Location: Tena, Ecuador. Duration: minimum 4 weeks. Start dates each month. Enquire with us when applying. Cost: $500 for the 1st week + $350 for each additional week. Fee includes all food, accommodation, pre‐departure & in‐country support, orientation and all project related activities. Does not include flights, airport pickup, travel insurance, personal spending, visas and vaccinations.
Benefits
* Learn about Ecuadorian culinary arts focusing on interculturality and sustainability.
* Sample and learn about thousands of fruit, vegetable, nut, spice and insect species.
* Collaborate with farmers on projects to diversify and add value to their agroforestry farms and research domestic & international markets for local products.
* Organize Farm to Table (Forest to Table) meals that help rural families and associations showcase the forest's riches and educate others about traditional Amazonian foods.
* Explore indigenous rights, ecotourism, Fair Trade & organic certifications, social entrepreneurship, and community tourism projects.
* Access research & dissertation support with partner organizations and universities, if requested.
Responsibilities
* Learn from local farmers and cooks about the intersection between ancestral farming, hunting and fishing practices and how they connect to modern cuisine and income‐generation projects.
* Identify edible and medicinal plants and understand their importance in traditional cooking and medicine.
* Prepare traditional dishes with locals and experiment with different flavors and spices.
* Contribute to work in the chakra (traditional agroforestry farm) by planting, weeding, and harvesting products.
* Create and/or clear trails in medicinal plant gardens or chakras with locals.
* Support ecotourism projects and guide visitors as they learn about forest foods, traditional Amazonian dishes, and agroforestry systems.
* Research local Amazonian products and national & international markets where they can be sold.
Internships begin with an orientation in the city of Tena. After, interns spend the first few weeks building relationships with their host family and internship placements. Most host families live in rural communities close to the forest and many run their own agroforestry farms, inviting interns to participate in planting, weeding and harvesting.
Typical products you will learn about and experiment with include ishpingo (Amazonian cinnamon), ajo de monte (wild garlic), sacha inchik (Amazonian wild peanut), chontacuro (grub), chonta (palm fruit), and locally grown turmeric and ginger.
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