Conservation Program at the Alto Choco Reserve

  Ecuador

• All Other Regions of Ecuador: 
Intag

Durations of Program: 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months, 7-12 months, 1-2 years and over 2 years
Typical Duration of Program: 9-12 weeks
Dates: all year through

Description: This program is located in the Intag valley, known for its natural and cultural attractions. There are two communities close to the program, the first is Santa Rosa and the second is Pucará. The program is located on the western hillside of the Ecuadorian Andes right next to the Cotacachi Ecological Reserve in Cayapas, a zone with tons of biodiversity with great cultural and ecological potential due to its topography. This land is full of subtropical rainforest and primary forest (cloud forest), and it also has large parts of deforested land that is used for agriculture. The reserve is at an altitude of between 1000 and 2950 meters and it forms part of the Bioregion "El Chocó", categorized as one of the most important and endangered areas for biodiversity. The weather in this area is cold at night and moderate during the day. The climate is humid, and generally in the afternoons a heavy mist comes down from the mountainsides, creating an impressive cloud forest landscape. During the rainy season from October to May, rain is frequent, mostly in the afternoon and night.

Program Description:
The Alto Chocó Reserve offers opportunities for volunteers to work in a program that involves activities in the areas of reforestation, research and the conservation of the environment, as well as taking care of native nursery trees and botanical gardens. Volunteers will also take part in activities with bamboo. This program is looking for volunteers who are interested in participating in conservation activities and who want to contribute to the development of the reserve.

Volunteer work activities:
"The North-occidental Andean region", to which Intag belongs, has the biggest number of ecoregions classified as of maximum regional conservation priority for the world. (WWF- World Bank). The Biodiversity Support Program identified this zone as of maximum conservation priority.

Reforestation in Alto Chocó Reserve
There are about 222.39 acres in the reserve for reforestation. Of this, 103.78 acres have already been reforested. The work to be done in this area are:
* Clearing the land to be reforested
* Preparing areas for planting
* Planting trees
* Maintaining reforested areas by weeding etc.
* Native Tree Nursery
* The maintenance of the tree nursery on the reserve that produces about 10,000 plants

Botanical Garden: the maintenance of the botanical garden requires that volunteers:
* Identify species found in the botanical garden. There are about 60 species of orchids and a similar number of bromeliads. The volunteer must know enough to be able to identify these species.
* Clear and maintain paths in the garden
* Relocate plant species introduced to the garden.
* Care for the species found in the garden by weeding etc.
* Collect plant species for the Botanical Garden. The volunteer will accompany project personnel on walks within the Reserve to observe and collect plant species not found in the garden.
* Maintaining the infrastructure of the Reserve
- This means clearing overgrown paths in the forest and around the volunteer lodge, repairing existing constructions or making new ones, such as fences or nursery beds, working with adobe bricks, keeping the lodge and surrounding areas clean, etc.

Vegetable garden - The volunteer lodge has an organic vegetable garden that produces food for the consumption of volunteers. Volunteers will participate in the maintenance of the garden by:
* Weeding
* Preparing the terrain for planting
* Planting seeds
* Worm compost

The Reserve has several worm beds where worms live and breed in order to produce fertile earth and compost that can be used in the vegetable garden and tree nursery. Occasionally volunteers will work in gathering the earth prepared by the worms, or feed the worms with food remains or shredded bamboo.

Gathering of native seeds in the cloud forest:
One of the activities that volunteers will do is collect native seeds in the cloud forest inside the reserve, in order to later germinate the collected seeds in the nursery.

Creating corn plantations as food for the wild bears inside of the Alto Choco Reserve. The work to be done in this area is:
* Clearing the land that will be used for the corn plantations
* Preparing the areas for plantations
* Planting the cornfield
* Clearing weeds from the cornfield
* Spectacled bear tracking

As an optional activity, the conservation work includes some monitoring of tracks and markings left by spectacled bears, mainly leftover food bits, excrement, tracks, and scratch marks. The monitoring will take place during walks in the cloud forest using paths that were originally created by the bears themselves. The walks are realized 1-2 times per month and last for 6 to 8 hours in mountainous terrain (the lodge is at about 2100 meters altitude, and volunteers hike up to about 3000 meters).

Mammals constitute one of the most well-known and most studied living organisms. However, lots of information is still unknown about mammals in the neotropical regions. The Andean Bear, for instance, is still somewhat of a mystery. The Andean Bear was declared an endangered species by the IUCN (1996) due to the destruction of its native habitat and its low population. The objective of this program is to look for and analyze the evidence that the bears leave behind in order to understand their activities and customs.

Duration:
The minimum time required to work in this project is one month and there is not a maximum determination. It is possible to request a volunteer visa if you want to develop a project that will last more than 6 months. Volunteers will work 8 hours per day, with 8 days off per month. (It is usually a 5 day work week, but it depends on the nature of the project.) Volunteers are not tourists and can expect to work the same hours as a laborer or employee of the foundation. Volunteers must be prepared to work in adverse weather and under rustic conditions.

Highlights: In all projects, you are going to have a schedule of different activities and you will have an 8 hour day, but other than that you will have time to relax, read, go to the rivers, wash your clothes, paint, talk to local people, or practice sports.

Services near the reserve:
The nearest health care facility is in Apuela, about 30 minutes away from the Reserve. Cities such as Otavalo, about 2 hours away, or Quito, about 4 hours away, have excellent hospitals and English speaking doctors.

Qualifications: You do not need a college education in order to work in the conservation activities. You do need, however, a great interest in the conservation of nature and activities related to human development.

All the volunteers need to have an intermediate knowledge of the spanish language before starting their volunteer work. If the volunteer is not at this level, Ecuador Volunteer could help him/her to find the best program to improve their Spanish skills before starting the project.

Cost in US$: 300 USD/month

The cost of living for volunteers includes 3 meals per day and housing at the Biological Station in shared rooms that volunteers will share with other volunteers or researchers. Saturday and Sunday meals are not included, but the volunteer can buy their own meals and bring them to the biological station´s kitchen or pay $ 2 for each meal in the forester house.

The project cost covers the accommodation and food costs of the volunteer, during his/her volunteer work time. Not included: Travel insurance - Transportation - Personal expenses - Administrative Costs of Ecuador Volunteer.

Experience Required: no

Age Range: at least 18

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Ecuador Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Other

Ecuador Volunteer Foundation's Mission Statement: We are Ecuador Volunteer, an international nonprofit organization founded in 1999 committed to the provision of volunteering opportunities in social, educational and community development in Ecuador. Voluntary work opportunities based around Quito and main programs offer experiences of cultural exchanges, work and help with local people. We arrange voluntary placements in the environmental or community area. The environmental involves working in nature on a wide variety of projects, the community works are about helping street children, elderly people and educating people. We dedicate ourselves to alternative solutions to these problems, to make a difference and create a better world in Ecuador.

Year Founded: 1999