The Amazon rainforest is sparkling with life with its numerous animal- and plant species. Above all, it is home to the Huaorani. They are an indigenous Indian tribe and possess unique knowledge about the rainforest. Unfortunately, the Huaorani are losing their own identity and culture bit by bit, because of the influence of oil companies in the region.
Project Yasuní
This project in National Park Yasuní is the most successful project of Local Dreamers outside Quito. The volunteers and interns will reside in the ECY (Scientific Station Yasuní), which is a modern center for research in the middle of the jungle. Every day you and your fellow volunteers take a van to the Guiyero community and visit a traditional Huaorani tribe. In Guiyero you give English lessons, you play sports with the local kids and you help to develop the ecotourism in the region. For example, the English classes with teenagers and elders are meant to educate and train local guides. For the group of teenagers, in which alcoholism is a growing problem, we organize (sporty and creative) activities. Deep in the Amazon, you´ll get to learn the secrets of the mysterious jungle and its inhabitants.
The combination of nature and anthropology is very interesting. I am deepening further in the Netherlands and still exchanging information with the contacts I made.
On my last day in Yasuní the whole community came together to thank me. I even received a farewell speech of the President of Guiyero. The gratitude was very special
In Yasuní you´ll work in the fields of eco-tourism, sports and/or as an English teacher. In this unique location, students can follow internships in fields like psychology, pedagogy, biology, anthropology and do biological/environmental research in the ECY research center.
During your stay in Yasuní, you will reside in the modern and comfortable research center, named Estación Cientifica Yasuní (ECY).You have your own room and a bathroom. You receive three meals a day and will eat varied. Vegetarians are taken into account. Interns and volunteers have the opportunity to play volleyball and football. Although there is almost no reception for your telephone signal, there is WiFi available. In your free time you can play sports, take marvellous (night)walks or hang out with your fellow students/researchers or volunteers.
Before participating in the Yasuní project you need to first complete an intensive Spanish course at our office in Quito, unless you can prove that your knowledge of Spanish is already sufficient. For more information, see our Spanish course page.
It is important to take spanish lessons to be able to participate and communicate with local people. In our office in Quito we have experienced teachers. During the lessons besides Spanish you will learn about culture and get enough experience. This is ideal because you will also have the opportunity to participate in all our projects in Quito: English school, swimming school, soccer school and other interesting activities.
Local Dreamers offers its volunteers and interns excellent Spanish classes for the price of only € 11 per lesson. Every volunteer and intern are very excited about our Spanish lessons.
Quito is the meeting point to direct our volunteers and interns to the different projects. Upon your arrival at the airport, José Luis (our driver) will be waiting to take you to our office, where one of our guides will be waiting for you to help you with everything you need to know before going to Yasuní.
Our volunteers and interns reside in the ECY (Scientific Station Yasuní), which is a modern center for research in the middle of the jungle.
First 2 weeks: €560,-
From the 3th week: €280,- p.w
Important:
As a serious and responsible organization we ask for the following requirements to participate in our projects:
• Fill out registration form
• Sign general terms and conditions
• Sign code of conduct
• Have travel insurance
• Vaccines
• Criminal background check
• Copy of passport
Important: to reserve it is necessary to pay a registration fee
Every day you and your fellow volunteers take a van to the Guiyero community and visit a traditional Huaorani tribe. In Guiyero you give English lessons, you play sports with the local kids and you help building playground equipment or other objects. For the group of teenagers, in which alcoholism is a growing problem, we organize (sporty and creative) activities. Deep in the Amazon, you´ll get to learn the secrets of the mysterious jungle and its inhabitants.
On a typical day, you’ll sit down for breakfast around 8:00 AM, then head to the local Huaroni community with the other volunteers and teach English to different age groups in the morning. Afterwards, you will return to the research center for a hearty lunch before indulging in sports classes or creative activities in the afternoon, depending on your preferences and talents. In the evenings and on weekends you go out with a guide to see more of the national park.
This project location is famous for its unique jungle hikes, led by a local guide from the Huaorani tribe. Furthermore, Yasuní is the perfect place to relax and recover from the hectic life in the big city.
Yasuní life
Life in Yasuní is so different from ours that it is almost impossible to imagine it. Megan Westerveld made this beautiful video to give you an impression of life in the Amazon rainforest.
If you are interested in the Amazon project, and you want more information, please contact us via the ‘join us button’. Be aware that we don’t have any full-time projects. We always compose a project plan in collaboration with the volunteer, and try to match the qualities of our volunteers with the right activities. Volunteers do best what they have been educated in.
Check out our other projects!