Projects Abroad - Volunteer Programs in Peru

The Rainforest Conservation project in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest on the banks of the Madre De Dios River was a wonderful experience which I will never forget. Day to day activities included bird-watching from different platforms of varying heights in the Rainforest (the highest being atop the Caopy Bridge which was 42 metres above the ground!), going out on a caiman hunt at night in a boat with other volunteers, collecting butterfly eggs in the Butterfly House, cutting grass with machetes to feed exotic Tapiers and preparing food to feed the different species of monkeys, exotic birds and jaguars in the Animal Kitchen of the Taricaya Ecological Centre's Lodge.

Projects Abroad is great if you have not volunteered abroad before. There is a lot of support in the home office and staying with a family is a really great way to learn the culture. I volunteered at a special needs school and the teachers and the students were wonderful. I prepared activities, which the office can help you with. Peru is a wonderful country to go to and I would recommend it to anyone.

Working with exotic animals was a huge experience to be a part of. Most individuals only see jaguars and monkeys in zoos, but getting to work and feed them firsthand was an amazing oppurtunity.

Some difficulties of living at Taricaya Lodge was the food. The cook serves these huge meals that makes you feel like there trying to make you fat before they eat - the children story Hansel and Gretel. It is similar to food that you would eat at home, but some of the tastes are different because things are locally grown and not shipped as you would get at a grocery store. Taricaya Lodge tells you that they provide water which they do - to an extent. The water is murky brown and upon arriving at the lodge staff warn you of the danger of drinking it and that you can go buy some at Amazon Planet if you are not comfortable which is a ten minute walk away. The people that you are in contact with before your departure to Peru really need to inform you that you need to change money over. Other like myself only changed a little money to Soles(local currency) because we did not believe that we would be leaving the Taricaya to buy anything - we ended up have to drink our water sparingly which in a humid climate is not that healthy.

Taricaya Lodge sets daily routines for everybody that they write on a board every evening. You change activities daily, but the staff will take into account something that an invidividual does not wish to do.My most favourite activity was animal feeding - you prepare all the animals meals and than serve it to them. The monkeys were the funniest to serve because they like to climb on you in their haste to get to the food before everybody else - The baby howler monkey, for example sits on you while she eats.

My only advice is to do everything at least once - your in the Peruvian rainforest, step out of your shell because you only live once and 5 years down the road you'll regret not getting in that cage.