Volunteer work indigenous people - South America

AMAZONIAN COMMUNITY

Puerto Santa Ana is a multiethnic indigenous community with members of the Achuar, Kichwa, Shuar, and Zapara ethnicities, but it is predominantly Kichwa. This community obtains its income from fishing, agriculture, hunting, and horticulture, combined with handicrafts, community tourism, conservation and reforestation.

It is located next to the Pastaza River, approximately 20 km. from the biggest and most important city in the province, Puyo (one hour and a half away in a bus that comes and goes four times a day).The weather is subtropical with a lot of rain most of the year, except in the month of August when it rains less frequently.

The temperature is very enjoyable, although there will be a few very hot days, and it can also be rather humid.
On a clear day, Santa Ana has a view of the snowcapped mountains and volcanoes surrounding the area. The community is very affable and kind with the volunteers.

Program Description

Ecuador Volunteer does not coordinate directly with the projects in Santa Ana, instead the projects are initiated by the community and the leaders of the projects are generally members of the community.
To be able to work in such a project, the main thing the volunteer should possess is initiative. Volunteers should not wait for the community or somebody else to organize and schedule activities.

Services near the Santa Ana's Community

Internet: There is a small town called Palora 30 minutes away by bus from the community with two internet cafes. Puyo, a larger city with lots of internet cafes, is an hour an a half away from the community.
Shell Mera Hospital (Vozandes): It is located about 2 hours from the community.

Project Opportunities for Volunteers

Some of theses projects are already in progress, and others are ideas for projects that an interested volunteer could start working on with the community.

1. TRASH AND RECYCLING: The community has arranged with the municipality of Mera for a truck to come and pick up the recyclables in the community and bring them to Puyo. Volunteers can work with families to encourage more participation in the recycling program, work to start a composting program, to get trash cans for the community, etc.
2. WORK WITH THE WOMEN: The construction of the women’s house is still in the planning stage, and it will serve as a place to have regular meetings with the association Sinchi Warmi and as a location to sell ceramics and native jewelry. The work with the women could be improved with a strategy to sell their handicrafts. Other areas that need improvement are the nutrition and health of the people, as well as better techniques to grow vegetables. Sharing knowledge/techniques in how to obtain and to handle a chacra can also be done.
3. ENGLISH: The community is also interested in learning English, and the school teachers are prepared to give one or several volunteers some time to teach in the school. There have been some classes already, but the community’s knowledge of the English language is far from complete.
4. SCHOOL: There are also other opportunities to teach members of the community. Volunteers can teach the children of the community games and extracurricular activities which promote the love for learning. Another alternative is to work in the gardens with different types of plants that can be used as tools to educate the kids. In addition, volunteers can work with the childcare center helping to take care of the little kids.
5. WATER SYSTEM/WATER USAGE: Santa Ana is in the final stages of getting a new potable water system, and it is one of the few indigenous communities that will have this sort of system. To ensure the future of this water system, the community needs to manage the technical and administrative aspects of the water system. Volunteers can work to help the community´s water board and operators to administer and operate the water system, and also continue building on the education of the community as a whole.
6. HEALTH AND HYGIENE HABITS: A program to develop good hygiene habits has been started as a part of the potable water project, and volunteers can continue the process with reinforcement and education about personal hygiene. Additionally, the community is interested in creating a pharmacy in the community to acquire common medicines and treatments. If someone is interested in picking up this project, it would be a great help for the health of the community. Finally, work can be done making nutrition, health, and hygiene habits workshops with the community.
7. GENERAL WORK: Volunteers can help to put doors in the already constructed latrines, improve the information feedback about the community, and give new ideas for the improvement of the coordination of the volunteers and the projects.
8. OTHER TOPICS: If the volunteer has knowledge and experience in another topic apart from the ones mentioned above, he or she can plan and execute a project to improve the condition of life in the community using his/her skills and knowledge.

Projects where the help of an expert is necessary

1. PISCICULTURE: The pools designed to increase the number of fishes only work in the rainy season. When the weather is dry and it does not rain very much, the pools dry up. The community is interested in getting some help from someone with experience in pisciculture in order to improve this project. A successful project could provide the community members a sustainable way to earn more income.

2. NATURAL RESOURCES: Work on how to improve the logging system, tropical forest management, or how to grow crops without using pesticides. Volunteers can also work to promote reforestation and rescue the native plants, creating a botanical garden.
3. MICRO ENTERPRISES: A person with knowledge in business management could help with the organizing of the business plan on how to sell vegetables, fruits, ceramics, and native jewelry produced in the community and then sold inside and outside of the nearby area.

Accommodation

The volunteer’s accommodations will be with a family in the community, generally in the center of the community. The family will offer a room and three meals a day; generally the volunteer will eat the traditional dishes the family eats, although they also try to provide food especially made for the tastes of the volunteer.

What does the Volunteer need to bring?

• Bugspray-ecofriendly (malaria does not exist in the area but there are mosquitoes which can be annoying)
• Towel
• Flashlight
• Batteries
• Raincoat
• Wellies/ rubber boots – can be bough much cheaper in Ecuador
• Work gloves
• Shampoo, sunblock, first aid kit
• Ecofriendly soap (to wash clothes)
• Bathing suit
• Sandals
• Light clothes ( undershirts and trousers)
• Long sleeves shirts, and t-shirts in dark colors
• Blouses or shirts
• Trekking shoes
• Cap or hat
• Camera-binoculars
• Small bags
• Books
• Any materials specific to his/her project
  

Note: clothes dry slowly due to the humidity.

Duration

The volunteer work in Santa Ana's community has a minimum duration of 1 month.

Free Time

The Volunteers don't have to work on the weekends and they are welcome to use this free time for themselves. They will have time to relax, go to the rivers, read, talk to local people, or travel to areas near Puyo to use the internet cafes and telephones.

Requirements

An advanced level of Spanish is required. Without an advanced level of Spanish as a tool to work within the community a volunteer cannot make a significant contribution to the projects because the people in the community only speak Spanish and their indigenous languages. Volunteers must be able to comfortably carry out conversations and discussions in Spanish, and volunteers will have to pass a Spanish Language test upon arrival in Quito before going to the project. If the volunteer is not at this level, Ecuador Volunteer could help him/her to find the best program to improve his abilities in Spanish before starting the project.