Dear
We are always looking for motivated volunteers who love animals to help at the center. It would be a pleasure to welcome you. The project is located in Puyo, on 1 hectare in the forest and we welcome injured & orphaned animals, mostly monkeys. We have around 75 animals with seven species of monkeys and also some coatis, parrots, turtles a raccon among others.
To run El Paseo de los Monos we need people to work with the caring of the animals and guiding tourists. Also research work is a priority and there are many research opportunities here. We are always looking for veterinarians, vet.students and zoo keepers. Other scientists (biologists, environmental scientists, geographers...) and experts of tourism are also very welcome. Other professions can be useful as well, depending on the expertise and situation. The most important aspect is that volunteers are flexible, feel at ease in primitive conditions, and have a love for animals. Volunteers pay 110 american dollars a week for their food (breakfast, lunch and dinner), laundry and room.
The works can be hard and ungratefully like working under the sun or cleaning bath-rooms.
There is an international mix of volunteers, so english is usually the common language. As a volunteer you should be able to guide tours in Spanish and in your own language as well.
Guiding a tour is often a good opportunity to get in touch with new interesting people. The food for the animals is bought from local people and volunteers are responsible for bringing all the different fruits to the bodega (the room where the food is prepared). This can involve carrying whole bushels of bananas, big boxes of papaya, and other items that are relatively heavy.
As a volunteer you work for six days a week, from 8 am until approx. 6 pm. volunteers who want to have a breakfast can have it before 8 am. All volunteers must be always on time, because the animals are waiting their food!!!
· The day off (each person gets one a week) are arranged at the beginning of the week to ensure that every day enough volunteers are working. If there is no enough people to cover all the tasks, the person has the obligation to change the date.
· The day begins at 8 am by cleaning the animal’s plates, preparing and disinfecting the food, feeding of the animals, cure them if necessary (with experienced personnel), observe the animals and checking if the enclosures have any holes that need to be fixed and that all enclosures are well closed.
· For the well-being of the animals, any strange behavior must be written and reported at the people in charge. That is why one of the most important things is to observe carefully each one of the animals inside the refuge.
· The food stocking house, animal´s plates, cages and also the volunteer’s house (kitchen, bath-room, etc.) must always be disinfected and cleaned for the safety of the people working in the project and the animals. We are any time subject at one inspection of the Ministries of environment, health or tourism.
· There is a rotating time by volunteers for: cooking, washing plates and guiding the tourist.
· Tourists arrive between 9:00 am and 5 pm. Thus, the animals must be feed and are provided of fresh water before 9 am.
· The volunteers in charge of the tourists must guide and watch the visitors so they don’t touch or feed the animals. It is not possible for them to enter with food, since the animals might steal it.
· The volunteers in charge of the entry must charge the visitors and give the basic instructions before they enter the park.
· The second meal for the animals starts at 1 pm., and the last plate is given from 5 to 6 pm.
· The day ends when all of the animals have been fed and taken care of, and the last tourists have left.
· All the volunteers have to help to carry and arrange the vegetables in the food-store at any hour from the day or the night (depending of the time arrival of the truck).
· Cleaning the parking and the park’s floor, since there may be the chance that unconscious tourists throw garbage into the environment, putting in danger the animals and the forest.
· Any one must help of maintaining and building the constructions and also desinfect the floor outside if necessary.
· Making inventories of the local fauna and flora.
Responsibilities of the volunteers:
- Every work must be done with responsibility; every mistake like leave one cage opened or not disinfecting food, for example, can have heavy consequences.
- The welfare of the animals and visitants depend on the good collaboration of the volunteers.
- Some works (like building cages) demand the use of tools; the voluntaries are responsible for what they use and must return them in good shape.
- The volunteers are responsible for the damage or loose of the tools, as well as the materials they use such us refrigerators, bathrooms, electricity etc. They must use these facilities carefully; otherwise each damaged or broken item should be replaced for a new one by the person or group of persons present at that moment.
