Tim at Independent Volunteer was kind enough to forward me a number of yet-to-be-published links. I have started to check them out and will share a few of the more interesting ones from Latin America as well as a brief comment on each.

If you’re interested, have a look around the site yourself to get a fuller picture of what’s involved. Note that all of these organizations do charge a small fee to cover accommodation and sometimes food. I made the decision not to include information on this fee here; it is easily found on each of the sites and while for many people, myself included, cost plays a role in determining what is a realistic opportunity or not, I’d prefer not to give cost such relative weight when mentioning only a sentence or two about a project.

• CasaSito, Guatemala
  In fact not from Independent Volunteer, but from Idealist.org. Volunteers can get involved in language lessons and other community activities. See my longer profile of Casa from the TEFL Logue.
• Volunteer Peten, Guatemala
  They say it well: the “mission is to aid development in Guatemala by training international volunteers to participate in, design, and implement sustainable projects. Our main projects focus on environmental education, general education, reforestation, forest management, medicinal plants, and working with the public library and public schools…”
• Project Tortuga, Mexico
  Volunteer to help endangered marine turtles in Mexico: “No special skills or education is necessary, only the willingness to work in adverse weather conditions during the night.”
• Amigos de las Aves, Costa Rica
  Volunteer to observe large Macaws; the website seems quite detailed and presumably realistic about what you’ll do and when, what’s great about it and what you might not like (ie creepy crawlies around some sites!).
• La Tortuga Feliz, Costa Rica
  Help Costa Rican turtles by patrolling with locals for illegal poaching and encouraging eco-tourism, often as a part of a larger group of international volunteers.
• Mera Zonia, Ecuador
  Three gringos, as they describe themselves, have started to set up a center to care for rescued animals in Ecuador. They don’t currently have any animals on site but need help building and organizing.
• Santa Marttha Rescue, Ecuador
  Another Ecuador animal refuge, this one already working with animals. Volunteers spend much of their time feeding and cleaning; the group shops and shares the cost and responsibility for cooking.

For other similar independent volunteer opportunities, check out Independent Volunteer…and stop back at the Volunteer Logue too!