Ecuador

Articles / Volunteer Evaluations

	Como estan? Espero que ustedes estan marvilloso. Mi? Brightened a communities life over the past 2 weeks. ... Ok so thats it. But believe me its enough to make me not only the most colourful, but also the happiest bear in the world. The time had come to paint the school - which from the moment the idea came to mind (week #1) Jo and I bounced off each other,and what started off being a hopscotch or two in the School developed into the playground equivalent of the Sistine Chapel. No joke. Hurdle #1:there was to be the annual community fiesta (held in the school) at the weekend. This meant we'd have to paint everything (we had big ideas) the following week whilst the kids were in school. Cleared the hurdle and got stuck into party organising. Finished our ongoing keyring project. Produced 15 key rings for the lodge made from vegetable ivory seed. Boy do I appreciate the elbow grease that goes into them and talent that the artesanias have! This project is a wonderful oasis. Working there puts a spring in my step. Basically I can work when and where I want... really self driven which clearly suits me (until I over do it!) Since day one I had been going like the clappers and not allowed any time to enjoy the fruits. This hit me whilst chatting to some tourists and they were asking about some of the trails... I hadn't a clue. Why? Id been working too hard to really experience them. Made a few changes. One morning I walked to a waterfall before brekkie, sometimes its just a stretch session... watching the sun come up behind the trees, sampling every hammock in the place... takes time. There is one moment that takes the biscuit. On the river trail, perched on a rock, flow of river singing me to sleep. Never gonna forget that one. Fiesta started Sabado en la manana. Made tracks into el pueblo after lunch. As the football pitch is the focal point of the village there was a tournament all day with teams from the other communities and reserves. Fun and games in the school. What made the day truly wonderful was the afternoon sunshine. When the sun went down the party went up to the school... beer flowing like water, cockerel fights, dancing... this continued til 8am. I made a pathetic exit at 10.30 - to be hon got a bit too much sun (yes, its possi for me) and was chilled out of it. People are questioning whether I'm allergic to parties as whenever theres been some celebration or get-together, hypocondriact here is off form. Dermott, Mum and GP, I know your cursing at me right now! As for drinking? Cant finish a beer (well they come in 1l bottles) too into my fresh juices to drink Now, If there was wine... The locals were a bit edgy Sunday morning but that wasn't delaying our painting. After the England match of course, managed to hack 10 mins of it before been drawn into the sunshine. We were painting by lunchtime. Then we realised that the weeks of prep was worth it. Worked in automatic, knew exactly what to do and where to do it. We'd finish painting a massive pond, clean brushes, mix paint and bobs your uncle we'd be painting a giant cat. Over the week we arrived at the school earlier and earlier, and returned home later and later. By day 2 we were cleaning our brushes in torchlight before locking up and walking the 4k home. My 3day tummy bug (in bits) spiced everything up. The nightwalks were hilarious, more hurdles en route... shoes breaking, loo breaks on sheer mountain drops!, torchbattries dying. The painting, although slow (brought on by my perfectionism) was a doddle. It was the obstacles that stood in the way that challenged me, los niños being the primary one. When I was younger any type of paint would've set me off... the messier the better. I was prepared for chaos, just not Ecuador Chaos! Los niños locos jumped, ran (barefoot) and rolled in every bit of wet paint going. Don't worry I didn't hurt anyone, in fact it did wonders for my patience. Managed to keep the cool (mass y menos) all week, pretty good considering the tricks they were getting up to. I love them in small doses, I enjoy the portions I get but at the end of the day I can walk away. This freedom keeps me fresh and allows me time to prepare for the next day. The painting is too off the beaten track and colourful to describe further. The photos should do the rest. Every night we'd get home dirty, ridden with bites, sweaty and pretty tired. But life goes on in the camp. Took a weeks holiday from teachin English to Theo (our bodyguard) but he had other ideas... He's into his herbs and natural alternatives to say the least. After dinner on Jueves we made cigarettes. Hakuna Matata, were talking tobacco au natural here. Cut it up and rolled in dried banana leaves. Loved this - considering my deep hate for smoking, exhaustion and sickness at the time its pretty good. Apparently the plant the tobacco comes from is a medicinal plant and helps the digestive system. I misunderstood Theo and learned afterward that they only help tummy is they are soaked in hot water... not rolled in banana leaves and smoked! Yesterday left lodge before seven, Painting by 8. We were finished by 7. Great to put it to bed and not have to dig into another week. It was a off the wall project, working around the clock... literally. Strangely I didn't feel a minute go by. From the moment the gunshot went on Sunday I had the finishing post in mind. It was just a matter of clearing the hurdles along the way, which we did with flying colours! Its a wonderful feeling, believing in something so strongly and visualising the finished piece. Almost anything seems possible with this feeling. The inital project was to paint the schools playground but all week the locals chatted to us, watched us for hours - intrigued and thanked us. Knowing we've brought this new element of fun to a deserving community is a much greater achievement then the painting itself. Que experienca! Captured so much on camera. Will upload my site over the weekend and forward a few tasters. They should give these words a bit of colour. After all, we need colour! As ever, Kerri

