The Eco-Ecuador Project continued until 2021 when it closed due to complications from the COVID Pandemic. This page is posted as a resource for those interested in understanding how the Project functioned.
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Planet Drum Ecuador is proud to announce three internship positions:
- Volunteer Coordinator Internship
- Community Engagement Internship
- Revegetation Field Research Internship
About Planet Drum Ecuador
Planet Drum Foundation (PD) is a San Francisco, California based organization founded on promoting bioregional principles. Founder Peter Berg was invited to work on ecological issues with the city of Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador in 1999. Since then PD has developed field projects and collaborated with the local government to create Bahía Eco-Ciudad. PD has a long-term ‘Revegetation Project’ and has worked extensively with Bioregional Education in schools and communities. For more information about the history of PD projects in Ecuador, please read: ‘Planet Drum Info and History, 2012.’ Interns are being recruited to assist with the evolution of PD’s field projects in order to further the scope and impact the projects have on restoring the local ecosystems and raising grass-roots bioregional awareness.
Planet Drum encourages interns to pursue receiving university credit and scholarships for the work they do and is willing to assist with any related paperwork.
Opportunities
Volunteer Coordinator Internship:
PD is looking for a motivated individual to help manage current volunteers, the volunteer house/office, and work with the development of their volunteer program for the native tree Revegetation Project in Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador. The Volunteer Coordinator will be responsible for coordination of volunteer activities at the house/office and fieldwork relating to the Revegetation Project.
Volunteer Coordinator Responsibilities:
- Take charge of the arrival, training and orientation, and departure of volunteers.
- Act as the main resource for volunteer needs, questions, and additional assistance.
- Manage the communal volunteer house, including delegating daily tasks and responsibilities (such as cleaning and cooking communal dinners) and ensuring that the house runs smoothly.
- Post, update and monitor current internship and volunteer postings online through current and new marketing mediums.
- Work alongside volunteers in the greenhouse and at revegetation sites with the PD native tree Revegetation Project.
- Assist in scheduling, organizing and delegating responsibilities at the work sites.
- Take charge of recordkeeping and organization of volunteer information and other additional administrative tasks.
- Catalog and organize information from the projects of previous PD volunteers.
- Taking on additional projects within the organization or in the community is encouraged.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree, currently working toward degree, or equivalent work experience.
- Previous volunteer experience, preferably in a supervising position.
- Ability and confidence to work with a minimal amount of supervision.
- A demonstrated interest in non-profit program development and environmental conservation issues.
- Ability to work well with people from varying backgrounds.
- Previous travel abroad experience, particularly in developing countries.
- Must be comfortable with living in a communal household.
- Spanish language skills are not required for the position but some degree of Spanish language ability is highly recommended for daily life in Ecuador.
Community Engagement Internship:
PD is looking for a motivated individual to lead the restructuring of our Bioregional Community Education program. The Community Engagement Intern will take a grassroots approach to implement environmentally themed projects focusing on community education, engagement and empowerment. The Community Engagement Intern will work directly with the people of Bahía de Caráquez to identify their environmental needs and concerns and implement a program that will have a lasting impact on the community.
The goal is to identify ways to develop projects within neighborhoods and communities that arise from local residents interests. The initial phase of the program will be to observe, identify, and map ecological issues that affect the local population. The projects that are implemented as part of this program will be based on locals’ ideas and interests and will progress with PD lending a guiding/motivating hand. One of the main objectives will be to produce results without relying on outside funds or a large budget.
In addition to implementing bioregional projects within the community, the Community Engagement Intern will spend time volunteering in the greenhouse and at revegetation sites with the native tree Revegetation Project, which is currently PD Ecuador’s main initiative.
Responsibilities:
- Research past PD education and community projects and other Ecological City endeavors that have taken place in Bahia de Caraquez.
- Investigate present environmental issues and challenges in local communities and neighborhoods.
- Identify strategic issues that interest locals and that could be used to create a bioregional project.
