The Wachimak Community, Ecuador.
Written by volunteer d'Arcy Lunn
The Community of Wachimak is not an organization but a small remote jungle community in Amazonian Ecuador. They are interested in sharing the unique and amazing place they live in. The community is a five-hour bus ride, 30-minute canoe ride and hour hike from Tena, a big town on the skirts of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Tena is a four-hour bus ride from Quito.
The community would love a volunteer to help them build a small tourism project in the community or any other help available. They have most of the infrastructure, they just need the network of getting the word out to tourists to visit. It would be a wonderful project in collaboration with an organic farm near Tena. Other volunteering would be in education, health and agriculture.
You would never be without something to do! At the moment they love to have anyone, including just travellers. A volunteer for a few months would be a dream for them but it would be possible to volunteer for just a month or maybe less.
I helped out with teaching in Wachimak and other communities in the area, that are accessed by amazing hikes through the jungle.
Other projects could be anything you have an interest in., especially tourism, agriculture, health, arts and crafts but really anything!
Costs are minimal. They have a place for the volunteer, an awesome jungle hut with mosquito net and toilet near by. They will also feed you like a king or queen with the huge variety of fruits from the jungle. You should definitely help out with the cost of food ($5 a day minimum maybe?). Any materials you can carry for students in the schools would go a super-long way. Buy them in Tena is the easiest and keeps the local economy alive.
Spanish will be a big bonus but if you don’t speak any you will still have an amazing experience. You will be fully immersed in the language and they will teach you a lot. On the other hand if you have kitchwa language skills be prepared to be given god like status! Make the effort to learn some and it will go a long way. They all speak Spanish fluently.
Any skills you have that you think will be useful are welcome. Even if it is only just bringing the experiences and culture of your country with you will amaze. Organizing a presentation of your country would be a must! They love hearing about the outside world.
Cons: It is the jungle. There are the odd bugs about and the humidity is enough to feel liquid in at times but these minor hardships are a part of the experience. Having said that the nights are quite cool and very comfortable. Take bug repellent and leave the scary jungle stereotypes behind and you’ll be fine. On a practical side, don’t expect luxuries. This is a real volunteering experience, not one where they give you your style of living in your home country, you will live like the people there. What you think you might lack in infrastructure or convenience will be make up for and surpassed by the richness of their social culture!
There is no electricity except at the school building (where you might be able to recharge batteries if they can handle 50v power). They have a sanitation system. Water is potable but only after boiling at different times in the year. There is no malaria but watch out for dengue fever at different times in the year. Bathing is in the cool stream next to the soccer ground (without alligators or anacondas!!!). Best bathroom I’ve ever used…
Steve McElhinney... In July 2007 there was an incident involving a female volunteer and a member of the Wachimak community which brought into question the suitability of this program for women and particularly for women travelling alone. Although the incident was dealt with by the authorities in Tena, my first reaction on hearing what had happened was to remove the Wachimak listing from volunteersouthamerica.net and to withdraw all support for the organisation. On reflection however, I have chosen to re-instate the webpage/listing, here is why:
The Wachimak program is a raw, jungle adventure and one of the true home-grown gems on volunteersouthamerica.net. The program genuinely benefits the community and has allowed it to develop in a way that the community themselves can control. It's also a unique experience for the volunteer - unlike any other volunteer program listed on the site.
The community have now taken measures to safeguard future volunteers including the banning of alcohol at fiestas and the 'escorting' of volunteers at all times when with the community. On that basis I am happy to be promoting the Wachimak community on volunteersouthamerica.net.
Contact Details:
Email: aaspij_wachimak@hotmail.com (to Jacobo, in Spanish or basic English)
Community Phone: (593 Ecuador) 062 870 182 (ask for Jacobo or the president of the community, Spanish or Kitchwa only)
Volunteer coordinators, Gemma:
gemmacraigie@hotmail.co.uk
or Russell:
slaterino@hotmail.com