A week on the Agroforestry Internship in Ecuador

“Today marks the conclusion of my first week of the Agroforestry and Environmental Development internship in Ecuador. I am astonished at how much experience I have gained and how much of an adventure I have had.

I have enjoyed learning more about the project and their mission of creating value from the guayusa tree that improves both the indigenous Kichwa community and the ecosystem. It is fascinating how successful the project is in employing both their non-profit and profitable organization. There are currently 3 projects that the interns are helping with: water quality research, social entrepreneurship, and forest conservation. I have been helping mostly with the water quality research to investigate the presence of E.Coli in the bottled water that is distributed to local communities.

There are many ways to check water quality!

I am living in a house in Archidona with 7 other interns and Raine, the Ecuador coordinator. We typically wake up at around 7:30 and begin our day with lots and lots of guayusa tea. Lindsay, the program manager, arrives at the house at around 8am and assigns specific responsibilities of the day. Each day has been completely different with activities ranging from writing articles for social media to conducting surveys of water quality. One of my favorite days since being here started with a 5am guayusa ceremony, a common practice in the Kichwa culture. We then met Ruth, a local guayusa farmer, to explore her chacra and learn more about harvesting guayusa.

The project’s dedication to sustainability does not end with the guayusa tree. Our intern house has a chicken coop, a composting bin and a variety of different vegetables that we maintain. We all have weekly assigned chores that build a cohesive community among us and create a habitual lifestyle of sustainability that we can continue even after our trip ends.

Although we work Monday through Friday, there has definitely been plenty of time for fun. The intern house is a 5 minute walk from the Misahualli river where we can swim, relax or even bathe. We often take a bus trip to Tena to shop, go to bars or eat at restaurants. I am looking forward to continue out the next 4 weeks of my internship!”

Time for town!

Updates from the field: Human Rights Internship in Tanzania

“I’ve nearly reached the end of my internship in Tanzania, but it’s safe to say it has been incredible! Arusha Women Legal Aid and Human Right Organization have been busy with several events, especially around International Women’s Day (8th of March). We were named a beneficiary for a V-Day event in Arusha, named ‘a Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer’.

It made a nice change to be selling tickets and standing on stage explaining what the organization does and how it helps women in the area. One of our clients, Upendo, also made a speech which added a personal and eye opening touch to the evening. It was excellent to network with other women’s rights organizations that focused on other issues that disadvantaged women such as FGM and war.

More recently, the interns have been fortunate enough to attend meetings and seminars at the African Court for Human and People’s Rights, among other exciting locations. On March 8th, we celebrated International Women’s Day at a seminar which discussed women’s access to justice, child brides and other obstacles that women face. It was a truly interesting day, where a variety of issues were addressed. We heard from many lawyers and legal professionals and it was great to see a strong female representation. The most interesting topic of the day for me, was female representation within the law. Since I am currently applying to do a law degree, it gave me the opportunity to see how few women in Africa are able to become barristers, solicitors and judges.

This weekend, I attended an international women’s day afternoon tea, hosted by the Australian activist group ‘One Woman Project’. The afternoon was full of interesting speeches and debates that clearly emphasized the struggles of being a woman in Africa and what can be done to ease them. The day was attended by NGOs, religious and tribal leaders and notable women’s rights activists. There were also musical performances by local villagers! The afternoon was immensely empowering and I was honoured to speak about the work that AWLAHURIO does. Women from around Tanzania spoke about their own experiences. Girls drop out rates from school was an interesting area of discussion that I was previously unaware of; girls drop out of school due to pregnancy, caring for family, farming and employment and even because of menstruation. It was so interesting to hear about these issues and to collaborate with different women to find solutions to many of these problems.

Despite being busy at work, I have also taken the time to explore this beautiful country. From visiting markets and sampling some of the local treats to climbing the ‘roof of Africa’, Mount Kilimanjaro! Some of the volunteers and I travelled around the country to visit some of the other wonders Tanzania has to offer including the beaches at Tanga, Sand Island and Mwanza – Rock City! The landscapes in Eastern Africa are truly breathtaking, and it was wonderful to have the flexibility around my work to sample these during my stay. Climbing Kilimanjaro was similarly amazing – it took 4 and a half days to reach the peak, which is covered with snow high above the clouds! It was strange to be so cold in a country reaching 35 degrees in the day! Just before I left I also visited Global Vision Orphanage Academy in the rural Arusha region. I want to thank everyone who donated to my JustGiving page! The money I raised has been donated to Global Vision Orphanage Academy. GVOA is an independent, semi-boarding school with 7 classes for 62 orphans and street children, most of whom have lost their parents to HIV and AIDS. I was able to present the school with $450 (£300).

