The duties on the reserve include the daily checking and maintenance of the perimeter fencing. Gardening, clearing weeds, planting, pruning, keeping the nursery are daily chores, along with tracking mammals, birds and keeping a record of the findings and their natural habitat footprints.  We help our neighbors reintroduce native plants on their lands and form biological corridors and at the same time we are forming new patches of forest where the previous ones were clear cut years ago. Volunteers are also required to help in the maintenance of the house and with aiding guests during their stay.  

We collect seeds for our program, germinate the seeds, put them in bags until they are ready to be transplanted in the field. Later we take the Plants to the areas to be planted and take care of them until they are big enough to survive by themselves. The collection of seeds is done in our forest in Puerto Quito or deep in the jungle where we have 100 hectares of primary forest in the Canande range. There is a monthly hike to the primary jungle reserve once a month to collect the seeds and, at that time, a lot of information is attained on the biodiversity/wildlife present.  While there, the volunteers will help maintain the wooden shelter used as a raised platform that house the tents and cooking area.  

Volunteers are not charged for their stay but a weekly $5 fee is requested for expenses such as gas, electricity and other expenses for the house in Puerto Quito  Volunteers must buy their own food and cook by themselves or together with the other volunteers. For the jungle trips there is a fee of $120  for 3 or 4 days in the jungle that helps cover the food, transportation, horses. etc…

Our goal is to reintroduce as many native trees as possible around Puerto Quito. And buy as much jungle as possible in the Canande area. There are always fruits from the gardens and coffee and chocolate for the volunteers. The length of time a volunteer chooses to stay is not set in stone.  If for some reason, a volunteer chooses to leave before the time planned, there is absolutely no problem.   Many volunteers/interns stay from 1-6months and find the learning experience in the field to be the most invaluable aspect of their time there.  Getting involved with preserving the remaining jungle may end up being a life long passion, as it has become for us that live here.