From safety to salsa lessons, Crees volunteer Pierre Giraud explains what community means in the jungle.
The Manu Learning Center (MLC), a research station in the Peruvian rainforest, is a healthy and strong community. Building this community and ensuring that it evolves properly is not easy, especially when it involves so many people with different backgrounds, expectations, interests and goals.
One of the benefits of living in the MLC community is having the chance to meet lovely, talented, passionate people. Along with researchers, interns and volunteers, the MLC also hosts students and tourists, all of whom are part of the community and have many experiences and expertise to share.
Community: it’s all about sharing & learning
Community life is a wonderful opportunity to exchange with each other. It’s almost impossible not to find at least one topic of interest in common with someone else – your work, travels, favourite books, movies and interests.
Your own skills or knowledge – even the most obscure ones – can help or strengthen the community. What you think is unrelated or insignificant can become something really useful when you’re living in a remote community.
How could I have ever imagined giving a salsa course while being a volunteer in the middle of the Amazon rainforest? Special thanks to my lovely fellow teacher Kristi.
Living in a remote place certainly doesn’t have to be boring. When community members have spare time, we get involved in homegrown entertainment – playing games after dinner, football matches, volleyball or Frisbee, watching movies on Sunday night or doing group exercise. Other times it might mean relaxing and reading books in the hammocks, surrounded by the noise of the Amazon rainforest.
Jungle survival: help, support and safety
Living in the MLC community is all about being able and eager to help when it’s needed, without being asked to do so. During my volunteer mission, I (with other lovely staff members) had to support my diabetic roommate who was running on low blood sugar. I’m pretty proud that I could help.
Giving help and support can also mean doing the simple things, like congratulating other community members. The staff and survey leaders don’t hesitate to say “good work everyone” whenever possible. After a tough hike through the jungle, this is greatly appreciated.
There’s also a very serious safety element to living in a remote community so volunteers are given a full day’s first aid and jungle skills training, where they’re taught invaluable skills like compass reading, river crossing techniques and machete handling.
Any group going into the field brings a first aid kit and the survey leader gives a short safety briefing each time a group leaves the camp for a jungle trek. We also write down our names, activity and planned route on the whiteboard, as well as our intended return time. This means the Staff on Duty (SOD) knows exactly who is out in the field and can ensure that everyone is back and safe at the estimated time. If not, an emergency search will be triggered (fortunately, very rarely!)
The safety and well-being of everyone in the community is taken very seriously and ensures that the MLC is a happy and peaceful place to live and work.
Why not jump into jungle living
Have you ever considered being a volunteer for Crees in the Manu Biosphere Reserve? Do you want to meet interesting people and learn from them? You should definitely register.
Not only will you help the researchers understand how the rainforest regenerates and how to maintain its sustainability, you’ll also be able to share your own topics of interest and so will others in return.
My advice: if you can afford a month long mission (or even more), go for it!