After looking at the facilities and speaking with the founder of the school, I have decided to use the money to:
– fix the roof on the classrooms, so it is safe enough for the children to have lessons indoors
– buy chairs and desks for class 5 and class 6
– buy 2 months worth of food (porridge, rice, beans, tea and fruit) for all students

I also spent some of the donation money on pens, pencils, crayons, chalk, balls and a swing for the children to use. I would like to thank the children at Explore Learning Heswall who wrote letters to the children in Tanzania, the children at GVOA were very excited to read about life from their English ‘Rafikis’!

I hope that safe and comfortable classrooms, more supplies and enough food will allow GVOA to educate more street children and orphans, who cannot afford to go to mainstream school. Again, thank you to everyone who made a donation, and those who have supported me during my time in Africa, the children and staff were overwhelmed by the gifts, and there is no doubt they will benefit the children at Global Vision Orphanage Academy.

Freddie Neal – Intern on the Tanzania Human Rights Internship 2016

Human Rights & Legal Aid Internship in Tanzania

Urban Environmental Volunteer Program in Brazil

“My time in Rio could not have been any better. During my two and a half months there I just stayed in the city because there are so many amazing things to do and see. Felipe the man who runs the project is a very friendly guy and extremely helpful. He gives you a very informative induction day including a tour of Central Rio giving you lots of tips etc. and also shows you how to commute to your programme. My programme was environmental where I worked two days in a vegetable garden in Salgueiro favela, a lovely place run by a super friendly elderly couple. Although they speak no English, it is no problem interacting with them as they humorously use lots of gestures and actions to keep you entertained.

The work is tiring but fun, and its all outdoors so helps with the tan! The other two working days are spent at Tijuca national forest. There we did conservation work trying to stop the jackfruit tree from spreading with a lovely team of people in some beautiful places. Additionally, the work finishes at midday, due to the strong sun and other work needed to be done by the programme leaders, allowing plentiful time to head down to the beach or explore more of the city.

Rio itself is probably my favourite city I have ever visited, the scenery is beautiful, the beaches stunning, the food amazing and the people really friendly, especially those at the hostel where you stay. I wouldn’t change a thing with this programme, and I can’t wait to return!”

Urban Environmental Volunteer project in Brazil

How I helped a baby Manatee named Kahleesi

“Upon my arrival in Belize, I had no idea what to expect. I couldn’t wait to arrive at at the house where i would be living for the next month. After a long, long journey to Sarteneja i was greeted by Paul and Zoey in the village.

Myself and three other girls, who had also just arrived, piled into the back of their truck and we were off down a long, bumpy dirt road. The sun had just gone down so it was dark with not much to see, but the stars were as bright as ever. We walked into the house to see girls sprawled around the living room doing each other’s hair and some even had baby monkeys sitting on their head. Everyone was very friendly and pleased to see some new faces added to the group. “Watch out for rattlesnakes, if you step on one you will die” Zoey jokingly said as she walked me and bunkmate, Lauren, to our cabana. “what have i gotten myself into” I thought as i unpacked and settled in.

Baby manatee Kahleesi had arrived a few days prior to us and the night shifts were long and tiring. All the newbies jumped right into work the next day, with lots of help and support from the veterans who had been there weeks and even months longer than us. Each day started bright and early with the first monkey feed at 6:30am. We all met in the manatee house and would chop fruit and prepare their breakfast. Monkey feeds were four times a day, 6:30, 10, 2 and 4:30. Though some of us had signed up for the manatee part, we all helped out with both the monkeys and manatee feeds and cleans. It was my job to take care of the 3 howlers, Sparticus, Coffy, and Paz. Though at times i resented doing the monkeys, in the end I really did fall for them. working with them was a great hands on experience i would never get anywhere else and i am thankful for getting that unexpected position.

When we weren’t feeding the monkeys, our other responsibilities were with the manatees. Rameses, Duke and baby Kahleesi. Rameses would be fed everyday at 8:30am, 12:30 and 5:30. his tank also got drained and scrubbed daily. Duke had to be tube fed and that was once a day as well as his daily tank scrubbing. Kahleesi was still being bottle fed by Paul and Zoey. Working with the manatees was my favorite part. Rameses found a place in my heart and i am determined to make it back in a year to watch his release. Seagrassing was also an important task we had to do. Neto, the man in charge, would take us out on the boat in the lagoon and we would get buckets and fill them with seagrass. Returning with buckets of seagrass in hand, we would then fill each manatees square with seagrass so they could munch like in the wild.