• Evaluation by Kerri McGuiness

	This project itself was really beautiful and all the staff were friendly and welcoming. The work at the lodge included building new signs for the trails, rebuilding tables for the orchids in the orchid garden and building a mirador looking over the river. Also, unfortunately there was a gas explosion in the house of one of the people who works at the lodge (fortunately no one was there at the time) and we helped to clear up there and collect wood for rebuilding it. We also had a couple of weeks at Orongo where we planted 2000 coffee plants. At times it was very hard work, carrying boxes of plants up the hill in the baking sunshine but it was very satisfying when we got it done. While we were there Marco, the farmer, was ill so we were mainly working by ourselves or with his son, Andres. By the time we'd finished Marco was grateful for our help as obviously he hadn't been able to do anything himself whilst he'd been ill. The bit of the project that I was most worried about in advance was when we worked in a village called Chacapata. We were originally going to be staying on our own with families in the village but I don't think Andrea managed to find enough families so I stayed with pete, and Rosie, Amber and Emma were together. Our house was basic, with no flush toilet and no shower but I soon got used to the bucket-over-the-head shower and the couple were so welcoming it didn't really matter. The lady's brother and his family came to stay the last couple of nights we were there, and despite it being Semana Santa and them presumably wanting a family celebration they were lovely to us and we had a long cuarenta competition! I think that was one of the things that I liked most about Ecuador was how friendly the people were. Anyway, in Chacapata we were working with the local kids. It was the school holidays so we weren't officially teaching. In the morning we had the kids up to about the age of 11. We split them into 2 groups and Amber, Emma and I worked with the younger ones. It was a challenge, and even though my Spanish has improved a lot I still found it difficult to communicate. Sometimes they were really good and receptive and sometimes they just didn't want to do anything. We based our lessons around trying to teach them some basic English vocabulary and then did art and craft activities based around what we taught them. Sometimes it worked brilliantly, sometimes it didn't. In the afternoons we gave English lessons that were originally supposed to be for teenagers but ended up being for whoever wanted to come. I mainly had 5 pupils aged between ten and seventy which was a challenge! The seventy year old was adamant that he only wanted to learn numbers up to a million but obviously the younger boys got bored of that so quite often I was trying to teach two lessons at once. I know I wasn't the best teacher but I hope they took something away from it. I think the best moment was when I was writing on the board and the two boys who were there suddenly got up and ran out of the classroom, muttering about how they had to run before it fell. Turned out they'd spotted a ripe papaya out the window so ran out to pick it for me. Pete and I enjoyed it for pudding that night. In general, I really loved Ecuador. I left on Wednesday to come to Peru and I already miss it a it. It's such a diverse country that you can be in such different environments in just a few hours. Since I left the project I've been travelling alone, although I did meet up with Sarah, Sasha and Simon for a few days in Cuenca, and as yet haven't had any problems. The fact that I speak a bit of Spanish helps as local people will always help you out if you're able to ask them for it! I would definitely say to future volunteers, learn a bit of Spanish before you come out and make an effort to practise once you're here. I managed to learn some basics before I came but not much so at first it was hard but it's so much easier to learn it once you're out here and constantly surrounded by it, as long as you have the confidence to practise. This is a brilliant project, the worst thing is the biting insects, which bit me A LOT, even through my t-shirt! Living conditions were all fine, although rice did get a bit boring, but that's to be expected. Is there any other info you need/want? Thanks very much for everything as I have really had a great time.

