Description

Become a volunteer and combine inspiring conservation research and community development work with a great adventure in the Manu Biosphere Reserve, a biodiversity hotspot in the Peruvian Amazon. Volunteers live and work hard at our beautiful lodge in the heart of the rainforest, teaming with local families on development projects, assisting leading university researchers to study species such as the endangered Blue Headed Macaw, and working with rainforest experts to implement sustainable initiatives that create positive economic, social, and environmental impacts in harmony with one another. We provide an extensive training program that prepares volunteers from any background to make a real on-the-ground difference while experiencing the amazing wildlife, raw beauty, and immense physical challenges of the Amazon rainforest.

Program Overview
Fly into Cusco, Peru, the ancient Inca capital nestled high in the Andes, and spend two nights exploring the city's colorful markets and magical atmosphere before starting your journey to the Amazon. On day 3, leave the hustle and bustle of city life behind and cross through the mountains before descending into the cloud forest, where you'll spend a night before emerging into the lowland rainforests of Manu. Board a dugout canoe and enjoy your first venture down the Rio Madre de Dios, part of the Amazon River system, eventually arriving at the volunteer base, the Manu Learning Centre, where you will live, work, and call your home for the coming weeks.

You will become an active member of the Manu Learning Centre community and train to be a valuable contributor to ongoing projects. The training combines background theory and overviews on subjects such as tropical ecology, climate change, sustainable agriculture, forest composition, and species recognition, but also introduces volunteers to hands-on work in the field. After honing your skills, you will be ready to join our project teams in one of three areas:

1. Conservation Research: You will assist with the collection and monitoring of all species and habitats found at the Manu Learning Centre, which is situated within regenerating secondary rainforest (where timber and oil companies once destroyed the primary forests). Studying flagship species such as the Jaguar or endangered Blue Headed Macaw, you will explore how humans impact biodiversity and crucial conservation issues, contributing to data that helps ensure these species remained protected while also informing global environmental policy discussions. As a volunteer, your key roles may involve:
- Collecting data on behavior, species, and distribution information from activity at the nearby bird and mammal clay licks.
- Hiking and conducting forest transects to find and identify habitats and feeding sites for specific species.
- Monitoring and registering trail biodiversity.
- Measuring local biomass to help calculate carbon sequestration values.
- Processing conservation data to support ongoing research partnerships with leading universities.*

*Our research is conducted in collaboration with the University of Oxford, University of Glasgow, University of Aberdeen and the University of Oregon amongst others.

2. Sustainable Community Initiatives: You will support essential projects designed to increase the income and nutritional levels of local people though sustainable land management. Most people living in Manu survive on less than $2 (USD) a day through subsistence agriculture and timber extraction, activities that are disastrous for the long-term survival of the rainforests and biodiversity. By creating sustainable alternatives, however, crees works to help local people address their economic situation while simultaneously reducing local deforestation and protecting the rainforest. As a volunteer, your key roles may include:
- Working with local families to build organic bio-gardens that improve local nutrition and provide additional income.
- Planting seedlings, checking on growth rates, measuring soil acidity, and making compost to support local bio-garden and agro-forestry initiatives.
- Collecting data on mortality, disease rates, species, and distribution information from reforestation plots.
- Creating and mapping agro-forestry plots and performing transects.
- Helping to calculate carbon values and sequestration rates per plot.

Volunteers are essential to these projects and work directly with the project teams and local families. These projects provide the most direct way of changing lives and making a difference, and local communities regularly see benefits from their bio-gardens and agro-forestry plots in a matter of weeks!

3. Community Capacity Building:
You will get involved in improving the opportunities that local people have to access a good education. With very poor education levels, locals have no means to develop their life options and they become trapped in the cycle of poverty. To help them break free from this cycle, this project provides practical training, basic skills, and the inspiration of cultural exchanges. As a volunteer, your key roles may include:
- Assisting local teachers by preparing and developing materials for educational visits in English.
- Spending time with local children, engaging them with active and creative activities such as football or theater shows.
- Talking about your culture and providing an intercultural exchange for local students, many of whom have never traveled outside of Manu.

You should have an intermediate level of Spanish to become a full time participant on this project, although no Spanish is required to get involved in other projects.