- The access to the office, computers, library and phone can be used only with the permission of the owners.
- By the end of the day all the tasks must be accomplished.
- Each volunteer is responsible for their belongings. The refuge has a safe in case they have some things of value to put in.
- The volunteers are not allowed to go inside the enclosures unless they do it under the guidance of one of the personel of the center.
- A volunteer should not get too emotionally attached to the animals or one in special, this is not healthy either for the person as for the animal.
- IMPORTANT: IT IS NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE SENTIMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PERSONAL WORKING AT THE CENTER.
Responsibilities of the manager of the center
- We provide shelter, an industrial kitchen with oven of common use, cleaning and desinfectin products. We offer three meals a day, Extra things as chocolates, alcohol, cigarrets, pepsi and thing alike have to bring themselves. We are located at 10 minutes of town going by car, so it is easy for them to buy.
- Everyday the volunteers receive instructions from the coordinator about the management and caring of the animals and the center.
-We give information about each one of the animals and their stories and our projects. We instruct them about the social lives of the animals, their state of conservancy and their natural history of all the species of the center. Also, they are instructed about the traffic of wild faun and flora in the country.
- We give instructions about the use of disinfecting products since we are in the jungle and it is easy to get dirty.
- We provide first aid kit in case of small accidents.
The Center is not responsible for anything that occurs outside the hours of work.
Duration of volunteer
The volunteering program is made to last minimum one week and maximum three months. Minimum age: 18 years old, if there are teenagers they must come accompanied by an adult.
A volunteer must leave the center in case we detect:
- Negligence in the tasks given. We demand responsibility in the work.
- Bad behavior like make scandal, use of drugs (psicotropics and chemical drugs are illegal in this country), and immoral behavior.
- If they don’t respect the rules of the center.
- If the volunteer don’t feel confortable with the work or the living conditions he/she can demand the money back until the second day of the arrival.
- We are always opened to receive new ideas from part of the volunteers, but the last decision will be taken by the manager of the center. The volunteers don’t have the right to take decisions about management issues since this is the work of the manager and the coordinators, if a volunteer is not agree with this he/she will be asked to leave the center.
Phone
Please warn your family and friends that it is not easy to make phone calls from here. The town is very close (at ten minutes) and there is a good signal over there.
Email
There are good and cheap internet-cafés at Puyo, where you can check your e-mails on your days off.
Travelling diseases
Possible diseases are a delicate subject. The following link might be helpful to give you up to date information on tropical diseases, hygiene, or centers for vaccinations. http://www.safetravel.ch
If you keep to the basic rules in mind, and are not eating an ice-cream or unwashed fruit at every corner of the street, you should not be worried!
Vaccinations
Upon returning home it is recommended that you have a check up to see if you have taken any parasites or diseases with you out of the jungle. We advise you to get the following vaccinations or have them renewed if possible:
· Tetanus
· Yellow fever
· Polio
The following vaccinations are not really necessary, but are recommended (Even though we have not had any problems with them):
· Paratyphus
· Hepatitis
· Rabies
· In this region we don’t have problems with malaria.
Payments
The payments should be done before your arrival to our account or the first day of your arrival. We have had cases in which volunteers leave without paying. If by any reason you don’t feel well with the activities or with the place and you leave on the first two days, we will return the amount.
If you decide to come, just keep us informed a bit in advanced for us to book you a room.
If you have other question, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Filling form for the new volunteers:
Nombre
DirecciónNumero teléfono
Nacionalidad
Fecha de nacimiento
Fecha cuando quieres trabajar como voluntario
IdiomasPor favor poner X si pueda guiar gente ( después de un tiempo) en este idioma / aleman / ingles / español / frances / Otras/ observations idioms
Otras informaciones:
Educación, intereses, experiencia con la naturaleza, con animales, viajes, vivir junto con otra gente etc.
/Los Monos