• Evaluation by Kate Reilly

	Reserve Conservation Work For roughly 2 weeks, I worked alongside regular staff from the eco-lodge, helping to maintain tourist trails, build elaborate signposts and seats from bamboo, and work in a sustainable eco-garden providing fruit and vegetables for the lodge. This work was also tough in places; for example lugging the heavy water-filled bamboo trunks used to construct trail signs around in torrential rainstorms wasn't easy. That said, one of the workers Carlos, showed us up for the wimps we are doing all the work despite only having one arm – fair play to him! The majority of the time it was also great fun, and since the workers there were always game for a laugh, morale was usually high. Most of our meals were served in the eco-lodge, and were high quality, as this was the food usually served to the tourists as well. Our chef, the ever jovial Darwin, would often get out the guitar after dinner to feed his delusions that he was Bob Marley, although we noticed a few differences (talent being the obvious one). The accommodation in the volunteer lodge was also top-notch, despite occasionally having to share it with one or two giant cockroaches. There are no two ways about it, the area around the eco-lodge, and the lodge itself are incredibly beautiful and tranquil. You can relax in one of the hammocks, listening to the sounds of the jungle, whilst scores of tiny hummingbirds fly around you. Even if you were volunteering on a project based mainly in Quito, I would thoroughly recommend visiting this reserve on a free weekend. Chacapatta Village Primary School I and the other volunteers worked for 3 weeks at a primary school in the tiny village of Chacapatta, tucked away deep inside the project reserve. We were there during the school holidays, so aimed to keep the kids busy by providing some schooling in English, interspersed with games, art and craft activities, and environmental education work. I and another volunteer Rosie worked with the 11-16 year old kids from the village, whilst the other volunteers took care of the 4-10 year olds, a rowdy but good natured bunch. Our class sizes regularly fluctuated between 3 to 10 pupils, seemingly dependent upon whether their parents needed them to help farm the fields that day, making it a bit tougher to plan activities. We did 2 classes a day, from 8:30-12:30, then 4-6 in the afternoon, which was enough to completely knacker me out at the end of the day. The kids were pretty enthusiastic most of the time, which was of great benefit to us as teachers, as you feed off their interest. Of course, there were occasions when they weren't too enthused about our classes, but then this presented the challenge of getting them involved again, which could be rewarding as well. I felt the teaching time definitely provided a challenge, for three main reasons. Firstly, the age and ability of the pupils we had ranged significantly, with some of them not too hot at Spanish, let alone English. Secondly, some of the kids would only appear on an irregular basis, once or twice a week, meaning repetition and subsequently boredom for the regulars. Finally, my rather ropey grip on the Spanish language was put to the test, (more often than not failing) but the kids were generally forgiving about inconsistencies and mistakes in our Spanish, so often the classes were mutually beneficial in improving all our abilities. Our accommodation was a family home stay, which although basic, provided a realistic insight into how the vast majority of rural Ecuadoreans actually live. In comparison to many of the other houses, we were quite affluent, having electricity, although no hot water, flush toilet or shower. Cleaning yourself whilst standing in a bucket of ice cold water was a less than pleasurable experience that I never really got used to. We lived with a fantastically jolly old couple, both of whom were about 2 foot shorter than me. They were great hosts, although I think had the Ecuadorean equivalent of thick Geordie accents, as even my improving Spanish couldn't comprehend much of what they were saying. Having never taught before, the prospect of teaching was initially quite nerve-wracking, but looking back, I have some really fond memories of this time (our rather shambolic 'school sports day' being one), and there really wasn't anything to worry about. Also I'd like to think that the kids got something out of our time together. Orongo Ecological Farm I spent the best part of 3 weeks living and working on Orongo farm, in the entertaining company of owner Marco, and his young family. Our main role to assist in the planting of young coffee plants, placed in between rows of large banana trees to provide vital shade. Fortunately for us, Marco had already dug the holes to place the plants into (no mean feat given much of his land was based on steep mountain slopes). Less fortunately for him, all this hard work resulted in him having a hernia, and being knocked out of action for most of our time there. As a result, our arrival to help out was rather timely. The work was pretty damn tiring, mainly involving carrying boxes of coffee plants from where they had been dumped, at the bottom of a hill, to where they needed to be planted, further up. Apart from the planting, we also assisted in the interminable task of weeding out unwanted, deep rooted plants that sucked nutrients away the coffee. Throw into the mixer some red hot sunshine, often followed abruptly by pouring rain, and the end result was often being tired out come the end of the day. The pace of life on the farm was quite leisurely and appealing, particularly after having spent some time in the smog ridden mayhem of Quito. In the evenings there was free time to take it easy and relax, or occasionally ride into the nearby village of Palmitopamba (Marco's 13 year old son Andres giving us a lift in the back of their 4x4 jeep) to get some nice cheap beers in. Of all the time spent volunteering, I would say that the weeks at Orongo felt most satisfying, as our efforts were genuinely appreciated by Marco and his family, because he was unable to do the work himself. Animal Sanctuary My final 3 weeks of volunteering was spent outside of the project reserve working at the Animal Rescue Centre, an animal sanctuaries run predominantly by volunteers, responsible for caring for animals rescued from unhealthy and illegal situations. During my brief spell, the centre housed Andean spectacled bears, pumas, ocelots, jaguars, giant Galapagos tortoises, kinkajous, coatamundis, boa constrictors, lions and tigers (rescued from mistreatment in the Ecuadorean national circus), various types of monkeys (including woolly monkeys, my personal favourites) and a range of birds. I was working in a group of volunteers that varied in size from 5-12 people. We were responsible for feeding, cleaning and repairing and building enclosures, starting our working day at 7am when the smaller animals were fed and enclosures cleaned. After breakfast, we would feed the larger animals, clean their enclosures, and work on other projects within the centre, alongside the local staff. After lunch and an afternoon siesta, we would feed the small animals again and have the evening to take it easy. An excellent group atmosphere was created amongst the volunteers as we not only worked, but cooked, ate and lived together as well. The accommodation was of a good standard, and the views over to Cotopaxi and other neighbouring volcanoes in Ecuador's 'corridor of volcanoes' were spectacular. Looking back, the time spent so close to these amazing animals was absolutely priceless. The likelihood of encountering some of these animals in the wild (for example spectacled bears or spider monkeys, both of which are native to Ecuador) is minimal; therefore the opportunity to spend time with them at close quarters was really pretty special. Also, I'm pretty sure that in England, the chances of getting to bottle-feed tiny baby woolly monkeys, or take a puma for a walk on a leash (as we had to do to exercise our resident obese wildcat) would be very slim indeed. Other Activities in Ecuador In my free time from the project, I had ample chance to explore much of Ecuador. This is much easier to do than in the majority of other South American countries, as most places are only a short (ish) bus ride away, given Ecuador's relatively small area. Visits to the beach at Canoa, the rainforest jungles near Tena, the beautiful hiking around the Quilotoa loop, and of course the obligatory piss-ups back in Quito with the other volunteers, were all really enjoyable. As a result, I felt that the three month span of the voluntary work allowed me sufficient time to get a good feel for what the country had to offer. Advice for Future Volunteers In terms of advice, although you will probably hear it time after time, I genuinely recommend that you to learn as much Spanish as you can before coming out. For me, communicating with the locals was integral to enjoying the whole experience of volunteering at Maquipucuna, and I feel I made some good friends as a result. Also, despite any reservations about your ability, try to push yourself to speak more Spanish when you arrive, rather than always speaking in English to the other volunteers. This time is probably one of the best opportunities you'll have to a talk amongst native speakers. For any arachnophobes... unlucky! I witnessed some truly huge spiders, (not too keen on that aspect of the trip) so be warned. Also, insects are usually heavily in abundance in most part of the reserve so try bringing repellent, although I personally didn't find it particularly effective. They just lick it off and bite you afterwards! Lastly, it really knows how to rain over there so a decent waterproof is definitely a good idea. Conclusions For me, the 3 months I spent volunteering in Ecuador were fantastic. At times tiring, at others challenging, but always rewarding. I would like to think that, although in a small way in the grand scheme of things, we made a positive impact during our time there. It's difficult not to enjoy your time in Ecuador; the vast majority of the people there are friendly and accommodating despite their lack of wealth, whilst the country itself, especially the project reserve, it is fortunate to be located in some truly stunning surroundings. Given the opportunity, I would happily return.

