Community

Volunteering in Ecuador

Volunteering in Ecuador's Cloud Forests
by Alexia N.
Share
One of my favorite volunteer experiences was working in a cloud forest in Ecuador with i-to-i.

Basically, the local community in Santa Lucia is impoverished and had no other choice but to cut down forest in order to survive. However, there was a small group of families that believed if they pooled their land and created a reserve that they could attract a new kind of business: sustainable tourism.

So the families made this bold decision and pooled their resources and built an eco-lodge on the top of one of the mountains. They carried each piece of wood up the mountain on their back and the result is a totally green and sustainable lodge where responsible tourists often come to watch birds or just be immersed in nature.

Our jobs as volunteers were many. We helped teach the local staff English so they could become bird guides, we helped plant the organic garden, we made sugar to sell at the market, we rebuilt the orchid sanctuary - and much, much more!

If anyone is looking to volunteer abroad I highly recommend checking out www.santaluciaecuador.com
Leave a comment for Alexia