Eco-Reserve and El Progreso Village

Projects Galapagos Eco-Reserve, near El Progreso Village

Some of our volunteers live with host families in town, but some stay in accommodation in the Projects Galapagos Eco-Reserve near El Progreso village in the Highlands, where you can find fruit such as bananas, papayas, and oranges. Otoy plants to feed the giant tortoises are grown here, cut down, and transported to the Giant Tortoise Breeding Centre. It is about 15 minutes’ drive from the town. All our volunteers share rooms with other people, except for married couples. If we only have a few volunteers, you might be able to have your own room. Occasionally, volunteers will live with host families in town.

Electricity bills are a constant worry for households. Showers in Ecuador are taken once a day and are quick. Heating water uses up a lot of electricity, so showers tend to have a purely functional purpose. Also, please place toilet paper, sanitary towels, wet wipes, tissues, etc. in the bins provided. Do not flush them down the toilet.

Ecuador has one of the most varied native cuisines in South America. Ceviche (raw fish marinated in a tart lemon juice), asado (beef, pork, or chicken on a BBQ with beans and rice) and arroz con pollo (chicken fried rice) are a must. You will also find potatoes, pasta, and rice often appearing on the same plate rather frequently.

Our house mothers are happy to accommodate any preferences, such as if you have a favourite dish, or if you want to cook. Families and the Eco-Reserve will provide you with boiled, purified, or bottled water. Freely help yourself to this; you should be drinking lots of water in this climate.

Laundry days at the Eco-Reserve are Wednesday and Saturday. In order to buy soap and other laundry material, you must pay $3 for every laundry wash. You will be able to pick up your laundry at the end of the day on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Accommodation and Safety Guidelines

It is our responsibility to make sure you are safe here. You came here as a volunteer and committed yourself to volunteering. We work with the government and our prestige is very high. You receive an official government certificate to say you are a volunteer. Even although you may be over 18, we have an 11pm curfew during the week. We do not allow you to have friends from town visiting the Reserve. If you have a relationship with someone here, we are responsible for your safety. There are some issues with drug problems on the island. If you are involved with them, it will bring down our reputation and destroy our standing in the community, and you will be asked to leave the island. The work of our volunteers has resulted in the Ecuadorian government, Municipality, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Labour, and Galapagos National Park officials entrusting us with education and conservation projects, so if one volunteer behaves in a way that damages our reputation, we may lose our contracts with these institutions.

You represent your own country here, so you have huge responsibilities, too. Therefore, we hope you understand that your work helps us to continue our hard work that has been going on for many years and enables the conservation of the Galapagos and community development.

We have fixed rules and regulations that must be followed. We have a curfew during the work week, from Sunday to Thursday night, so that you must be home before 11pm. Please respect the fact that other volunteers want to rest and be physically ready to work hard the next day. Work can be tough when working on our care, education, and conservation programmes.

On Friday and Saturday nights, you can go to discos and bars, but we expect you to come home before 3am. If you need a taxi, you must arrange the pick up in advance. At that time there may only be taxis at the local discos and prices will be higher than usual. William will be able to order one for you before you go out, if you ask him to.

Notes and reminders for life at the Eco-Reserve

Tap water is safe for brushing your teeth or taking a shower, but not for drinking.
Drinking water will be provided.
Do not bring any local friends to the Eco-Reserve or spend nights in local friends’ houses.
Be careful when you go to private parties in people’s homes.
Do not bring or consume alcoholic beverages in the Eco-Reserve.
Host families and the Eco-Reserve provide 3 meals a day; if you want snacks, that is your responsibility.
There is a no smoking policy inside the rooms or in communal areas at the Eco-Reserve.
If you are not having a meal at your accommodation, please inform the host family or the cook at the Eco-Reserve.
Do not flush toilet paper, wipes, tissues, etc. down toilets. Please put them in a rubbish bin.
Recycle your rubbish in the correct bin.
Wear gloves for manual labour to avoid blisters and thorns.
Please return all your tools to the workshop area after use.
All boots and shoes should be cleaned at the end of the working day and left in the proper area.
All areas must remain clean for your own health and to avoid the concentration of cockroaches and other insects.
If you feel ill, please let us know straight away as we can often help you before you become worse.
Please close the gates by the main road when you come in.
If you feel ill, please let William know. He can help with buying medicine and/or visiting a doctor, clinic, or hospital.
You may be offered paid teaching or other work by local people who have no connection with Projects Abroad. While this may seem like a useful way of spending some of your free time, it is illegal.
Work codes should always be followed, and your agreed work hours should be honoured.
If you have any problems with your placement, please inform William.

El Progreso Village

El Progreso is a short walk up the hill from the Eco-Reserve. A clinic, bakery, and small shops may be found there, along with ruins of buildings that belonged to the Cobos family when they had a sugar plantation there. Buses go to and from the town at 7am, 11am, and 1pm. There are bus shelters on the main road.

Scenes from the Eco-Reserve

Life at the reserve balances conservation work with quiet, communal spaces to rest.