digital camera. Ability to edit and submit your digital files ready for publication.
- We suggest all travelers purchase emergency medical insurance for international travel. This ranges from $30-$50 depending on coverage. Here is a company we’ve used on previous trips: https://www.sevencorners.com/travel-medical-insurance#/quote