ECOSARA ECO-VOLUNTEERS APPLY TO VOLUNTEER

As an ECOSARA volunteer you agree to abide by the following terms and conditions. Remember that ECOSARA is a not-for-profit organisation and every penny you pay is invested in conservation and field work. We greatly appreciate every volunteer and thank you wholeheartedly for choosing to work with us.

1 To behave in a manner consistent with that expected from a scientific field worker, obey instructions given by staff and not to indulge in any activity that puts yourself or colleagues under any uncessary risk. Please be respectful of other volunteers, nationalities, beliefs and religions at all times. The success of ECOSARA depends on us all pulling together in the same direction.

2 To obtain the necessary travel insurance, visas and paperwork required for your time of stay. ECOSARA accepts no liability for any accidents or legal problems encountered due to failure to comply with national laws, and you will be asked to sign a waiver of responsibility on arrival which states that you understand and accept this.

3 To pay the volunteer fee in full on arrival - please don´t make us have to ask! Payment should be made in cash in US$, Euros or Paraguayan Guaranies and will be charged at the current exchange rate at the time of arrival according to www.xe.com. If you prefer to make payment prior to arrival by bank transfer to a UK bank then please state this in your application email. Bank charges incurred on these transactions are the responsibility of the volunteer and an additional 3% is charged on top of the volunteer fee for administrative costs.

4 Your volunteer fee covers accommodation, three filling meals a day, transport whilst at San Rafael, fruit juice with meals and fresh cold water throughout the day. It does not include your travel to Paraguay or to the meeting point, travel insurance, items of a personal nature or alcoholic drinks (though these can be bought on site). Unless other arrangements are made in advance by email, the meeting point is in front of the La Encarnacena ticket office at the bus terminal in the southern city of Encarnación at 7.30am on your arrival date. Here you will be met by a staff member who will accompany you to the reserve by bus. The bus fare between Encarnación and Ynambú (18,000G=$3.50) is paid by the volunteer. Staff can help arrange tourist activities but the costs and risks incurred are the sole responsibility of the volunteer.

5 Visitors departing prior to the agreed dates reserved for their stay will be required to pay for their time at ECOSARA plus 50% of the fee for the remaining time to help reduce the losses incurred as a result eg. volunteers rejected during those dates for lack of space for example if you reserve a bed for 10 days but decide to leave after 4 days you will be charged for 4 days + 3 days of the remaining 6, a total of 7 days.

6 Special diets can be catered for given advanced notice!! A fully stocked medical kit is available on site, but volunteers requiring medicines of a purely personal nature must bring their own.

7 At no time will you be asked to do anything you do not want to. Volunteers are welcome to contribute as much or as little as they like. No timetables, deadlines or schedules are imposed. If you wish to spend the day in bed then nobody is going to nag at you for it!! In return we ask that you ensure that your choices don´t unfairly affect others (you might want to listen to rock music until 2am, but if your colleague wants to be up at 6am to do bird surveys then he has a right to protest!). Every effort will be made to comply with individual requests of any nature but we offer no guarantee of being able to deliver on every occasion.

8 You are being entrusted with the use of expensive equipment that is not easy for a non-profit organisation to replace if it is damaged. Please treat all equipment with the necessary care, following usage instructions carefully and avoiding unecessary damage.

9 We are happy to arrange Spanish classes for volunteers that which to take the opportunity to study Spanish during their stay. The cost of a month course of 8x1 hour lessons is US$100 and courses are available for all levels. Courses are run by the Master Key Professional Language Institute. ECOSARA, Pro Cosara or FAUNA Paraguay.com receive no income from the Spanish courses and they are offered purely for the benefit of volunteers. All matters related to the course are the responsibility of the Master Key Professional Language Institute and should be discussed directly with them.