Mandrew bonding with his project, Balu We first read about Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi (CIWY) in a guest book at cozy coffee shop in Copacabana about a week before we decided to go there. We were on the lookout for some sort of volunteer gig, but weren't terribly inspired by the various organic farming options we'd found online. Although it wasn't something we'd really considered, we jumped at the idea of working with jungle animals!
Looking into the organization further we were touched by the story of how a Bolivian couple in the late 1980's, in the hopes of making a difference in Bolivia, established a school of alternative education outside of La Paz for the many children of miners who had relocated to the area. After being exposed to the lush surrounding rainforest and its ruthless destruction, the children vowed to protect the fragile rainforest and its animals through a campaign of education and awareness. During a later field trip to Rurrenabaque, the project took an important shift after the kids pooled together their meagre funds to purchase and rescue a spider monkey from its local owners who were forcing it to drink alcohol and dance for their amusement. Over the next few years, a number of other animals were adopted and rescued, despite the constant struggle to figure out what to do with them. Finally, Parque Machia, the first wildlife refuge in Bolivia, was established.
For nearly 20 years now, professionals and volunteers from all over the world have been supporting this cause through the raising of funds and the donating of time. The organization now manages three parks in Bolivia where upwards of 500 animals of over 30 different species (including bears, cats, birds, monkeys, coatis, and foxes) are cared for.
Looking into the organization further we were touched by the story of how a Bolivian couple in the late 1980's, in the hopes of making a difference in Bolivia, established a school of alternative education outside of La Paz for the many children of miners who had relocated to the area. After being exposed to the lush surrounding rainforest and its ruthless destruction, the children vowed to protect the fragile rainforest and its animals through a campaign of education and awareness. During a later field trip to Rurrenabaque, the project took an important shift after the kids pooled together their meagre funds to purchase and rescue a spider monkey from its local owners who were forcing it to drink alcohol and dance for their amusement. Over the next few years, a number of other animals were adopted and rescued, despite the constant struggle to figure out what to do with them. Finally, Parque Machia, the first wildlife refuge in Bolivia, was established.
For nearly 20 years now, professionals and volunteers from all over the world have been supporting this cause through the raising of funds and the donating of time. The organization now manages three parks in Bolivia where upwards of 500 animals of over 30 different species (including bears, cats, birds, monkeys, coatis, and foxes) are cared for.
Chelsea and Tigre chillin' in the jungle A few days after reading the guest book in Copacabana we saw a poster for CIWY at our hostel in La Paz, and soon after ran into a guy who knew a guy who had volunteered with them and spent a month walking a puma. By then the seed of the idea had sprouted and taken root, and we found ourselves packing our bags. After a long day of bussing through Cochabamba and beyond, we arrived in Villa Tunari late in the evening and crawled to the closest hostel to hide from the torrential downpour that welcomed us. In the morning we walked across the bridge looking for the CIWY office, only to walk right past it. It was not marked well and looked more like an abandoned concrete structure with graffiti all over it.
We were quick to forgive the outer appearance of the office after being hailed by other volunteers watching from the cafe. On the inside, the place was humming with activity: volunteers chopping food for the monkeys, hauling hay and trees for the cats and bear, unloading endless truckloads of bananas, and disposing of bucketfuls of animal waste. Everyone looked very enthusiastic!
We were quick to forgive the outer appearance of the office after being hailed by other volunteers watching from the cafe. On the inside, the place was humming with activity: volunteers chopping food for the monkeys, hauling hay and trees for the cats and bear, unloading endless truckloads of bananas, and disposing of bucketfuls of animal waste. Everyone looked very enthusiastic!
Mandrew with his favourite spider monkey We chatted with Marta, the volunteer coordinator who, with only the gentlest of arm-twisting, convinced us to stick around for a month (we had originally only planned on staying for just two weeks) and in exchange we got assigned to work with the tougher animals (yay!), me with Tigre the ocelot (wild jungle cat) and Andrew with Balu the Andean bear. We were absolutely thrilled! Later in the day, after touring the property and being shown to our "rustic" (i.e. terrifyingly disgusting) room, we met up with other volunteers for dinner. After telling everyone where we'd been assigned to work, the awkward silence quickly filled by sincere good luck pats on the back was enough to have us questioning things. Then, the horror stories started, with everyone comparing their battle-scars and one-upping one another. What had we gotten ourselves into...?
Peppa sharing her snack with Chelsea We have both had very different experiences at CIWY during our month stay (plus 3 extra days just for fun at the end) working with Tigre and Balu, as well as spending time with the monkeys, birds and other animals. We were somewhat discouraged after the first couple of days, but after conquering personal limitations and really committing to the cause we soon discovered things about ourselves that neither of us had ever expected. Sometimes it is the animals that do the teaching...
Stay tuned for follow-up blog posts detailing our separate accounts of our experiences with Tigre the ocelot and Balu the bear.
Enjoy and don't forget to eat your beans today!
Chelsea
Stay tuned for follow-up blog posts detailing our separate accounts of our experiences with Tigre the ocelot and Balu the bear.
Enjoy and don't forget to eat your beans today!
Chelsea
Photos from the Park
To open the photos in a new window click here
Related Posts
If you liked this story, be sure to check out:
RSS Feed