1. PRESENTATION

Welcome to our volunteering program, a legally constituted organization by EcoManu Lodge. The program involves reforestation, appreciation of medicinal plants, organic agriculture, monitoring and listing of birds, mammals, and monitoring and identification of butterflies. The fundamental principle is rural development, understood as the well-being of local families in the Manu Biosphere Reserve, contributing to the local, regional, and national community. This development is contemplated from a perspective of integral development, involving harmony between the population and their activities with the environment. Equity is also a fundamental concept in our Ecotourism vision.

The volunteering program takes place in the Manu Biosphere Reserve in Southeast Peru. Due to its special location and high biological biodiversity, it is highly recommended for students, couples, families, biologists, anthropologists, bird watchers, ornithologists, photographers, etc.

2. OBJECTIVES

• Increase economic income and improve the quality of life for rural populations.
• Preserve soil, water, and air as the foundations for life development on the planet, generating forests that contribute to their conservation.
• Turn reforestation into a prioritized and permanent activity on the national agenda, especially in rural areas, due to its economic, social, and environmental importance.
• Recover degraded ecosystems and increase productivity levels, improving environmental quality.
• Strengthen the political will of national and regional institutions in favor of reforestation as a national need.
• Reduce pressure on natural forests, counteracting bad harvesting practices and tree cutting and burning.
• Raise social awareness to revalue nature, promoting citizen participation.
• Conduct reforestation campaigns with local and regional educational centers to sensitize future citizens to the importance of reforestation and environmental conservation.

A local project led by local families for local families in Manu

3. LOCATION

The Volunteering Program is based at and primarily hosted by EcoManu Lodge, located in the MANU BIOSPHERE RESERVE, a rich biodiversity area on the right bank of the Upper Madre de Dios River, in the Manu province of Madre de Dios department. It is very close to the tourist port of Atalaya, at 460 meters above sea level and 230 km from the city of Cusco, along the famous MANU ROAD route Cusco – Paucartambo – Pilcopata – Puerto de Atalaya – EcoManu Lodge, a 6-hour journey by local public transport.