"I spent 1 month at the rescue center in March 2015, not long after it opened. And I had such a great experience! Vivi and Franck have dedicated their lives to the well being of wildlife by creating this center, the only one in this province of Ecuador (you can then imagine that the work never ends!).
At my time - but I don't think it has changed much since then - a typical day was as follows:
- Wake up around 6:AM, breakfast in a local family 10 min walking down the road (all meals are taken there).
- Start preparing the food for the animals (cut fruit/vegetables and arrange the plates)
- Bring food to the animals, a few minutes down the house in the forest where cages are spread (mainly monkeys and big birds)
- Enjoy watching them eat and interact (of course, no direct contact is allowed)
- Your turn to have a break for lunch!
- Arrange food again for the animals and give it to them
- End of the day around 5:PM (but can vary)
Besides those recurrent tasks, depending on the needs, you might help assist in medical care (eg hold an animal while being taken care of by the staff), observe animal behavior, assist during rehabilitation of animals, clean cages, do small repair (eg cages, bamboo stairs,...), plant seeds for food, clean banana trees, get fruit from neighbors, keep the quarantine area clean, etc. You will spend a great deal of time handling the machete! ;-)
In terms of practicalities: everyone lives in the same house, the room for the volunteers can host 4 people, electricity ok, cold water, no internet, rubber boots are usually provided, a vegetarian diet can be a bit challenging but is manageable.
Your experience will be much rewarding if you can speak Spanish but this is not a must. English and French are spoken too by Vivi and Franck.
Just go for it!"