Thanks to Birthright Earth and its affiliates, Trevor Adams and myself, Jeff Strittmatter, were given the opportunity to volunteer at the Manu Wildlife Center, an eco-tourist lodge in the Peruvian Amazon.

Our first of three months has already passed and we have thoroughly enjoyed each and every minute of our stay here.  Our daily routine allows us to gain phenomenal insight into the people, animals and lowland jungle of Peru.

Trevor and I spend the majority of the day with our coworker, Santos.  Santos comes from a local indigenous tribe, the Machiguengas. He is one of the 20 or so workers who live across the river on an island (their request for reasons of privacy) whose jobs are to navigate the riverboats for tourists and maintain the trails in the surrounding area.  Approximately 90 percent of these workers have roots in the Machiguenga tribe.  Hiring the members of this local tribe is important for several reasons. It prevents them from pursuing jobs that are harmful to the environment, such as poaching and logging.   The exportation and sale of exotic birds is now illegal in Peru.  Poaching of this type in the past has had long lasting diminishing effects on the population of these animals (due a high demand in the US for these birds at pets) and will continue to effect their populations if alternative forms of employment are not available.  By providing these families with sufficient income to feed and educate their children properly, it deters them from resorting to these other types of employment that are harmful to the environment and the surrounding ecosystem.

Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to get to know these people very well.  They are all great workers and extremely friendly.  They are even gracious enough to allow me to participate in their weekly Sunday afternoon soccer game. Every morning when I arrive to their island I’m sure to be met with a gigantic smile and a firm handshake from any of the workers I encounter. In the future I’d like to continue seeing smiles on their faces while at the same time keeping them out of the jungle hunting or logging.

See it, Save it

- Jeff