The Park:  Parque Machia was Inti Wara Yassi's first real home and houses around 700 animals of over 20 species.  The vast majority of these have been rehabilitated and are free to live in the park in natural societies without confinement.  The cats are walked every day on specially built trails and the monkeys are often heard and seen in the treetops, playing and foraging.

What you'll be doing:  Parque Machia is well established in terms of infrastructure and the majority of the work you will be doing is with the animals.  There is however a small amount of construction work you may be involved in, it could be trail clearing, making improvements to existing cages or perhaps doing a bit of new build work in the quarantine area.  The days are long and can be very tough but are incredibly rewarding, from cutting up tons of fruit for the monkeys to being taken on a walk by a Puma your experience will be unique, exciting and challenging.

Cost: We ask our volunteers to pay for their first 15 days on arrival, this payment can be made in dollars or Bolivianos. This is our main income, and the minimum we can feed and care for the animals on. It includes accommodation, kitchen, hot shower and common areas.  The prices vary due to the standard of the accomodation.

• For the first 15 days - US$158 - $190 at Parque Machía

• After your first 15 days -  US$6.5 - $8 a night at Parque Machía

• A 31 night package - $245 - $300 at Parque Machia

Transport:

• The refuge resides in the town Villa Tunari on the banks of the Espiritu Santo river. The town is located on the highway between the cities Cochabamba and Santa Cruz.
• From Cochabamba there are two ways to get to the refuge:
  • Take a bus from the central bus station that goes to Santa Cruz and simply ask the driver to get off the bus just after the Espiritu Santo bridge. It takes 4-6 hours and costs about US$7, or...
  • Take a minibus that leaves from the corner of Avenida Oquendo and Avenida 9 de Abril, takes about 3.5 hours and costs about $3. When you get to Villa Tunari ask the driver to get off just after the Espiritu Santo Bridge.
• From Santa Cruz you need to take a bus that goes to Cochabamba (from the central bus station, just make sure it goes through Villa Tunari and can stop off) and ask the driver to get off just before the Espiritu Santo Bridge. Journey takes around 6 hours.
• The refuge is about 500m east of Villa Tunari on the side of the road. Just ask anyone in town about the animal refuge ("refugio de animales" or "Parque Machía"). Just after the bridge you will see people sitting at the cafe and there will be a big painted sign on the side of the building saying Inti Wara Yassi and anyone about will be happy to welcome you to our community.

Facilities:

• There are shoe shops, second-hand clothes shops and pharmacies in the village (so no need to bring toilet roll etc) and a hospital nearby.
• There are several places from which to make international phone calls (4 B/min to the UK).
• Internet access in Villa Tunari is 'often reliable'!
• Tel: 591-44-136572 - try to call 7:30am (or 9:00am for people looking after the large cats) and 17:00 or 18:30.
• Banks - (Updated February 2010) there is an ATM in Villa Tunari but it is not currently working and we don't know when it will be fixed.  It’s not possible to exchange traveler’s cheques.
• To contact volunteers working at the refuge, we recommend that you try the refuge phone number above at the times above. Please be patient and persevere - the phone connection is occasionally unreliable, it is shared by lots of people, and volunteers may be some distance from the office. You could arrange to return a call at one of the telephone offices.  This line will generally be answered in Spanish and there are not always English speakers around to translate.

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Accommodation:

• There are several lodging alternatives included in your volunteering price, run by the refuge. Sheets are provided.
  
• A mosquito net can be bought in the village for around US$5.
• An extra padlock may be handy (small).
• Rooms are generally shared between two or three volunteers. We do our best to accommodate particular people's requests as soon as we can but cannot guarantee particular arrangements before you arrive. (Volunteer numbers and arrangements change constantly, quickly and informally.)
• Accommodation costs vary, as do standards from the very basic to the slightly basic.

Food:

• Food is not provided at Machía (it is at Ambue Ari), although breakfasts and lunches are sold there at the vegetarian cafe.
• Meals in restaurants are around 8Bs (there are also more expensive options).
• There are kitchen facilities available to volunteers included in your volunteering price.
• There are several shops where you can buy almost anything you need, including a large fresh produce market. The only things you cannot get here are decent cheese and more western type products. There is a supermarket in Cochabamba that sells even these, so a good place to stock up on route.
• Vegetarians or vegans may wish to stock up on some spices/sauces et cetera as local vegetarian fare is largely eggs and cheese. Some beans are available but best not to rely on them. You will want to have a city-break once a month or so.
• You cannot drink in the Park

What you'll spend:

• Breakfast and dinner together will be about US$2 and lunch at the local restaurant is about US$1-2. A bottle of beer is around US$1.

The cost of living is very cheap and an average volunteer spends about US$300 per month, however there is no reliable way of getting cash or cashing travellers’ cheques in town, so bring enough for your stay (Bolivianos or dollars are fine).

Villa Tunari:

• Villa Tunari has many hostels and restaurants. There is an ATM, internet cafe, hotels and a small market.

Children:

• The minimum age for volunteers is 18 (17 on referral) Children can also of-course tour the park and meet most of the animals - we regularly have children visiting (we run school programs throughout Bolivia).
  

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