Project Location
Volunteers are based at the Manu Learning Centre, a sustainably-operated, Rainforest Alliance Verified lodge in the Manu Biosphere Reserve, part of the Amazon rainforest in Peru. The rainforests of Manu are some of the last remaining areas of non-contacted indigenous people and home to more than 800 species of birds -- more than the entire USA and Canada combined! Manu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and world-renowned biodiversity hotspot.

Project Accommodation
The Manu Learning Centre provides comfortable, open-aired accommodation and top level research facilities in a picturesque location. Researchers, project leaders, and volunteers live and work alongside each other, forming a true community and sense of shared purpose and cooperation. The Manu Learning Centre is a great base for hard work and experiencing the raw beauty and challenges of life in the heart of the rainforest. The Manu Learning Centre features a solar powered internet connection, environmentally sound septic system, and gravity fed water pumps, which along with other designs, help minimize a volunteer's impact on the local environment and reduce carbon footprints.

Whats included in the program?
- Pre-departure information pack and regular support by our UK office
- In country support from our office in Cusco, Peru, and the Manu Learning Centre
- Airport collection and drop-off in Cusco
- Local transport between Cusco and the Manu Learning Centre
- Lodging throughout the duration of the program at the Manu Learning Centre, Cusco, and the cloud forest
- Meals throughout your stay at the Manu Learning Centre
- Extensive training and orientation period with local experts and leading researchers
- Project participation
- An Amazon rainforest expedition (for visitors of 4+ weeks, varies with the seasons but may include visiting an indigenous community, whitewater rafting, swimming in hot springs, or other itineraries)

What's not included:
- Airfares (international and domestic), insurance or vaccines.

Required:
- Yellow Fever Vaccine
- Comprehensive Insurance

What makes us different?
We are a small, dedicated team focused on local initiatives in a single area of the Amazon. We firmly believe that everyone, provided the right support, is capable of making a positive impact. Our program is designed to give volunteers real skills and understanding of conservation and community issues while providing an unforgettable experience and making a positive impact on the lives of others.

Where your money goes:
Volunteers provide vital on the ground support but also essential funding for the non-profit projects. Please take a look at where your money goes (based on a 4 week program):

Volunteer lodging and food: 32.14%
Project contributions: 23.81%
Volunteer transport: 16.67%
Volunteer training and orientation: 11.90%
Volunteer expedition: 9.52%
Administrative costs: 5.95%

The volunteer program starts once a month and runs from 4-12 weeks, although 1 and 2 week itineraries are available for short-term volunteers. For more information, start dates, and program fees, please visit our website: www.crees-volunteer.org

Travel Types

• BackPacking Abroad
• Birdwatching
• Eco Tours
• Ecology
• Environmental Studies
• Hiking
• Nature Tours
• Photography
• Rafting
• RainForest Tours
• Tours
• Trekking
• Volunteering
• Heritage Tourism
• Language Immersion
• Native Culture Studies

Qualifications

Open to volunteers from any background. Extensive orientation and training is provided.

Languages

• English
• Spanish

Cost in US$:

From 1,400

Cost Includes:

• Food
• Housing
• In-country orientation/Training
• In-country staff support
• Registration fees
• Travel while in host country
• Written materials abroad
• Written materials pre-departure
• Excursions

Experience Required

no

Volunteer Types

Typical Volunteer

University Students Recent Graduates Gap Years Career Breakers

Age Range

18+

This Program is open to

American, Canadian, European, Australian, Kiwi, South African, Asian and Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Dormitory
• Group living

Participants Travel

Independently or in Groups

Typically Participants Work

in Groups of 3-10

Application Process Involves

• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Phone/Video Interview

Typically The Application Process Time is

2-3 days

Post Services Include

• Alumni Network
• Job and Internship Network

crees's Mission Statement

crees started as a non-profit foundation in 2002 committed to conservation research and community development projects in the Manu region of the Peruvian Amazon. Manu has historically been both a biodiversity hot spot and an area of severe human poverty, and crees has committed to bridging the gap between these two extremes by focusing on sustainable initiatives that can help bring economic, social and environmental harmony to the region. In 2005 crees developed the volunteer program, which allows visitors to engage with and support the non-profit initiatives while experiencing first rate conservation research training, meaningful interaction with local communities, and incredible adventure in the Amazon rainforest. Most recently, crees has now developed a line of tours, ranging from wildlife viewing to adventure travel to short-term voluntourism, all with the aim of supporting and driving forward conservation research and community development efforts. 100% of all proceeds from the crees volunteer program and tours are invested into the foundation's non-profit projects.

Year Founded

2002