This experience was probably the hardest and most memorable thing I have ever done. I met the greatest people from all over the world who gave me great laughs and support through the whole month. I learned a lot from myself and realized I can really do anything as long as i put my mind to it. Coming out of this experience i am more independent and open to more things that i never thought I could do. Once you live without running water or properly flushing toilets, (even vegetarian meals) you realize you can pretty much do anything life throws at you. I will never be afraid of another bug again, that’s for sure. A big thanks to Paul and Zoey who have opened their house, lives and hearts to all the volunteers coming in as well as all the animals they care about dearly. The project is a diamond in the rough. I would also like to thank Global Nomadic for helping me find them and giving me the experience of a lifetime.”

Manatee Rehabilitation Internship in Belize

Researching species on the island of Utila

“I recently returned from the island of Utila in Honduras where I was a research assistant at the Conservation and Research Facility. I highly recommend this trip to anyone who would love to gain fieldwork experience, especially with reptiles. However, there are endless opportunities to study other critters such as bats, insects, arachnids, herps, and the fish in the sea around the coral reefs there. Among other conservation related issues on the island, the main goals are to help research and protect the islands highly endangered endemic iguana known as the Swamper ( Ctenosaura bakeri) and to help set aside land via private reserves to protect them for future generations. Steven Clayson and Andrea Martinez run the project, they both have extensive knowledge of the Island and the many ecosystems and flora and fauna that live within it. Without the two of them, I would not have had such a great time there or learned as much as I did.

While there I helped with the ongoing population study where we captured, marked, PIT tagged, and used GPS to mark locations of iguanas found before we released them back into the wild. Habitat destruction and poaching are the iguanas two biggest threats. I also helped take DNA samples from indigenous Boa Constrictors found in town before relocating them back into the bush and forests away from society. (There is a possibility that there is a subspecies of constrictors on the island due to their noticeably different color patterns.) I also was lucky enough to get to help a researcher there doing a project for her senior thesis. Courtney from Louisiana (also from Global Nomadic) was there for her 2nd trip to Utila, the 1st trip she was a research assistant as I was, but this time she was there to do her own project on host specificity of parasites found on the bats that live on the island. I learned how to use mist nest and got good at catching them with a hand net. (Rabies shots are required to hold the bats…these shots must be taken 3 weeks prior to arrival FYI.) I also learned how to use radio telemetry, GPS, and GIS equipment during my stay.

I met a lot of great people while there also. Darrell a local beekeeper took myself and Ludo (a researcher there from Holland) out one day with him to his hives, got us all suited up so we wouldn’t get stung and showed us the ropes of beekeeping. I got some fresh local honey from him that sells off the shelves at the local grocery store. Maja was there from Canada working on a documentary about Utila’s environmental issues, If you would like to get a good feel for the island and what it entails look up her documentary on the Swamper called “In the Land of the Swamper.” It really paints a good picture of what one would expect, and what you would be there helping to do on the island.

Also, I became open water dive certified while I was there, might as well go a week early to learn if you’ve never had the opportunity to dive. Utila has some of the cheapest dive courses on earth, It’s a whole other world under the waves. Most of the tourists are there to do just that, to dive. Met a few people I still keep in contact with, some from London, Texas, Canada, Australia, Holland and North Carolina just to mention a few.

I feel like I could go on and on about my time spent in Utila…the simplicity of life there, the sunsets, the heat, the mangrove hikes, the baleadas( a local food, you must try Ms. Lydia’s stand in front of the bank,)the snorkeling and kayak trips with locals like Jose from the Iguana Station, the music, the untouched nature, and the nature that needs a bit of a helping hand. I had such a great time there I rebooked my flight so I could stay a week longer in paradise! I look forward to the day I get to return.

Jeremy and Elisabeth were great in helping me to plan the trip, and answered any and all questions and concerns I had. I’m glad I stumbled across Global Nomadic’s posting for the project while looking for internships to gain experience, it definitely reminded me why I decided to work with animals/nature in the first place ……..travel on yall! *Steph’

Utila, Honduras 2014

Wildlife Research Internship in Honduras

Gaining veterinary experience in the South Pacific

“I had the pleasure of visiting the project during August 2012. I had heard about the foundation and the wonderful work they did through a friend of the family. I wasn’t quite prepared for how much of an impact this clinic makes.

Upon my arrival, I was greeted by the Clinic Director. He gave me a tour of the clinic and introduced me to the staff of Veterinarians that worked there. Cinzia, Pip and Helen were all volunteering during my visit and all three are truly amazing human beings. The love and care they provided to the animals was something that sometimes almost brought tears to my eyes.

The cats and kittens at the clinic were just as loved and cared for as the dogs. There was “Monday” and “Sunny” who both suffered from fish poisoning. They were both getting their sea legs (pun intended) back and, thanks to them, were on the road to recovery.

