Alumnus Eric Tomczak (BS, Physical Geography, Fall, 2009) jumped into the deep end of the geographic pool when he volunteered to spend 4 weeks working in the Santa Lucía Cloud Forest Reserve in Ecuador—and he even paid for the privilege! The reserve is in the foothills of the Andes in northwestern Ecuador, in the Choco Bioregion, and is a hotspot of biodiversity. The Santa Lucía Bosque Nublado reserve has been welcoming volunteers, both groups and individuals, since 2000: “our volunteer program continues to play a crucial role in enabling the development of our sustainable ecotourism operation and of our conservation and community projects. The hard work, support and enthusiasm of so many volunteers have helped to reinforce for us the value of our cloud forest reserve and the importance of its continued protection. Our volunteering program offers you the opportunity to: make a real contribution to conservation and sustainable development, experience the tranquility, beauty and biodiversity of the cloud forest, learn about rural Ecuadorian life and the opportunities and challenges of sustainable development, build cross-cultural relationships with community members, learn or improve your Spanish, and have a lot of fun!” ).
Eric belongs to a new generation of “volunteer tourists” who certainly aren’t pampered guests in traditional vacation resorts or even in not so traditional eco-resorts. Not only do they pay for their accommodation and meals, but they put a lot of sweat equity into their stay. Emboldened by a 10 month Education Abroad Program experience in South Africa (Durban) in 2007, interested in the natural sciences, and “in no hurry to join the corporate workforce and start a career position right now,” Eric decided “to take part in something that would allow me to get to know the culture, language, and natural landscape in a way that would not be possible as a tourist alone…Basically I am looking at this as an educational experience.” He chose Ecuador because he wanted a graduation trip, was fascinated by the biodiversity of South America, and “wanted to continue my education, especially in the natural sciences, learning about plants and farming, as well as learning Spanish.”
Eric summed up his stay at Santa Lucía by stating: “Fun stuff, but just about as hard as I have ever worked in my life.” Eric spent his first two weeks hauling stone and concrete and leveling ground for a new construction project near the lodge he’s living in: “a small structure where they will put a freezer – basically a storehouse, since there is no such structure now and there is no real freezer in the lodge, just a refrigerator. Since it is all solar powered and there’s not too much sun this time of year, basically enough supplies for one week only can be kept. I spent the next two days going down the trail to move concrete sacks that weighed as much as I do and clearing the area where the small house will be – clearing plants, taking out tree stumps, moving dirt, and flattening the earth. It’s not like they make us volunteers do anything that they wouldn’t be doing anyways, but its hard, hard work. Don’t know if it’s just that I have had it too easy my whole life, spoiled into never having to do so much hard physical labor, or it is really that hard of work – I’d say that it’s a bit of both. So, yeah, I definitely thought ‘what am I doing here?’ a few times, and I tried my hardest to refrain from complaining as well, but all in all there is no way to deny that it’s a good experience for me, as long as I don’t get seriously injured or worse. Definitely harder work than I was expecting, but then again I guess if they advertised it as such they might have a harder time getting volunteers to come. I reckon they get a good deal, kids who will do any work and actually pay for it! Did I already say that?”
Despite all the hard work (and, in a way, because of it) and paying about $1000 per month (plus his own airfare) for the privilege of doing it, Eric has enjoyed his “voluntourist vacation.” He’s made new friends from all over the world, he’s definitely been off the beaten track (mostly by hitchhiking around the area), he’s experienced everything from harvesting bananas and processing sugar cane to clearing local trails with a machete and enjoying “the best soups I have ever had,” and he’s had the satisfaction of having made a positive impact on the lives of the local community and ecosystem.
Eric was particularly impressed by the biodiversity of the cloud forest: “I heard that in a square mile here there are more species than in the entirety of the North American continent – lots of good stuff to look at, smell, touch, taste, feel.” Some of the bio-highlights for Eric included a giant earthworm (“literally 6 feet in length when stretched, probably a solid inch in diameter when contracted”), a grub that infests banana plants (“the grub itself can be eaten, when cleaned and fried up properly”), edible and medicinal plants (“that are of most interest to me”), and “tons of hummingbirds, butterflies, and orchids.” “Kind of overwhelming, really – well you have seen pictures and movies of the jungle, right?”
Following his 4 week stay in the cloud forest reserve, Eric is spending another 2 weeks as a volunteer for an animal rescue organization in Puyo, on the edge of the Amazon rainforest (see . “My duties have been pretty standard, feeding the animals and cleaning their enclosures; extra jobs are usually construction oriented…It has been a different experience here, not nearly as physically strenuous, and we cook all of our food ourselves.” After his two weeks in Puyo are up, Eric plans to travel to Peru, across Bolivia, and then on to Argentina before returning to California the first week of June.
What’s next for Eric? “This has already been a tremendously rewarding experience, and it is really opening up me to other international work possibilities. Ideally, I would like to look into joining some sort of research work, either in South America or elsewhere…Whenever you travel out of your home county, you are forced to see some sort of ‘bigger picture’ and rethink your own place and your own cultural values and customs, and I have not been exempt from this.” Eric concluded his report on his travels by saying: “Hope all is well back there at UCSB and Ellison Hall. What I learned there has no doubt been a huge factor in shaping who I am now…I hope this is somewhat interesting for you to read”—indeed, it is! Our hats off to Eric for his philanthropy, his dedication, and his sheer love of adventure.
Editor’s note: For more of Eric’s adventures in Ecuador, see the PDF of his next installment here; for Eric’s adventures in Peru, see the PDF of his latest installment here.
