About the Program
We are always in need of interns and volunteers who will help us run our organisation. We are involved in many different initiatives and so find ourselves thinly stretched sometimes - we need all the help we can get!
This in turn gives our participants valuable international development experience on how to run an NGO in a developing region, turning them into agents of change, in a time when they are very much needed.
The benefits of taking part in our program are listed below:
Benefits
- Gain unmatachable personal and professional hands-on experience working with an environmental NGO
- Workplace experienced & passionate professionals from a wide range of fields
- Enhance your CV and stand from the crowd
- Live and work in a north Peru surfing hot-spot
(All disciplines are welcomed)
We require all our guests to comply with the following prerequisites
- Experience working away from home
- Ability to be flexible
- Positive attitude (this one is critical!)
- Willingness to learn and work as part of a team
- Spanish (preferable but not required)
Ongoing day to day activities include but not limited to the following initiatives / projects. Interns and volunteers will be able to take part in several of these activities.
Project Wilipipe (Tide and Swell Charts)
This project is the best way to achieve the best results. The interns / volunteers participation in this project may include workshops with the fishermen, preparation of tide and wave size charts, research (fieldwork and data analysis) and the creation of new information tools to increase productivity. The EcoSwell team leads this project and the volunteers assist in its implementation.
Workshops
Regularly, we join the Lobitos Artisanal Fishermen's Association for workshops in which we discuss EcoSwell's current projects and new possibilities for collaboration, as well as implement organizational strategies for the community. These workshops require the volunteer's assistance for the preparation of creative dynamics and the logistics required to implement them.
Research, Monitoring and Evaluation
An important component in project design is information. Research helps develop projects more accurate in covering the community's needs while avoiding conflict between its members. Depending on their skills and experience, the volunteers participation in this periodical activity could consist of:
- Survey and interview design, fieldwork (requires mid-level Spanish)
- Data analysis and report writing
- Participation in internal workshops to improve current projects
Permaculture project maintenance
The team is currently piloting basic permaculture techniques (water reuse, gardening) to reduce the organization's impact in Lobitos' environment. These techniques are around the EcoSwell house where the volunteers will stay, and require constant attention from them so as to maintain them.
Community labour
EcoSwell constantly spends time with the Lobitean community and actively participate in their communal activities, such as assisting the fishermen in docking their boats for maintenance or helping other local NGO's setup and execute public events. This engagement is crucial for the volunteer experience as it gives them the opportunity to share with community members in their everyday environment and learn from the other organizations we work with.
Logistics
The many activities that occur on a daily basis within the EcoSwell headquarters in Lobitos (volunteer activities, project design and implementation, marketing activities, etc.) can often be a little daunting to manage without proper logistics. The volunteers will be able to support the organization with tasks that are necessary for the fluidity of the daily operations. Tasks may include: Organizing documents, data entry, printing, picking supplies in Talara City, delivering messages, etc.
Marketing - traditional and digital
EcoSwell has been rapidly gaining exposure on a global scale and is continuously improving and evolving its marketing strategy to properly harness this growth both through traditional and digital platforms. The volunteers would be assisting the marketing and communications team in the planning and execution of a variety of tasks both online and offline. The online tasks include: Social media community managing and content creation (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Blogs, etc), website development (HTML, CSS, Javascript), online advertising, etc. The offline tasks include: Graphic design, video-making (filming and editing) event planning, press release writing, etc.
Typical day
A typical day with EcoSwell in Lobitos can vary depending on the project you are taking part in as part of this position. Interns and volunteers will usually find themselves working on a variety of projects whilst with us, including but not limited to:
- Marketing
- Workshops
- Logistics
- Research, Monitoring and Evaluation
- Permaculture project maintainance
- Community Labour
- Helping out with tide and swell charts for the fishermen
- Brainstorming of innovative solutions
Free-time activities
Daily world class surfing (all levels), fishing trips, whale and sea lion watching, exploring new beaches, yoga, library access, baking/cooking, personal development, constant socialising with other travellers, within other fun activities. We have a lot going on, and you’ll love it. Maybe even a little bit too much… many of our interns and volunteers have come to question their own lifestyles after experiencing ours! Come, try something new whilst you still have time and see for yourself.
Other activities, such as swimming with wild turtles, sea-lion and whale watching, artisanal open sea fishing with local fishermen, within others are affordable and can be arranged but are not included in the programme. These come at an additional cost, but in reality they are very cheap. These activities are payable to the people who run them (ie: the local artisanal fishermen who take you on their boats) and as such we like to support the local economy. We can facilitate this as we have positive relationships with them and it represents an additional source of income for locals, while at the same time giving some of our participants experiences that they will never forget. Once in Lobitos, you’ll be able to see what you’d like to do at your own discretion. Regardless of whether you do partake or not in these activities, you will have a blast.
We are not one of those organizations which imposes loads of restrictions on our participants on what you can and can’t do. We treat our volunteers and interns like adults, and so you are free to behave as one, responsibly. We will make all volunteers/interns fill in an risk assessment before joining us nonetheless, that way we ensure that you know what the risks are and what you shouldn’t do. We’ll give you a heads up on what goes down well and what doesn’t. So no need to worry too much about what you need to do in regards to health and safety and no need to worry about us wanting to “babysit” you.
Program Requirements
- Determination, self-motivation and ability to work in a team environment
- Experience working away from home
- Flexibility
- Positive attitude
- Proficiency in Spanish (preferable but not required)
Included Services
Before your journey
On-site services
EcoSwell is a non-profit organization. This means that our main aim is not to make a profit, so we do not distribute any surplus income as profit or dividends. Nonetheless, just as a for-profit organization, we have costs for our operations which we need to cover in order to be able to exist.
Our aim is to cover our own costs as opposed to charging a maximum we could to make a profit, as a business would do. This way we can keep costs down and make our placements more accessible than other programmes out there, whilst still being able to operate. We aim to keep our costs as low as possible but we also have to ensure that we are able to operate in an effective way, in which we can make real and positive change, in a way that keeps us moving forward.
As a small organization, we struggle to fund our work. One of our main sources of continual income comes from our volunteer financial contributions for their placements, so without these donations we would not be able to pay our staff and sustain our organization as a whole. We set our volunteer contributions for our placement volunteers to match the costs of the volunteer expenses whilst in the field with us and to match our operating costs, in both Peru and the UK.
An indicative breakdown of where our interns/volunteers financial contributions go (in %) has been presented below:
- Intern/Volunteer expenses and placement project costs: 73%
- Intern/volunteer recruitment: 12%
- EcoSwell's management governance and development: 10%
- Facilities and communication: 3%
- Reserves: 2%
We will meet you at the airport in Talara and from there we will drive you to Lobitos.
You will have comfortable accommodation in the EcoSwell house throughout your stay with an
office workplace/resources and large kitchen. You will have access to a
shared bathroom and shower. We also have a chill-out living room with a DVD
player and cable TV (which you probably won't use much!).
Peruvian food is categorised as some of the best in
world. You’ll get all your meals included within the EcoSwell house as
part of your contribution. This includes, meats, fresh seafood, fresh
fruit and vegetables, milk, coffee… you name it we have it, and more (as
you’ll probably try new fruits you didn’t know existed) and you will be
amazed at how much stronger you’ll feel after a few days with us! All food is bought weekly in the nearest city of Talara fresh from the markets and supermarkets. You will also get a chance to try out local cuisine in some of the restaurants in Lobitos.
Program Fees
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