Best Volunteer Project in Amazonas

Hey Everyone,

I plan to spend a few months volunteering again this summer. I would like to find a project in the Amazonas working with sustainabilty in all its forms. Agriculture, animals etc. I would like it to be in the "real" jungle and not just in the outskirts. As I speak fluent spanish I would prefer it not to be in Brazil. I found a few places online, but they are all programs including spanish lessons, high class accomodation etc. and too touristy. Maybe a finca somewhere or something similar?

Hope to hear from someone.

Trine

The site 'Volunteer South America' may be to some help: http://www.volunteersouthamerica.net

From the member akirakhan in the thread 'Volunteering in Bolivia', 31-Dec-2007, I have learned about IdeaList.org: www.idealist.org</a>
And from member onemorecoffee in the thread 'Summer Volunteer Work', 02-Jan-2008, I learned about IndependentVolunteer.org: www.independentvolunteer.org</a>

The above text is reuse from my post in the thread 'Volunteering Options in Bolivia', 25-Jan-2008.

Maybe this link also might interest you: http://www.sanmigueldelbala.com/VoluntEnglTeach.html
It's on the Beni River in the Bolivian Amazon. The inhabitants of a little community have built an Eco-Lodge. A project supported by CI, WCS and UNDP. They are interested in volunteers, and not only volunteer English teachers. Maybe a job at the office in Rurrenabaque. Teaching/helping the use of computers and the internet might be a part.

The Thorn Tree search function is not very good, and may be tricky. And the tags introduced in the Thorn Tree version 4 of 26 Nov 2007 are not for much help. (You cannot search for a combination of two or more tags).
But still, try a search here on the Thorn Tree, for instance for: volunteer Bolivia
(With plus signs. Will return posts containing both these two words).

For information about Bolivia and other countries I guess you know Wikitravel and Wikipedia. Links about Rurrenabaque: http://wikitravel.org/en/Rurrenabaque
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rurrenabaque

We are both from Denmark, so I can also give you two links in Danish: http://www.awo.dk/Rurrenabaque
http://www.awo.dk/bolivia (Click here at Hotspots in the Bolivia menu).

Sorry... this is a cut and paste from a previous thread but looks like exactly what you're looking for. San Miguel del Bala already has an extensive tourism project that's been underway for a while and is only about 45 minutes away from Rurre. In addition, there isn't a ton of wildlife there due to it's close distance to Rurre. Just my thoughts... Here's the place we were at:

My wife and I just got done spending a month in the Torewa Community located within Madidi National Park in Bolivia. The small community (about 12 families) located just off the Rio Bení about three hours upstream from Rurrenabaque is looking to open a community ecolodge in May along the lines of Chalalan, Mapajo and San Miguel del Bala. However, instead of charging US$65-100 per day, they'll be catering to more budget travelers (about US$40 per day all included).

This is a community of wonderful people who desperately need to earn money to improve their health situation and education, amongst other things. They currently do not own a boat and are in serious trouble if someone becomes seriously ill as it may take days to find a boat to take them to Rurre.

This project will be completely funded by the community and there will be no outside investors. This is NOT the old "work for free so I can make money off of you" like you see elsewhere. The community has no electricity, running water, or means of communication with the outside world. Quite an exciting place to be.

They are completely self-sufficient and very respectful of the local flora and fauna. We saw 4 different types of monkeys, many turtles and tortoises, tracks of tapirs and jaguars, and plenty of beautiful birds. They hunt NONE of these animals, unlike many other indigenous communities within the park.

They need volunteers to teach English to both the children and the adults (future guides), help out with tourist planning, and other things. The only thing they ask is that you pay your own way there and back (about US$100 to rent the entire boat round trip) and that you pay a small amount for your own food (about US$13 per week). Other than that, you'll be able to spend absolutely no money there.... even if you wanted to.

We set up a very basic website with more complete information and photos (Torewa website). If you have any other questions, please feel free to send me a PM or follow the info on the website.

This is a wonderful opportunity to spend time helping a community that desperately needs it while enjoying nature in one of the world's most diverse ecosystems. We've volunteered in both Ecuador and Peru for over 2 months and this was definitely our best experience.
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Travelling and Volunteering around South America - LeeandJanelle.com

About sustainable & community-based tourism in Bolivia I have written a post in the thread 'Long-term Volunteering in South or Central America?', 16-Feb-2008.