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Country: ECUADOR
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| Earth Restoration Service |
14 Rathbone Place
London
UNITED KINGDOM
W1T 1HT
Phone: 0033 468 26 41 79
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Program description: |
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Volunteers needed to work in the county of Cotacachi, Ecuador. This county of 1809 km contains extremely threatened ecosystems - according to E.O. Wilson, it has two of the world’s 25 threatened hot spots of biodiversity on the planet. The rate of plant diversity and forest destruction in these areas far surpasses those of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The process of colonisation has had the greatest impact on natural systems to date, but there is an increasing threat of exploitative industries, such as mining. Mining prospecting and exploration has already taken place in threatened cloud forest ecosystems and has been backed by Japanese ODA and the World Bank. This has typically taken place without the participation or support of the communities involved.
Projects to date: There are a large number of environmental development projects taking place in Cotacachi, including establishing international niche markets for crafts and organic produce, community eco-tourism, community forest stewardship, renewable energy, community education, reforestation, forest reserves and designated local wildlife guardians.
The Cotacachi Ecology Centre(CEC) is the main volunteer coordination point for environmental projects in Ecuador that are connected to the Tropical Forest Investigation Centre (CIBT). Other projects that receive volunteers include:
Los Cedros:
A 6000 ha pristine Cloud Forest Reserve bordering the Cotacachi Cayapas Reserve representing two of the hottest hotspots of biodiversity (Tropical Andes and Choco Bioregion)
El Milagro:
Integrated lifestyle model on 35 ha of regenerating cloud forest bordering on a 350 ha cloud forest reserve
Cerro Seco:
A unique dry tropical forest reserve (less than 2% remaining in Ecuador) on the Ecuadorian coast
Commitment:
Volunteers are asked to contribute towards their basic living costs (around US$150 per month), in addition a 50 GBP deposit will be payable to ERS (Earth Restoration Service Account). Volunteers must play an active role in maintaining the household (cooking, cleaning etc) and be able to commit to at least a month of volunteering (but preferably more). Volunteers usually contribute at least 4 hours per day on their specific activity depending on the experience, skills and energy of the volunteer. Starting dates are flexible, so please email us with your ideas.
Visa requirements:
For a stay up to a three months you generally don’t need a visa. After that you need a visa, but there is a possibility to extend your stay up to six months without a visa. For long-term commitments they can assist in getting a volunteer visa for up to two years.
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General program information: |
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Program open to: Everyone
Travel to site: Independent Travel
Is opportunity more independant or group orientated: Independant
Living arrangements on the program: Home stays (living with local families)
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Cost or price of this program: |
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Volunteers are asked to contribute towards their basic living costs (around US$150 per month), in addition a 50 GBP deposit will be payable to ERS (Earth Restoration Service Account).
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