Affordable Volunteer Opportunities Abroad
Africa, Latin America, Asia

Santa Ana is a multi-ethnic community composed of members from the Shuar, Achuar, Záparas and Qichwas indigenous tribes. This community obtains their income from traditional sources of commerce: fishing, agriculture, hunting, horticulture, handicrafts, tourism, conservation and reforestation. Santa Ana's community consists of 60 families and is one of the 32 communities in this area.

Due to infringing urban development and tourism, these indigenous societies have been forced to compete with major cities in commerce and trade and to reform their lifestyle to accommodate the inflow of tourism into their communities. As a result, they need the help of international volunteers in order to build infrastructure and develop their communities so that they can compete with their more urbanized counterparts and live a sustainable lifestyle.

Note: A basic knowledge of Spanish is required for this project. If you have no prior background in Spanish, please consider taking our supplementary language course. More information regarding the Spanish language course can be found in the 'Volunteer Profile' section.

Minimum Program Length: 2 weeks
Start Date: Every Monday
Arrival Date: 2 days prior to your Start Date (Saturday)
Minimum Age: 18 years old
Volunteer Gender: Male and Female

Accommodation:
This project is located in a rural area where you will have the opportunity to experience indigenous life and culture. Volunteers will be sharing a room with another volunteer or a member of the family.

Food:
The community and the family will provide you with 3 meals per day. Vegetarians can be accommodated as well.

Pick-up Info:
A Volunteer Visions representative will be waiting for you at the airport in Quito and transportation will be arranged from the airport to your accommodation in Pastaza. The volunteer coordinator will also take you to your project location the first day so that you become familiarized with the route to your destination. The coordinator will also introduce you to the staff of the project so to ensure that you are properly placed in the program.

Project Schedule:
4-8 hours/day, Monday - Friday

Project Closed Dates and Holidays

:: December 22 - January 1 (Christmas Holiday)
:: March 24 (Easter)
:: August 10 (Carnival)
:: October 9, November 2-3, December 5-6 (Guayaquil)

Suggested Donations
For any donations, please inquire with Volunteer Visions prior to your arrival at the project site.

Volunteers on this project will find themselves involved in a range of these exciting activities:

• Rain forest reforestation farming
• Horticulture and Pisciculture (fish farming) programs
• Wildlife research and investigations
• Construction of a Women's Center in the community
• Infrastructure construction and maintenance
• Help in the kindergarten (nursery) of the community
• Ceramic production
• Anthropology work for volunteers with proper experience

Suggested Skills and Interests

This placement is for volunteers interested in the history and culture of the indigenous people of Ecuador. This is an opportunity for volunteers to interact directly and live amongst what is left of the indigenous community in Ecuador. Due to the remote nature of the project location, volunteers should be experienced or open to living without the common amenities.

Suggested Language Level

Supplementary Spanish language classes are offered at the local language school in Quito for volunteers interested in practicing and learning Spanish. The classes are run by certified ESL teachers and the groups are typically no larger than 6 students. Although these classes are not mandatory, we suggest that you take these classes if you have little or no background in Spanish. Classes are offered at $335 for 20 hours of language instruction per week. This fee includes all food and accommodation in Quito. Please note that the language classes must be taken prior to participating in your volunteer project and that the language course cannot be taken while volunteering.

This project is located in the Amazonian Rain forest in the beautiful and natural setting of Pastaza, canton Mera, an 8 hour drive from Quito.