• Evaluation by Peter Marlow

	The time I have spent volunteering has been an amazing experience. In the last 3 months I have done things I never dreamt I would do; worked on a coffee farm, painted a school playground, made keyrings out of tagua, worked with orchids, worked at a day care centre for poor children and much more. One main reason I chose to volunteer at Maquipucuna was because of the diversity it allowed, and it has certainly lived up to my expectations and more in that respect! Painting the school playground at Santa Marianitas was probably my favourite week, as we had spent a long time preparing for it and it was great to see it finally taking shape. It really felt like "our project" as we had thought it out and organised it ourselves. It was particularly rewarding because the children really loved it. It may have been a pain when they kept running through the wet paint, but we could see that the paintings would definitely be used! I had a brilliant time at this project and it is an experience I will never forget. The work was very enjoyable and diverse. The staff were exceptionally friendly and always seemed very grateful for the work we did. My advice to other volunteers would be to go there with lots of initiative and not to be afraid to suggest any ideas you may have, as the staff are very receptive to new ideas. It may sound obvious but it is also worth bearing in mind that it is quite isolated in the cloud forest, and so it is possible to feel quite lonely sometimes. You should definitely take the time to get to know everyone that you meet there! I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Outreach International and the project for their support throughout my volunteering experience.

• Evaluation by Jo Arch