Many teens in the Sacramento area planning summer travel are choosing to steer clear of tourist traps by using organizations such as Amigos de las Américas, a community service group with programs in remote Latin American villages.

This summer, the Sacramento-Davis Amigos chapter will host 19 volunteers ages 16 to 19 in countries including Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Paraguay.

The only major requirement for volunteers – who can continue with the program, receiving training to become supervisors as college students – is to be in their third year of Spanish in school.

Once accepted, volunteers are sent to live with village families for six to eight weeks, where they meet up with Amigos representatives from other chapters to work on two different projects – one, decided in advance; the other, chosen by the village during their stay. Most tasks deal with youth education, reforestation and health.

Kevin Wolf and his wife, Linda Cloud (now the president of the Sac-Davis Amigos chapter), found out about the organization when a group of student volunteers spoke to their daughter Kelsey Wolf-Cloud's class at Davis Senior High School three years ago.

"It was very impressive to see the orientation run predominantly by young teenagers," Wolf said.

When Kelsey volunteered at age 16, she helped to build new stoves for 17 families in Nicaragua who were experiencing respiratory problems from their open wood-burning stoves. This summer, Kelsey, now 19, will be a supervisor for four villages in Michoacán, Mexico.

"She still downplays how valuable her contribution to the village was, because she got so much out of the experience personally," Wolf said.

To apply, students make a commitment to raise the roughly $4,000 all- inclusive cost of the trip. A chapter treasurer helps organize the fundraising, which is done through the sale of Davis-produced olive oil.

Before leaving, they also attend a set of retreats that cover topics such as how to stay healthy in the country, project training and cross-cultural sensitivity.

So, why are 700 teens across the nation choosing Amigos over other travel programs this summer?

"They really like the idea of being embedded within a family in a country that's not part of the tourist scene," Wolf said.

For more information on Amigos de las Américas: www.amigoslink.org or www.sac-davisamigos.org.