Description
Location: Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Duration: Minimum 1 month (flexible for min. 2 weeks depending on intern’s qualifications), Maximum 1 year
Start Dates: Project is ongoing, and you can join at any time, depending upon availability
Cost: $485 for the 1st week + $285 for each additional week (2 month minimum is recommended) – see ‘Costs’ tab for further details
Benefits:
- Collaborate with an indigenous women’s association of midwives and traditional medicine healer
- Live with one of the midwives and her family in a rural community home stay
- Increase your herbalism, plant medicine, and other medical speciality skills.
- Hands-on experience in the fields of Midwifery, Plant Medicine, Herbalism, Ethnobotany, and Public
- Health, along with the opportunity to learn about agriculture, indigenous rights, women’s empowerment, grant writing, online marketing/media and more.
- Option to collaborate part-time in a health clinic, hospital, or governmental public health assistance organization working alongside local doctors and support staff to compare traditional versus mainstream public health practices.
- Opportunity to experience the unique interculturality of the Ecuadorian health sector
- Numerous research & dissertation opportunities available with partner organizations and universities, if requested.
- Participate in and help develop cultural exchange events including ecotourism, medicinal plant remedy workshop, farm to table Amazonian forest foods meals, and guayusa tea ceremonies.
- Flexible placement, tailored according to your interests and abilities.
- Keywords: traditional medicine internship, herbalism, ethnobotany, clinic, midwifery, hospital placement, flexible serious internship, public health, medicine, emergency medicine, traditional healing, indigenous rights, agroforestry, biodiversity, sustainable development, research, community development, economic development, climate change, women’s empowerment.
Introduction
The Galapagos Islands are one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth, home to one-of-a-kind species such as Galapagos penguins and giant tortoises. While there are many local and international efforts to protect the Galapagos and its inhabitants (including native peoples), the islands suffer many challenges, such as a lack of food security, a reliance on imports, invasive species consuming local resources, and a lack of seed-saving practices for native species. This internship is an opportunity to collaborate with a farm that has been researching how to achieve autonomous, resilient, chemical-free, regenerative, and profitable agriculture in the Galapagos islands. The farm is also an agro-ecology school and arguably the founder of the first local seed bank (of edible species) in the Galapagos. Internship benefits:
- Learn methods of sustainable agricultural production and food systems from experts
- Contribute to the islands’ food security, soil conservation, and regeneration
- Gain experience in the maintenance, design, and implementation of sustainable agriculture systems and permaculture systems
- Forge meaningful relations with locals while living with a host family
- Participate in an on-going project at the farm, such as:
- Building rain water collectors
- Contributing to the bio-diesel project
- Supporting the main house, garden, and cafe on the property
- Researching new permaculture systems
Daily Life
At the start of your program, you will have an orientation on the island of Santa Cruz where the farm and your host family are also located. During orientation workshops, you will start learning about the culture, people, and geography of the region as well as other tools to support you in your internship abroad.
In addition to your collaboration at the farm, you will be able to participate in the daily lives of your host family members, forming meaningful connections with them and exchanging knowledge. You may even have the chance to participate in local customs and traditions during your stay.
At the farm, interns will be able to learn about the reality of the Galapagos Islands, participate in daily customs and rituals, and experience the culture of the community on the island of Santa Cruz. Interns are expected to work about 4-5 hours per day, 5 days per week, and regularly assist with the daily maintenance of the main house and the gardens. Interns are free to visit the island in the afternoon and go exploring on the weekends.
Some potential activities include:
- Maintain the vegetable seedbeds
- Assist with seed germination processes and take care of the seed banks
- Construct apparatuses and design new permaculture systems
- Assist with the maintenance of the garden by weeding, excavating, making compost, pruning, applying natural fertilizers, and more
- Reforest native or endemic plants
- Conduct personal research or study:
- Water use and conservation; new water captation systems
- Improvement of soil texture
- Improvement of soil nutrients (regeneration of soil)
- Human or natural innovations to control pests such as rats and wild cats
- Support the farm’s marketing and social media
- Conduct language tutoring exchanges with staff and community members [English, Spanish]
Your main internship can be combined with personal research. We can connect you with our network of experts to create an independent project researching a topic of your interest that relates to agriculture, sustainability, conservation, etc.
Travel & Accom.
The best airport to fly into is Quito (UIO, Mariscal Sucre International Airport). At the Quito Airport, you will need to purchase your flight to go to the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos. Upon your acceptance to the program, you will receive information on how to book your flight to the Galapagos and additional details to prepare you for your arrival.
During your internship, you will be living with a host family. Host families provide 3 meals per day, bedding, mosquito net, and a place to do your laundry.
Requirements
We recommend that interns commit to 4 to 12 weeks on the ground in Ecuador, have an intermediate level of Spanish proficiency (or a strong motivation to learn quickly before and upon arriving!), and bring knowledge in their area of research if looking to do a personal project. Interns are expected to finance their own travel costs. Further requirements include:
- Minimum 2 weeks commitment (40 hours/week), recommended 4-12 weeks
- Motivated students, industry professionals, graduate/undergraduate students majoring in environmental studies, food systems, agriculture, ecology, development, and related fields
- Full travel & medical insurance
- Necessary vaccinations
- Flights & visas (Most nationalities are granted a 3-month tourist visa automatically upon arrival, and you can extend this for 3 more months for a fee while in-country.)
Costs
$485 USD for the 1st week, $285 USD* for each week thereafter.
* Currency conversions are approximate. Use xe.com for up to date currency conversion rates
** All payments incur a 5% bank transfer fee
*** Places are confirmed with a 1 week deposit.
What’s Included:
- Accommodation and 3 meals a day with a local host family. This includes a private room, shared bathroom, all bedding, and a place to do laundry
- Pre-departure support (general and specific information about Ecuador, logistics and a pre-departure meeting)
- In-country introduction and orientation during your first few days on Santa Cruz
- 1:1 coaching/check-ins every 3 weeks to track goals, check in on health, support with challenges, and providing feedback
- 24/7 emergency support
- For personal research we offer our network; technical knowledge and informational databases; access to communities, NGOs, government agencies, and consultants; and pre- and post-research support
- Thorough vetted network of doctors, therapists, Spanish tutors, organizations, etc. in the country
- Space for learning and reflection with other interns having a similar experience
- Re-entry training
What’s not included:
- Costs of flights and visa (if necessary)
- Entrance fee to the Galapagos National Park ($120 for foreigners)
- Costs of vaccinations
- Personal transportation and any other activities you want to do outside of scheduled program activities
Full assistance will be provided in getting all these arranged if you choose our Premium Support.
Premium Support Upgrade
We understand there’s a great deal to plan and organise for your trip. When booking a Placement, many of our participants choose to purchase our Premium Support Upgrade to benefit from the expertise, knowledge and experience of our Project Coordinators. We can provide the personal advice you need to ensure your trip is organised with excellence and planned with efficiency; ensuring the very best experience possible. Read more about how we can help you.
Note: Map coordinates are approximate