- Develop a grassroots educational program that engages the community and works towards increasing understanding of bioregional principles.
- Work with the local municipality to develop “Eco-ciudad” programs and activities.
- Work alongside volunteers in the greenhouse and at revegetation sites with the PD native tree Revegetation Project.
- Engage and supervise PD volunteers in assisting with community education initiatives.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree, currently working toward degree, or equivalent work experience in related field.
- Ability and confidence to work with a minimal amount of supervision in challenging situations.
- Previous experience in community engagement, environmental conservation, and educational initiatives.
- Extensive organizational and management skills.
- Must be motivated and tenacious – this is an experimental program that will be implemented from scratch.
- Previous travel abroad experience, particularly in developing countries.
- Must be comfortable with living in PD’s communally operated volunteer household.
- Advanced Spanish ability (3+ years at University or equivalent experience) required because you will be working directly with the local people of Bahia de Caraquez to implement programs.
Revegetation Field Research Internship:
PD is looking for a self-motivated individual to lead research projects relating to our native tree Revegetation Project in Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador.
Responsibilities:
- Research issues relating to PD’s native tree Revegetation Project including, but not limited to:
o Rates of survival of transplanted trees
o Rates of animal reinhabitation at our revegetation sites
o Mapping revegetation sites - Research and catalog information about the native plant species we use for revegetation.
- Work alongside volunteers in the greenhouse and at revegetation sites with the PD native tree Revegetation Project.
- Develop strategies for improving our revegetation techniques.
- Synthesize information learned throughout the research process in field reports.
- Other ideas of subjects to research are welcomed.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree, currently working toward degree, or equivalent work experience in related field.
- Ability to work with minimum supervision and self-direct projects.
- Demonstrated interest in environmental conservation issues.
- Previous experience in scientific research and writing.
- Previous travel abroad experience, particularly in developing countries.
- Must be comfortable with living in PD’s communally operated volunteer household.
- Spanish language skills are not required for the position but some degree of Spanish language ability is highly recommended for daily life in Ecuador.
Internship Position Time Commitment:
At minimum, the internship positions require a 3-month long commitment. Preference will be given to applicants interested in longer stays. A special tourist visa is required for stays longer than 90 days. It is highly recommend that you look into the visa application process before making travel plans.
Costs:
PD is a very low-budget non-profit organization. We do not charge interns to come and work. However, interns are responsible for paying for their own travel expenses, including arrival to Bahia and daily bus rides to and from planting sites and the green house (one-way on city bus costs only 25 cents).
Rent for the communal living house ($25/mo.) is waived for PD interns. Interns can expect to pay about $10-15 a week for communal dinners, drinking water, toilet paper, etc. Interns are responsible for providing their own breakfast, lunch and snacks.
About the House and Town:
The apartment is large and can hold up to 6 volunteers at a time. There are 3 bedrooms (2 communal for volunteers and one private for the field projects manager, his wife and young child), 2 bathrooms, kitchen, and a large communal living space.
It is located in the center of Bahia on the second floor with lots of windows that provide a nice breeze to combat the warm climate. The local market is 2 blocks from the house. The river is 2 blocks away and the ocean about 5 blocks away.
Internship Application Process:
E-mail the following information, plus anything else you’d like to add to Clay Plager-Unger, the Field Projects Manager at planetdrumecuador@yahoo.com
- A current resume.
- A cover letter describing what you hope to bring to and gain from this experience.
- A story about a meeting or relationship with a non-human.
- What is your level of Spanish comprehension?
- Are you comfortable living communally (i.e. living in close quarters, cooking communal dinners and cleaning up responsibly after yourself and others)?
- What dates are you available to intern?
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Click below to read first hand accounts of volunteering and studying with Planet Drum Ecuador.
- Volunteer Testimonial, Aaron Kase, May 22, 2009
- Study Abroad student, Thomas Weaver, August-September, 2012