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Volunteer Opportunities
We need more volunteers to help us conserve Andean Bears! Help
promote our cause: download the Andean Bear Tracking
poster and put up copies at your university, your workplace
or anywhere else you think people might be interested!
Volunteer Bear Tracker
For a description of the tasks that a Volunteer Bear Tracker is expected to perform see the volunteer tasks section. We ask volunteers to make a financial contribution to the project. All food and accommodation costs are covered by this contribution while you are with us. The remainder of this money goes towards the project, funding the daily operational costs, equipment maintenance and compensation for damage caused by bears to maize fields. Anyone aged 18 or over can volunteer as a Bear Tracker. We provide training as part of the program and no special skills or experience are required. We require that you commit to us for a minimum two week period in order to receive training and provide a valuable input to the project. For Volunteer Bear Trackers we prefer a minimum four-week commitment. Your initial weeks are spent getting to know the radio equipment and the walks that we use, so with a month we find that volunteers are able to make a valuable contribution to the work. We do accept volunteers for shorter periods (minimum one week). Short-term volunteers, such as this, will accompany Bear Trackers on the walks and will have a chance to learn about the bears and trek through cloud forest regions. In order to ensure we get the best data however, short-termers may not be used for actual data gathering. Depending on the time you are spending with us, we ask for the following contributions:
Please note: due to increasing expenses we have relucantly decided to increase the volunteer
contribution for 2008. We are a non-profit organisation and this
contribution is used to cover the day-to-day living expenses of volunteers (food,
accomodation, etc). Only a small amount of your contribution is left after
these expenses and this is used directly for bear work. In particular, your contribution is
used to compensate local farmers when bears raid their crops in our
study areas (to prevent farmers from shooting these bears).
All contributions are paid on your arrival at the project. You do not need to pay anything before hand. If you decide to stay longer, subsequent payments are due at the end of your initial commitment period. Volunteer at Finca San Andres
Finca San Andres is a small farm run by a local Ecuadorian Family who have been long time supporters of the Andean Bear Project. Here you can have a chance to get to know the locals and experience the true life style of Ecuadorian farmers. You can head straight to Finca San Andres or you could spend just a week or two there as the perfect cap-off to your bear tracking experience. Volunteers at San Andres have a variety of options for activities, and working hours are flexible to suit the requirements of the individual. Those who enjoy getting their hands dirty and mucking in will always have tasks to do on and around the farm. Volunteers will be involved in helping the daily running of the farm. This includes the feeding of the livestock, maintenance of organic crops, clearing areas for new plots, milking cows, grooming horses, helping make the organic pesticides, and the once a week task of traditional organic sugar production. See the Finca San Andres section for more details.
All contributions are paid on your arrival at the project. You do not need to pay anything before hand. If you decide to stay longer, subsequent payments are due at the end of your initial commitment period.
Volunteer Teacher
Depending on which school volunteers choose to work at, teachers will generally stay on the school grounds in a self contained flat or with a local family. Food is provided by the foundation, however volunteers may need to cook and clean for themselves. Volunteer teachers may be placed alone at a school, however most schools are only a short bus trip or walk from the volunteer house and they are welcome to join the other volunteers at the Volunteer House whenever they feel like it! For a description of the tasks that a Volunteer Teacher is expected to perform see the volunteer tasks section. We ask volunteers to make a financial contribution to the project. All food and accommodation costs are covered by this contribution while you are with us. The remainder of this money goes towards the project, funding the daily operational costs and equipment maintenance. Anyone aged 18 or over can volunteer as a teacher with the Andean Bear Project. Volunteers who have previous teaching experience and a good grasp of Spanish may teach a variety of subjects and may be given a fair amount of responsibility if desired (we will discuss this with you and the local teachers upon your arrival). Volunteers without teaching experience may still volunteer as a teacher. In this case classes will focus on teaching the children English, primarily through games and arts and crafts. Lesson plans are provided and generally volunteers will be supervised by a local professional teacher in this case. For volunteer teachers we require a minimum one-week commitment, though at least one month is preferred as this allows you to get to know the children and make a significant teaching contribution. Depending on the time you are spending with us, we ask for the following contributions:
All contributions are paid on your arrival at the project. You do not need to pay anything before hand. If you decide to stay longer, subsequent payments are due at the end of your initial commitment period. Volunteer Coordinator
For this role we need experienced and self-motivated people. Unlike other volunteers, Volunteer Coordinators are not asked to make a financial contribution to the project. All food and accommodation is provided by the foundation in return for the help provided by Volunteer Coordinators. We have need of only a few Volunteer Coordinators at any given time and anyone interested in this position needs to formally apply and include their resume with the application. We prefer people with a background in environmental science or a related field. Alternatively, volunteers who have spent a month or more as a Volunteer Bear Tracker may also apply for this position. For a description of the tasks that a Volunteer Coordinator is expected to perform see the volunteer tasks section. In order for Volunteer Coordinators to contribute significantly we ask for a minimum six-month commitment. Should a Volunteer Coordinator decide to cut short their time with the project then we ask for a contribution of $150 for each month that they have been with the project in order to cover the food and training costs incurred to the project. |
Bear Trackers are our most common volunteers. As a Bear Tracker
you will be working in the field gathering real and valuable data
on the movements of our bears. You will live in our volunteer
house and will be expected to work five to six days a week. The
jobs that we will ask you to carry out vary depending on the time
of year, the bears and, where possible, your own preferences.
Volunteers on the Andean Bear Project may also choose to
teach in local schools. Teaching helps build relationships with
local communities and where possible we aim to include environmental
topics in lessons, with special emphasis on the plight of
the Andean Bears. The children in these schools will, in the
future, be the ones sharing their land with the bears and it is
vital that they grow up with an appreciation for them and an
understanding of the need to conserve them.
This opportunity differs to normal volunteers in a number of
ways. Volunteer Coordinators are expected to assist permanent staff
in the day-to-day running of the project. Volunteer Coordinators
are expected to assume a significant amount of responsibility for
the operation of the project, including the training and leadership
of volunteers and the coordination of day to day logistics.