Research Coordination in the Rainforest

So what will you be doing? Overseeing and facilitating research activities, managing expectations before, during and after researchers arrive, helping with logistics and connections.  Although you'll be overseeing and facilitating both desk and field activities, you won't need to have advanced academic qualifications. You will need to understand that almost every activity at Iracambi involves research of some kind or another - and be prepared to support researchers at all levels: from undergrad papers to graduate projects. It's important that both you and the students/researchers have a clear idea of what they want to do, what is feasible, and any extra costs that may be incurred (translation, travel, equipment, etc,) and that you are willing and able to point them in the right direction!  

So what might researchers be doing? Here, at the Iracambi Rainforest Research Center, located in Brazil's Atlantic Forest students, researchers and volunteers gain firsthand experience in biodiversity conservation: (agroforestry, regenerative agriculture, medicinal plants, forest monitoring, and sustainable living: community outreach and education, workshops.) And whether they are collecting seeds in the forest, monitoring forest regeneration, cataloging medicinal plants, testing new practices in the agroecology plots, studying flora and fauna populations, monitoring water quality and flows, or doing less academically focused tasks such as maintaining our forest trails, making videos, adding to our photo library, or riding the school bus to the village to share their language and culture with local schoolkids, they and you will be having a ball, contributing your skills to a great cause, and learning all sorts of things you never thought you could. Quite apart from supervising individual or group research proposals, ensuring at all data is properly collected and stored and correctly shared and uploaded. Because Iracambi is all about Saving Forests and Changing Lives and you are warmly welcomed to become a part of it!

Studying, interning, volunteering, or coordinating a program at Iracambi provides you with a fantastic opportunity to be part of a lifestyle that is likely very different from what you are used to. You will be sharing the campus space with people of different nationalities, backgrounds, skills, ages and interests - not to mention a few bugs! We invite you to take responsibility for your own work, experience, lifestyle, and for your fellow Iracambistas and their research projects. If students and volunteers have their their own pet study project or particular passion, that’s great, and we're happy to support them in that. If they have a brilliant idea for something we could or ought to do, let’s see if we can do it! Familiarity with Arc GIS and some Portuguese would be an advantage, but it's more important to have an inquiring mind and good organizational skills - both with people, projects, and data management.  

The Research Center is located on a working farm, which includes a large area of native forest as well as tree crops, succession forests, swamp lands and high altitude pastures. There are rivers to swim in, mountains to climb, forest trails to hike, and a welcoming local community. You won’t have the bright lights of a big city. But you will have the chance to make friends for life. You’ll be living on our rainforest campus, and eating delicious local food cooked by Larissa – who is more than happy to supply vegetarian or vegan options on request. The Research Center has one central dorm, five four-bed cabins, a field lab, a classroom, our multi-use Forest House, a system of forest trails, and our forest and agroecology plots. We have 24-hour access to internet – except during thunderstorms, when we power down in order to protect the equipment! 

A little background.    

The Atlantic Forest stretches from the northeastern to the southern regions of Brazil and northern Argentina and southeastern Paraguay. Five hundred years ago, it covered approximately 330 million acres, but today only 7- 8% remains. And we are determined to protect and restore what we can. Because these forests harbor an extraordinarily high rate of biodiversity, including 2,200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians - 5% of all the vertebrates on earth. And new species are still being discovered!

Iracambi is adjacent to the Serra do Brigadeiro State Park, one of the highest conservation priority areas in the state, and home to the largest population of the woolly spider monkey Brachyteles hypoxanthus – the most endangered and arguably the most adorable of the New World Primates. You may be lucky enough to spot one, particularly if you hang out with Leandro who can be found a little farther up the mountain! If you are with us at the right time of year, he can also involve you in harvesting the local version of the superfruit acai jussara.   

Free-time activities

On weekends you can swim in the rivers, hike in the forest, climb local mountains – no rock climbing involved and you will be rewarded by amazing views. You can also interact with the local community and attend local parties and festivals, particularly in June and July during the winter festivals. You can also organize dinners, bonfires, barbecues or social events to be enjoyed with a glass of wine, a beer or a caipirinha!. Weekend excursions might include quad biking round local communities and getting a taste of local farm life, horseback riding, and in three day weekends you could visit Brazil’s famous historic towns Ouro Preto and Mariana, sun yourself on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro state, or climb the 9000 foot Pico da Bandeira (once considered to be Brail’s highest mountain before another was discovered in the Amazon!) 

And if you’re up for gentler pastimes, where better to hang out in a hammock and read a book, or find a quiet spot to practice yoga or meditation?