Yachana Foundation’s Volunteer Program is designed to provide people of all walks of life with unique experiences that cultivate personal growth and result in a meaningful contribution to the conservation of the Ecuadorian rainforest and the sustainable development of its indigenous and mestizo communities. YACHANA volunteers embark on a journey of self-discovery that gives them an insider's view of the Amazon rainforest and makes the world a better place. Interested?
We are seeking dedicated pioneers to volunteer in the Amazon rainforest in our education, conservation and sustainable development projects and at the Mondaņa Medical Clinic.
Conservation and Sustainable Development – Since 1994, Yachana Foundation has acquired over 4,300 acres of primary and secondary Amazon rainforest. The Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment has declared all of our land a Protected Rainforest.
Twenty percent of our Protected Forest and numerous parcels of land belonging to local farmers are recovering from logging and/or cattle ranching. We have started a program to rehabilitate these areas by replanting the secondary forest and pasture with native trees. This program speeds up the process of nutrient reintroduction in the soil, prevents soil erosion, and produces shade that kills the grass that took over after the areas were deforested. With the help of conservation volunteers working together with our local students, the secondary forest and pastures will once again become lush tropical rainforest.
To provide the seedlings that are used to replant these areas, YACHANA is building an extensive native tree nursery. The seedlings propagated in the nursery will be used for reforestation and in our sustainable agro forestry projects. The nursery produces native tree species. We are encouraging local farmers to reforest as a viable alternative to cattle ranching and logging, the two biggest threats to the remaining rainforest.
Conservation volunteers working in our volunteer program may:
- Gather seeds and seedlings for our tree nursery;
- Work in the nursery mixing soil and caring for the seedlings;
- Prepare areas of pasture and secondary forest for reforestation; and
- Reforest these areas with native tree species cultivated in the nursery.
Over the years, in the vicinity of Yachana Lodge and the YACHANA FOUNDATION's field station, we have developed an extensive network of trails used by researchers while they investigate the forest and by tourists visiting Yachana Lodge. It is a full-time job maintaining these trails. Sometimes we ask volunteers to work with our staff keeping up the handrails, steps, and bridges found throughout the trail network.
Volunteers may also work together with local Amazon youth studying at the nearby Yachana Technical High School where all learning is focused on three main areas: rainforest conservation, sustainable agriculture, and eco-tourism. The school was opened in 2005 to benefit high school-age indigenous and mestizo students who live in remote rural communities in Ecuador's Amazon region, and is designed to provide access to education that is relevant to their lives.
Volunteers also help with other projects and general maintenance at the new Yachana Rainforest Interpretative Center. In the past, volunteers have built staff housing, repaired water treatment systems, replaced solar panels, and constructed a two-way radio tower. There is plenty of maintenance work for those interested in alternative energy and innovative solutions, both hallmarks of Yachana Lodge and the YACHANA FOUNDATION.
**We require that volunteers speak conversational level Spanish. We are searching for volunteers with experience in Environmental Science, Engineering, Agriculture, Biology, Forestry, or Art.
Click to download the Volunteer Information and Application form for Yachana Foundation's Volunteer Program in conservation and education the Ecuadorian Amazon.
For more information about volunteering with Yachana Foundation, e-mail info@yachana.org.ec.
Mondaña Medical Clinic - In 1997, YACHANA and Amanecer Campesino* established the Mondaņa Medical Clinic in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The Clinic was the only full-time, fully staffed medical facility in the remote Upper Napo River Region at the time. In 2005, YACHANA officially handed the title to the Mondaņa Clinic over to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health in an effort to bring long-term sustainability to the Clinic, and to guarantee that sufficient medical supplies and staff will be provided to meet the healthcare needs of the local people. The Clinic is now known as the 'Sub-Centro de Salud de Mondaņa' and is maintained fully by the Ministry of Health.
YACHANA has developed a Clinical Rotation Program designed to provide public health and clinical experience to students and health professionals in the fields of medicine, nursing, and public health. Medical volunteers participate in community-based public healthcare activities run by the Ministry of Health in the local communities in the vicinity of the Clinic.
In addition to rotations at the Mondaņa Clinic, we can help coordinate an urban rotation at the Hospital San Jose Obrero, a public hospital in Quito that serves the city's marginalized populations. Many volunteers choose to complement their work at the rainforest clinic with a rotation at the city hospital. The experiences are very different. The clinic was constructed as part of a community-based healthcare program and the hospital is a stand-alone institution that treats patients as they come in. Both experiences are worthwhile.
Click to download the Clinical Volunteer Information and Clinical Application form for Yachana Foundation's Clinical Rotation Program in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Read what other volunteers have to say! Find out what is most needed at the Mondaña Clinic and how you can help!
* Amanecer Campesino is an organization which Yachana Foundation helped to form in conjunction with the construction of the Clinic, and represents 35 communities located along the Upper Napo River. Amanecer Campesino has recently shifted their activities in the region from providing training in healthcare to providing technical assistance to local farmers on improved methods of raising cacao, café and corn. They do not participate in the activities of the Sub-Centro de Salud Mondaña.
