Work In a Conservation Project in Peru

Project At A Glance

Location: Cusco, Urubamba, Lima and Junín Start point: Cusco End Point: Cusco Duration: 2-12 weeks Hours: 30-40 hours per week Food: Local meals (3 times a day) Room: Homebase or host family Date: First and Third Monday of each month

Project Summary

Our Peru conservation program offers a variety of projects from which to choose. These projects are perfect for outdoor enthusiasts and eco-minded individuals. These projects offer a chance to make a difference in our physical world in a very solid, hands-on way! Conservation efforts in Peru include biodiversity inventory labors, eco-tourism, native culture preservation and re-forestation. There is a shortage of manpower to staff all these vital conservation and environmental projects and volunteers are happily received and welcomed by local project staff members.

Skills/Qualifications Needed

Knowledge of eco-conservation efforts, outdoor activities, heritage/cultural preservation and tourism is important, but not required. Many of the projects are quite physical, so environmental and conservation volunteers need to be in good physical shape. An outgoing and entrepreneurial spirit is helpful, as is an ability to follow directions well. Basic Spanish fluency is important, but not mandatory. If you cannot speak Spanish, we suggest you enroll in our Spanish language course to make your stay more rewarding – both for you and for the children you are helping.

Volunteer Responsibilities

Each conservation project is different. Please contact us for additional information on the project of interest.

• Help maintain municipal forest trails, promote new projects or assist in the office. Nursery projects include maintenance and agricultural efforts. Direct placements in the national park system are possible where volunteers will maintain trails, educate visitors and more.
  
  
• Andean Cultural Preservation and Conservation: Volunteers live in indigenous communities with families; volunteers learn about their traditions and help in the farms with agriculture, construction, with the animals etc. Volunteers have the chance to help very poor communities and help them preserve their customs.
  
  
• Bio-diversity: Work with a project located at the edge of Manu National Park, the biggest best-preserved rain forest area of Latin America. Volunteers help monitor species of birds and monkeys, and work in the orchid garden.
  
  
• Volunteers work with biology students and other professionals to teach people local villagers how to conserve their resources and preserve the physical area in which they live. There is also a reforestation program during certain times of the year. Volunteers live in a lodge in the rain forest.
  
  
• Re-forestation: A local Cusco organization is taking charge reforestation in the surrounding areas. Volunteers will travel to nearby communities to plant and control the growth of trees. This project is available from September to December, which is the best time to plant trees. Volunteers will stay in Cusco.
  
  
• Zoo project: Volunteers work at the local Cusco zoo where most animals are from the Andean region. Volunteers assist with cleaning and maintenance as well as with educational efforts, mostly with Cusco school children.
  
  
• Gardening projects: Volunteers can also work in local of orphanage or community center gardens and orchards. There is much interaction with children at these projects.

Room/Food/Supervision

Most volunteers placed in Cusco projects stay at our home base – a permanent home set aside for international volunteers and manned with a local staff. Our home base provides a same-gender shared room and shared bathroom with running hot water and a “western” style toilet. Volunteers will have the ability to do laundry at the home base. Volunteers receive three prepared meals per day. If volunteers will be out of the house during lunch hour, volunteers can request a lunch "to go" that volunteers can take with volunteers or eat out. Meals are cuisine, which is traditional to Peru.

Our Cusco home base is located in the center of beautiful Cusco city. Most of our volunteers’ projects are located within 2-5 miles of the home base. Therefore, volunteers can simply walk to their projects or take a local taxi. Most necessary services for travelers are located within 2 km of the homebase: internet cafés, restaurants and grocery stores.

Occasionally, depending on volunteer traffic, available projects or distance to a volunteer’s assigned project, we may also place our volunteers with carefully pre-screened host families. Our host families are socially respected and experienced hosts of international volunteers. They have strong interest in our volunteers’ safety and well-being and demonstrate this with caution and care. In most host family situations, volunteers will share a room with another volunteer of the same gender. Volunteers receive three meals a day. Our host families do not offer laundry services, but some will happily take up the task for a small fee. This is up to volunteers to negotiate upon arrival. If volunteers choose to do their own laundry, most families are happy to let volunteers use their washbasins where volunteers wash by hand then line-dry their clothes.

Throughout the volunteer project, our local staff stays in contact with volunteers either with face-to-face visits or via email/telephone. Volunteers are always welcome at the local office in Cusco. If project placement is local, we request that volunteers stop by the office once a week to keep us posted on how they are doing with their home stay and project. If project placement is very far, then our local staff members maintain communication by either email and/or phone and try to visit every 2-4 weeks if possible.