Kawsay [KAW-sigh] Biological Station, based near the city of Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios, Peru, is an organization founded in 2018 by our director, Raúl Bello.  

Our volunteer program is designed not only to provide unforgettable experiences in the jungle but also to generate vital data for the management and stewardship of our forest. We protect nearly 200 hectares of forest and its biodiversity, but we are also successfully re-establishing a population of spider monkeys—individuals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade and captivity. We currently have two stable groups in the area.  Furthermore, thanks to your participation, we provide direct opportunities for local students. We have created a program that offers hands-on experience and generates valuable information while enabling local students to gain training—all made possible by your direct involvement. We do not receive funding from the government or international cooperation agencies. Through these programs, we generate the revenue needed to operate and carry out our work in order to achieve our objectives.

It started when in 2017, a forest area of 177 ha got acquired, in the form of a concession. A concession, in Peru, is land from the regional government from which a third party gets the legal rights to run it with a predetermined end goal,  our concession has as end goal specifically: Conservation. For this, we are obliged to manage this land and preserve it as best as we can. Before this, illegal activities like ilegal mining and logging took place in the area. Today, the forest has the chance to recover and (re-)grow again. To confront and prevent the illicit activities that can affect our work (forest and reintroduced spider monkey), it is important to maintain a constant presence in the forest by carrying out monitoring, research, and conservation activities. That is why your participation is important; thanks to these actions, we have been able to keep the area protected since we began operating there.

We aim to preserve our forest through activities compatible with conservation such as ecotourism, education and research.  With the activities we do we maintain a daily presence in the concession which already helps to preserve the area. Every weekday we have activities that can vary in collecting data for our long-term monitoring of the local flora and fauna, or by assisting research projects from other researchers/students that are carried out in Kawsay. We believe science should be accessible for everyone. 

We expect a high level of commitment, responsibility, and initiative from our volunteers, as well as the ability to live and work well within a group under basic jungle conditions—including high temperatures, heavy rain, and mosquitoes. For our part, we will act as your guides and share our knowledge and experience with you; you will play an important role in our activities, contributing to the conservation of our forest and the Peruvian Amazon.

as a volunteer you will help and allow to us to achive our goals.

- maintain zero loss of forest cover and prevent illicit activities having a permanent presence in the forest.

- to monitoring wildlife under standar methods for better managment of the forest.

- to support local studens projects and researchs

- to conduct long-term monitoring of a reintroduced spider monkey population, having already recorded over 30 births in the wild.

- Our forest keep recognized by local authorities as a Fragile Ecosystem due to its high conservation value and biodiversity.

- Internationally, we are part of the global network of protected natural areas as an OECM (Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measure), contributing to the conservation of 30% of the planet.

- to produce 5–10 publications annually, including reports, theses, scientific papers, conference presentations, and other materials.

the volunteers will working with our team that consists of driven, passionate and enthusiastic biologists, local workers and students.  You will accompany them, learn with them. Some of them speak English, others very little, but they will be willing to share with you. You dont need special equipament, we have all what we need.

the surroundings and the locations where We are working  is in a conservation concession area of 177ha designated for conservation by the Peruvian government and the station facilities is  in a private land of 8ha. The concession is located in the buffer zone of the Tambopata National Reserve, bordering the Madre de Dios River. We are located at 1 hour by boat of the city Puerto Maldonado, Peru. We are situated at the right margin, downstream of the river Madre de Dios.  In our station we use solar energy according to minimalize our impact on the environment. The main house is a common area where we have a well-equipped kitchen and the dinning room. Also we do have a small lab, a library, a study area, a laundry area, small gym, hammock areas (also huge hammock near by the river) and all the forest, where we do have a trail system and well equipament materials for our activities and projects.

Don´t be afraid of helping in a biological station,  we believe that everyone can contribute in a diferent ways. Volunteers will help with the main projects and activities.