Those were just two of the cats and two of the dogs that were there. I could go on and on about all the others that I met while at the clinic. There was even a goat that made a visit during my time there! All of their personalities and warm spirits captured my heart, an experience that would never have occurred without volunteering with here.

I would recommend everyone to visit, donate, or volunteer with the project. The good that they does goes well beyond the clinic doors. I was so impressed with how every person I spoke with had their personal story of appreciation for them. Whether they had helped their family pet in a time of need, or they got their new puppy at the clinic, they valued and loved having them as a member of their island family. This is a special organization that makes a difference each and every day for the animals and people of the Cook Islands.”

Veterinary Internship in the Cook Islands

Volunteering in Bali

“I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful experience in Bali! The Cultural Immersion, Teaching, and Adventure Weeks surpassed my expectations. Global Nomadic and the Green Lion Bali Center made it possible for me to make lifelong friends from all over the globe and bring many incredible experiences home with me. Three weeks was almost too short. The longer your stay the better!”

Volunteer Teaching placement in Bali

Onboard with the Marine Biology Course in Italy

“I have for many years now harboured a desire to go whale and/ or dolphin watching. So earlier this year, April-May 2015, when I got an email from Global Nomadic offering me this opportunity, I knew I had to do it. It was an opportunity I would not likely get again and a dream come true.

As it happens I enjoyed the whole experience immensely and it was a dream come true! Italy is always a popular holiday destination probably because it is an extremely beautiful country no matter where you go. I have been only once before. This is the image of Italy I always carry with me and Ischia certainly does not disappoint which may be why german PM Angela Merkel chooses to vacation here 3 times a year. I was here July-August 2015. The other 3 volunteers I spent the week with were a lot of fun and up for doing things or just sitting chatting for hours after dinner, often having a sing along as there was a guitar on board which belonged to our skipper. The crew of the Jean Gab are fantastic. They made us feel really welcome and were always able to answer our questions. It is always wonderful to me to see people so passionate and loving their work. We all worked really well together as a team. The skipper Angelo loves his boat and has over 20 years experience of doing this. This man really knows his stuff. I had a good chat with him on my last night and it was clear he really cares about whales. I found him, his friends and in fact everyone I met here to be adorable, very friendly, fun and endearing. He is a great cook too. I would certainly go back again and recommend this marine biology course to anyone who is interested. There are many reasons for doing this and I’m sure you can work those out for yourselves. It was a priviledge to live on Angelo’s boat and is more comfortable than you might expect. I slept on a top bunk below deck whilst the others chose to sleep on deck. There was a rota of chores for us too and most of these are done before 8.30am. We set sail each day at 9am.

One thing I learned it that there is a difference between whale watching and whale research, they are not the same thing at all. Here, there is no guarantee that there will be any sightings at all. During my week, we tracked 2 sperm whales on the first day and were lucky enough to see the same one twice as it came up for air and then as it took a deep dive back down thrusting its tail up in the air. This was magnificent and breathtaking. My photo of that dive didn’t turn out but it is forever in my memory. Very exciting! I did get this photo of the sperm whale but you may have to zoom in to see it.

We spent the next 3 days looking for some dolphins who were in the area. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see any. They know how to stay hidden from humans if they want to.

One particular afternoon we took a dinghy to the nearby small but beautiful island of Procida. A researcher who lives there had invited us for an aperitif. He showed us around his lovely home and all the collections and posters he had there made it seem like a mini museum.

Here we had a group photo taken. I am the one second from the left fully clothed having caught a bit too much sun on the first day. I have a volunteer on each arm and the lady in the purple top is our cetacean researcher Rosanna. Next to here is another volunteer and next to her is Vincenzo our skippers ‘first mate’ and finally next to him is the youngest crew member Ash.

I left Ischia feeling happy, refreshed and energised and of course the time passed all too quickly. On the morning I left, Ischia chose to gift me with a gorgeous sunrise beside Vesuvius.

I would just like to say a huge heartfelt thank you to everyone involved. To all the people at Global Nomadic and the project whom I had email contact with for their smooth and efficient organisation of my trip and for their willingness to help and answer any questions. Also to the crew of the boat for welcoming me into their home and giving me a brilliant week. To the other volunteers for the fun and great conversations we had talking about our various cultures and languages. All of this is very valuable and I will never forget anyone whom I met here.

I would highly recommend this course to everyone. It is an unforgettable once in a lifetime experience where you will ‘live differently’ for a week. I personally would do it all again as once is not enough. Sailing, meeting new people from other countries, learning about sailing and cetaceans is definitely very Moorish and addictive. There is still so much which is not known about cetaceans and their behaviour which makes projects such as this worthwhile and valuable. Every sighting and new piece of data is very important and useful to this project. You can’t fail to benefit from and enjoy it.”

Marine Biology Course in Italy