Rural landscape with dirt road, rolling hills, fields of crops, and scattered buildings under a cloudy sky.

Elevating spirits, Breathing freedom.

The Highland Support Project (HSP) is a committed network promoting sustainable education and development.

Our mission centers around empowering changemakers working diligently to catalyze a transformative shift towards a sustainable culture.

We achieve this by providing technical and material assistance fostering a environment encouraging innovation, progress, and sustainable practices.

Group hug with woman and children in colorful clothing outdoors.

Our organization weaves a vibrant tapestry of diversity.

We unite professionals, tillers of the land, indigenous and non-indigenous people, city inhabitants, and those from the countryside - for the noble cause of enriching lives. Since our inception, our ethos has been grounded in unwavering respect and authentic collaboration across cultures.

This unique perspective distinguishes us in a world where many simply deliver services, instead of forming dynamic partnerships with people from all walks of life. The beauty in our diversity fuels empowerment, salutes differences, and applauds shared triumphs, epitomizing a unique pathway to collective success.

We’re re-imagining Service Learning.

We specialize in crafting relevant service trips for academic cohorts, church missions, and other socially minded citizens. Our aim is to provide transformative experiences for participants through cultural exchange and community-building projects. Our programming is driven by listening to the communities we serve with and responding to their needs.

  • In the highlands of Guatemala, we work with the Maya women of Asociación de Mujeres del Altiplano (AMA) in building empowered, resilient, civically engaged communities. Founded and led by indigenous women, AMA provides behavioral health programming, health and civic education, midwifery training, support for business enterprise, and an organizational structure through which communities can attain greater agency and control over their development and wellbeing.

  • In North America, we work with the Apache Nation on the White Mountain Apache Reservation. Our programs have been primarily based around struggles for food, water, and housing sovereignty.

  • In Ecuador we work alongside Fundación Yanapak Yachachikuna (FYYChE). Founded and directed by Kichwa community leaders in the Chimborazo region, FYYChE works against the systematic discrimination of Kichwa people in education, employment, infrastructure, and governmental policy.

  • In Richmond, HSP's Deep Ecology Education Program and the City of Richmond Public Schools have formed a collaborative network to cultivate culturally relevant and responsive learning engagements. The aim is to encourage lifelong wellness by instilling in students an understanding and appreciation of our natural environment's value and the necessity of preserving it for future generations.

Sunlit rocky mountain slope with sparse vegetation

Past projects have focused on:

  • Early Childhood Education

  • Women's Health

  • Stove Building

  • Women's Empowerment

  • Economic Justice

  • School Construction

Group of six people smiling outdoors, including three adults, two young girls, and a boy, standing on a dirt path next to greenery and a hillside.

  • Arts Programs

  • Sanitation

  • Reforestation

  • English Education

  • Public Health

  • Organic Gardening

Meet our partners in service.

  • Virginia Commonwealth University

    University of Richmond

    University of Florida

    James Madison University

    Rutgers University

    University of Virginia

    Westminster College

    James Madison University

    Loyola Marymount University

  • Good Shepard UMC

    Fredericksburg UMC

    Brandermill UMC

    Concord UMC

    Annandale UMC

    Christ the Servant Lutheran Church

  • Community High School

    Open High School

    Henrico High School

    L’école Victor-Brodeur

    Flint High School

    South Lakes High School

    Virginia Episcopal School

    Highland Springs High School

    St. Catherines School

Young girl playing with dirt at an outdoor event, surrounded by adults wearing gloves.