Volunteer Torewa

Indigena Lecos Torewa

A unique opportunity to work and live in an indigenous community deep in one of the world's most diverse ecosystems!
About Torewa
Torewa is a jungle community situated in Madidi National Park in Bolivia. Located 3 hours upstream from Rurrenabaque on the Beni River, Torewa is a community of 12 families originally from Apolo who fully live off the land. Everything in Torewa is about nature. The community is surrounded by rivers and a pristine forest full of birds and mammals.

To help sustain their way of life and culture, Torewa is seeking volunteers to assist with the development of a sustainable ecotourism project. The vision of the project is to provide an affordable and real jungle experience for travellers in Bolivia. Unlike other ecolodges in Madidi that cater towards older, wealthier individuals, Torewa will provide an authentic and affordable jungle experience, where visitors can live among a real jungle community (anticipated project launch date: January 2009).

Torewa is a very warm, open and friendly community of people who are eager to welcome volunteers to their homes and their way of life. This is an exciting opportunity to help build a very promising ecotourism project that will solely benefit the inhabitants of the community in the form of improved and much needed access to health care and education. This is a great opportunity to live with a real jungle community while making a difference.


Living Here
Volunteers live within the community and will work closely with the people. We provide a bed, sheet, blankets, mosquito net and heaps of hospitality and smiling faces for all of our volunteers. There is no running water or electricity, so volunteers will bathe in the river like the rest of the community, drink boiled river water (unless you bring enough bottled water for your stay) and rely on candle light and flashlights in the evenings. It is a true jungle experience.

From the property, volunteers can enjoy Madidi’s exceptional scenic beauty, fish, learn about medicinal plants, venture out on jungle treks and boat rides, observe wildlife, practice their Spanish, relax, spend quality time with community members and play with the children. Wildlife watching is plentiful as animals include a wide variety of bird species, reptiles, mammals (spectacled bear, tapir, etc.) and various primate species (monkeys, etc.). Take a look at our photos page for a better view of the village and the flora and fauna of the area.


Volunteer Responsibilities
•Teach English to local community
•Provide insight regarding tourists’ wants and needs
•Develop additional ideas for set up of ecotourism infrastructure
•Help build tourist accommodations (houses, bathrooms, kitchen, etc.)
•Help identify and clear trails


Volunteer Requirements
The members of the community speak very little English, and therefore, it is important to have a basic to intermediate (minimal) knowledge of Spanish. Also, the ability to live without electricity or running water is a must. Lastly, there is a 4-week minimum stay for all volunteers.


Costs
All fees go towards the cost of your transportation to get to Torewa and food for the duration of your stay. Transportation in a motorized dugout canoe costs 500 Bs one-way (approximately US$70). The only other cost is for food, in which the community will provide 3 meals/day of all locally grown food at the cost of 1000 Bs/month (approximately US$140). All meals are eaten with a local family. And it is great, tasty, fresh food! Although the community eats meat with some meals, there are plenty of vegetarian options. Local food includes: rice, yucca, platano, fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, pork, eggs, beans, potatoes, corn and bread. Please look into your country's visa requirements before arriving in Bolivia. As of December 1, 2007, US citizens are required to have a visa and pay $100 to enter the country.
*NOTE: There are no ATMs in Rurrenabaque!


What to Bring

• Mosquito repellent with deet	• Sun cream
• Light-colored, long-sleeve shirts and pants	• Rubber boots (can be purchased in Rurre)
• Rain poncho	• Swimsuit (bathing and swimming in river)
• Towel	• Toilet paper
• Candles	• Hat
• Flashlight	• Extra Batteries
• Mini first-aid kit and any medication (pain relievers, antibiotics, etc.)	• Laundry detergent
• Water bottle

**Optional Items: Work gloves, books to read, snacks (chocolate, peanuts, cigarettes, alcohol, etc.), bottled water (only if you don’t want to drink boiled river water), and malaria pills (although there are no reported cases of malaria in the area, many still opt to take pills as a safeguard).

**Items for the community: School supplies (pencils, erasers, notebooks, books, etc.) and basic medicine (aspirin, band-aids, disinfectant, ibuprofen, etc.)


How to Get Here
From La Paz to Rurrenabaque
• 45-minute flight on Amazonas or TAM (approx. $66.00 U.S. dollars)
• 18-hour bus ride (approx. $13 U.S. dollars)

From Rurrenabaque to Torewa
• 3-hour boat road up Rio Beni (800 Bs roundtrip; coordinate with community)


Climate
Our climate is of the hot, wet tropical type. Rainfall varies from around 700 mm in the driest areas to almost 5,000 mm in the wettest. The dry season is May through October.


How to Apply
There are no special qualifications required for volunteers to participate in this project. However, it is important that you have at least a basic knowledge of Spanish, are comfortable teaching English, and are in tune to tourists’ wants and needs. Also, it is integral that volunteers are enthusiastic, hardworking, and have a genuine love for animals, nature and learning about other cultures.

If you are interested you will need to confirm your place in advance. Please contact us (see contact details below) and let us know a bit about yourself and the dates you would like to volunteer with us.

For volunteers this is a unique opportunity to help build a new tourist destination in Madidi National Park, live with a real jungle community, and have a direct influence on the well being of the Torewa community for generations to come.


Donations
As described above, the community is in need of the tourism project to improve their living conditions, mainly in the form of improved transportation (motorized canoe), healthcare and education. If you'd like to help the community monetarily, please feel free to send a check to the address below. Anything you can spare will be greatly appreciated!

Correo Central de Rurrenabaque
Emiliano Paredes
Comunidad Indigena de Torewa
Beni - Bolivia


Contacts
• Marleny Paredes: (+591) 712-82152; gatitaparma(at)hotmail[dot]com (Please try calling first, email may take a while)
• Emilio Paredes: (+591) 712-68553 (Emilio is only reachable by phone when outside of the community)


Past and Future Volunteers
This page was set up by 2 volunteers that spent the month of January, 2008 with the community. If you have any questions regarding what it's like to volunteer in Torewa, don't hesitate to email us at jmhayes40(at)hotmail[dot]com. Please understand that this is a locally run project (no assistance from external organizations) and questions are best addressed to the contacts above. We enjoyed our time in Torewa immensely and highly recommend it to anyone looking for something of this nature. If you do choose to volunteer, PLEASE shoot us a quick email before you go letting us know how you found out about Torewa and an email with your experiences after you get back. Any feedback regarding information on the website would be greatly appreciated. In addition, if you do choose to volunteer please send us any great photos you have for the website. We'll be building a proper website for the community when they are open for business.

Thanks,

Lee and Janelle Schwartz