Planet Drum
Focus: Community and Education.
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Project Description
Planet Drum Foundation was founded in San Francisco, CA in 1973. In association with community activists and ecologists, Planet Drum developed the concept of a bioregion. Planet Drum works to research, promote and disseminate information about bioregionalism, a grassroots approach to ecology that emphasizes sustainability, community self-determination and regional self-reliance. Through its projects, publications, speakers, and workshops, Planet Drum helps start new bioregional groups and encourages local organizations and individuals to find sustainable ways to live within the natural confines of bioregions. We believe that people who know and care about the places where they live will work to maintain and restore them.
Volunteer Information
Costs & Benefits
Requirements
Contact information
Project Summary
Volunteers are needed to help further Planet Drum’s year-round revegetation efforts and can assist with the Bioregional Education Program when it is in session (May through December). Because of the hands-on nature and delicate approach we take to revegetating, most of the work we do involves physical labor. Planting sites are located on hills (for erosion control) and all of the necessary equipment for planting and maintaining the sites is delivered by public transportation and on foot. This includes carrying water, trees, holes diggers and machetes to the sites to prepare, plant and maintain them. Since we are restoring damaged ecosystems, access to the sites can be difficult.
Volunteers work for approximately twenty hours a week (Mon-Fri 8am-12pm).
Expect to spend most time working in the greenhouse and revegetation duties.
Because of the seasonal nature of the work, the amount of time volunteers spend on specific tasks varies greatly depending on the time of year. For example, tree planting only occurs during the rainy season—roughly January to April.
The rest of the year is spent cultivating trees in the greenhouse, watering old sites, and preparing new sites for planting. Check the field reports from previous years for the time of year you plan on visiting Bahia for descriptions and pictures of the work for that period.
We are looking for motivated individuals who are dedicated to the environment and are not afraid of working in a tropical climate.
Planet Drum is a very low-budget non-profit organization. We do not charge volunteers to come and work. However, volunteers are responsible for paying for their own travel expenses, including arrival to Bahia and daily bus rides to and from planting sites and the green house (one-way on city bus costs only 18 cents).
There is a $25 monthly fee to cover utility expenses and wear and tear on the apartment, and volunteers can expect to pay about $10-15 a week for communal dinners, drinking water, toilet paper, etc. Volunteers are responsible for providing their own breakfast, lunch and snacks.
Living costs in Ecuador are low and food at the local market is cheap. One can expect to spend between $200 and $300 a month total depending on how frugally or extravagantly one travels.
Interest in ecological sustainability, willingness to work with community and nature, knowledge of regional plants helpful but not necessary. Volunteers aged 18 years old and over.
Planet Drum Foundation
PO Box 31251
San Francisco, CA 94131
Planet Drum has an office in Bahia de Caraquez,Ecuador
Tel: ++1 (415) 285.6556
Email: mail@planetdrum.org or planetdrumecuador@yahoo.com
Website: www.planetdrum.org
Location:Bahia de Caraquez,Ecuador
Average cost per day:$10
Focus: Argiculture, Community and Education
Skills needed: Volunteers must be at least 18 years old
