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Volunteer Project in Bolivia:
Wild Animal Refuge "Inti Wara Yassi - Refugio para animales silvestres"
BY: Janine Beck, j9beck@hotmail.com, Tasmania, Australia
RATING: 9 (Just because it could be organised a little better)
TRIP DATE: March to April 2000
TRAVEL: Cochabamba to Villa Tunari: 4 hours, 15 Bolivianos (approx 6 Bolivianos = $1US)
Ask the bus to let you off at the animal park, "Inti Wara Yassi", just after the bridge on the left hand side. There´s a big sign you can´t miss at the side of the road ... and a 5 minute walk up to the park headquarters after that. Ask for Nena, and tell her you want to volunteer. Please, only volunteer if you´re serious and are willing to commit to the whole two weeks. Many people start and then nick off when the going gets tough. It´s not fair on Nena, the other volunteers or most of all, the animals.
WHAT TO BRING: You´ll need to wear old clothes, so it doesn´t matter how dirty, sweaty and pooed on you get! There are always clothes from other volunteers kicking about, and there´s two second hand shops there which sell cheap clothes when you arrive. They are also ALWAYS in need of good sturdy metal buckets. The buckets aren´t available in Villa Tunari. Donations always greatly accepted. There´s no internet there, so email before you get there. Insect repellant is useless, as it´s not good to wear when working with the animals... bring some anti itch cream, you´ll get eaten alive! There´s no malaria. You can buy ponchos there too for the rain. Bring good sunscreen.
ACCOMMODATION: There is a lovely home away from home in the volunteers house, but only 8 beds ... so generally there´s a waiting list. The other hotels in the area are great too... all charge 15 bolivianos a night (incl volunteers house).
THE PROJECT: Inti Wara Yassi is a refuge for wild animals in the heart of Chapare, a raniforest region in central Bolivia. It is possible to visit for just the day, or to volunteer. If you want to volunteer you must stay for a minimum of 15 days.
My time there was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
Work is not easy! Days start at 7.30 and contunue until 5.30 pm (mas o menos!), with two hours for lunch. There are numerous volunteers there at any one time, and it is each volunteer´s responsibility to make sure their job is done ... so that means training up new volunteers as they arrive, before old volunteers leave.
Consequently the job you get is pretty much luck of the draw.
The park has many many monkeys, spider, cappuccino and yellow. Many of them have been mal treated, kept as pets by families, worked in markets and in many cases abused. The parks owners, Juan Carlos and Nena generally find out about the animals from various sources and go and speak with the people ... often after some swift convincing, the families and owners vounteer their animals, recognising that they deserve to be in thier natural environment. Other times they enlist the support of the local police. The other wonderful thing about hte park, is that it has given a home and work to at least six children without families. (Inti Wara Yassi also runs environmental and homelessness projects all over Bolivia).
Some monkeys are on leashes, as they escape at the first opportunity. This means they need an "owner" to look after them and take them for walks in the jungle daily. Many of the others are free, and even go back into the wild in groups eventually. It is a joy to see. Walking into the park most days I would be greeted with a big hug from the head spider monkey, Pancho, and or have a resident Cappuccino monkey perched on my shouler, picking through my hair and picking my scabs!! They´re so cute and friendly.
Other animals in the park include a large cage of parrots (often with their wings clipped), night monkeys, Cuchis (weird nocturnal animals!), they just got a Sloth and have had a very friendly resident Puma called Gato for three years ... Gato was rescued from the circus when a youngster, as his legs had been broken by his owners wanting him to jump through hoops of fire.
It can be dirty work ... you get covered in piddle and poo all day long, often needing to clean out cages full of monkey poo and urine, wash their fouled blankets in the river and hang them out to dry... prepare their food buckets, give it to them, and-or clean up after them.
In addition to looking after the animals' feeding and daily care, there is always ongoing maintenance required. It´s in a rainforest area, and the wooden feeding tables and cages are always in need of repair from the rot. Not to mention fund raising dinners to be had in order to build some of the animals better accommodation. For example, I cooked a dinner one night for the volunteers (15 bolivianos each) ..... this raised enough money for a new night monkey cage way out in the forest, as the poor little things only had a tiny cage right next to the day omnkeys ... who kept them awake all day, and never got any sleep!
A TIP Sometimes jobs are a bit thin if there´s lots of volunteers ... it´s good to get a job that has a fair bit of responsibility, so that you don't sit around a lot wondering what to do next .... if you do (eg walking the Puma) you will never be bored!
ANY VETS OUT THERE Please please, they need all the professional help they can get! A great opportunity for some experience.
MY PHOTOS FROM THE PARK http://photos.yahoo.com/j9adventurer
All my South America photos are there, feel free to look. There´s a separate album for the animal project. Enjoy!
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