• Cleaning the cages and enclosures
• Feeding the animals
• Construction and maintenance of cages
• Observation and enrichment projects

The Animal Rescue Center currently cares for about 64 animals, which include about 28 monkeys such as squirrel monkeys, woolly monkey, titi and capuchin monkeys. They have peccaries, carnivorous such as coati, tayra kinkajou and a little feline, tortoises, snake, turkey and many species of parrots and macaws.

An average week for a volunteer involves cleaning and feeding the animals on a daily basis and the construction and maintenance of cages and enclosures. There are also observation and enrichment projects where you are encouraged to spend a couple of days observing the behaviour of your chosen animal. You then can build a toy or game for the animal in order to observe how it uses it and what benefits the animal. This work is invaluable to the animals to relieve the boredom of their captivity and is a contribution that the volunteers really enjoy.

You as a volunteer should have the real desire to work and understand the animals' situation. You are responsible for the welfare and day-to-day care of them and that involves not only the daily feeding and cleaning duties but also construction and maintenance work to improve their living conditions. If you have experience in any area of conservation or have veterinary experience, the Center would really encourage you to spend time with them. The Rescue Center will try to accommodate any interests that you have.

All the people who like to spend some time helping the Animal Rescue Center with the day care of the animals are a very important part of the work and manpower. Any ideas are welcome and some of them have been implemented in the past. The more time and effort you are willing to put into this project, the more will get out in return!

The hours of work are Monday to Friday 8 am to 12:30 pm and 3 pm to 5 pm. Saturdays the volunteers work for a couple of hours to clean the volunteer house and feed the animals, then you are free for the weekend to explore the country around you.

During your stay you will gain unique experience working with animals that need so much your help, dedication and above all love, which they can only receive from volunteers, while spending your days in a friendly and cosy environment in the beautiful Ecuador. But it's not all work! The volunteers will find friendship, companionship, time to rest, laugh and share unforgettable moments.

• Wooden bungalows
• Dorm style rooms
• Hot showers
• Kitchen and lounge
• Chil out area with hammocks

The volunteer accommodation is in wooden bungalows where dorm style rooms are provided. The houses furthermore have hot showers which is a real luxury after a hard day's work. Separate to the dorms there is a kitchen and a lounge. The kitchen is fully stocked and has a gas oven and filtered drinking water on tap. The lounge has comfortable sofas to chill out on and a TV and DVD player with an extensive DVD collection. A book exchange is available as well. Outside a thatched area gives volunteers the opportunity to spend the evenings in hammocks relaxing around a camp fire.

Volunteers take turns to wash up, clean the house, etc. At lunch time everyone cooks his/her own meal. In the evenings the volunteers cook and eat together and share the events of the day. Vegetarians are joining the project regularly and adapting to different people's preferences is not a problem because all the volunteers get together to make a food list (basic things) for the week to accommodate everyone's various tastes. For specific things such as beverages and snacks, volunteers will need to buy them on their own.

The ability to communicate in English is essential for the project as it is the primary language used by all volunteers. However, people of all nationalities participate at the Animal Rescue Center so you may have the chance to practice other languages, too! There is also the opportunity to learn or practice your Spanish with people from the local indigenous community working or living around.

Please keep in mind that there is no cooking service provided. Volunteers who live together shop and cook together. The spending is around $15 per week per person on food.

The Center is based in the Ecuadorian rainforest within the indigenous community Colonia Bolivar, 22 miles outside the town of Puyo, and it provides breathtaking panoramas of the Amazon jungle. Puyo is located in the province of Pastaza, in the east of the country. It is a small colonial town with a population around 30.000 and has the infrastructure to receive people who want to admire all the beauty surrounding this place. This is one of the most commercial towns in this region of Ecuador. The local village of El Triunfo is located 15 minutes by bus and has very basic shops with a couple of bars. For restaurants, supermarkets, and internet, the volunteers will need to travel to Puyo. Some people in the local community also have little shops in their houses for specific needs or whims.

The project takes place in sanctuaries for wild animals that have been victims of animal trafficking. They were in illegal and often perilous conditions. The Center rescues those animals and applies an animal rehabilitation and release program with the main goal to prepare them for the return to their natural habitats. Volunteers work directly in the local environment and your support means an important part of the manpower needed there. You will experience nature and its animals very closely and you make an important contribution to their protection and their conservation. The projects cooperate with local indigenous Indian communities of the Amazon.

Although the Animal Rescue Center is within the Amazon rainforest, you will not feel a suffocating heat, the temperatures are temperate and in the night it is even a little cool. For this reason there are not too many mosquitoes there and most importantly no malaria.

From Quito, it takes you about 5 to 6 hours by bus to get to the Center situated in the Amazon Rainforest. The work of the Animal Rescue Center may appear like just a drop in the ocean, however, the efforts they do are very important. The Amazon jungle with its limiting countries Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil, as well as other fragile ecosystems in Central America, Mexico, Argentina and Paraguay, have become the main sources of wild species trafficking. Reptiles, panthers, parrots, boa and python snakes, monkeys, birds and butterflies are all among the wild fauna that is in danger of human abuse and distinction. Although legal trade in wildlife is regulated in many countries, an estimated one-third of the global sales of 25 billion dollars a year is illegal - an illicit business surpassed only by trafficking with arms and drugs. Annually above 50 million wild animals are captured in the Amazon region. An alarming 90% of these poor animals die in the process of being caught or during transportation to their destination country, mainly in Europe or US. The situation of these poor and defenceless creatures is absolutely shocking!

The Amazon jungle is the world's largest rain forest, with the greatest flora and fauna diversity on Earth. Experts say that animal trafficking is destroying the life in the Amazon at a time when the rain forest is already facing an increasing threat of deforestation and controversial plans for new roads, gas pipelines and other development projects.

One time registration fee 75 USD.

• Accommodation
• Orientation kit
• Local support
• 24h-Emergency Number

• Flight
• Airport Pick-up
• Medical Insurance
• Visa (if necesary)
• Personal expenses