The Cultural Centre La Mariposa Project for Disabled Children Organic Huerta English Classes for Children in the barrio of Panama Rubén Darío Primary School The Health Clinic Canada Honda - 140 acres of wilderness nature reserve La Reserva - our "urban" nature reserve Work with La Mariposa rescued animals Cookery in La Mariposa kitchen One off projects Hydro-therapy with disabled children Volunteers helping to rescue Caicique, an elderly working horse Help plan events such as this march integrating differently abled children The Cultural Centre: As a volunteer at the cultural centre you will help the children work on certain skills including making piñatas, sewing, painting, crocheting and reforesting local land. The aim of the cultural centre is to teach children transferable skills that they can use to make some money and improve their situations. In this role an interest in children and art would be preferable. Working hours: 8am-11am or 2pm-5pm La Mariposa Project for Disabled Children: As a La Mariposa Project for Disabled Children volunteer, you would play with the children, do art with them and help out at their equine therapy and hydrotherapy sessions. If you are able to help with physical therapy or have any specialist knowledge which can contribute to the development of this project, that would be greatly appreciated! Working hours: 2pm - 5pm Organic Huerta: Come and help work at our organic huerta (vegetable patch) and learn how to maintain an organic garden with a variety of vegetables and herbs using traditional methods derived from permaculture principles. As a volunteer you will be weeding, watering, composting, transplanting and building beds. We encourage helpful insects and other wildlife by planting flowers and "weeds". The produce you help tend is served at the Mariposa so you will get the satisfaction of eating what you've helped grow. This placement would be perfect for someone with an interest in plants or organic gardening and a love of the outdoors/ isn't afraid to get their hands dirty. Working hours: 8am-11.30am Volunteers watering the organic garden English Classes for Children in the barrio of Panama: English Classes at Panama Primary School This project started in April 2017 and is one of the most popular children’s projects. Children from the ages of 4 years can attend and they are offered English classes as well as – for the very young ones – some fun activities as well. Volunteers can help directly with giving classes or working with the teachers to develop an appropriate curriculum Working hours: 1:30pm to 4:30pm Ruben Dario Primary School: You can help out in the classrooms or work with smaller groups in the library. You can help the children by reading to them or by helping them with their homework. If you enjoy reading and working with kids, this would be a fantastic volunteering experience for you. This school also has an organic garden which appreciates volunteer help. Working hours: 8am-11.30am La Clínica de Salud: This volunteer placement is available to individuals with medical qualifications or experience working in the health field and a basic/ intermediate level of Spanish. The work involves assisting the nurses with routine cleaning and paperwork, administration of injections and accompanying them to home-preventative education sessions. In this role you will get to experience first-hand how health care services operate in a country with little resources. You will be required to present your medical certificate or a letter of reference from your school or work in order to partake in this placement. We also work with their Natural Health Clinic – they can take volunteers with experience in massage, using herbal remedies etc. Working hours: 8am-11am or 2pm-3pm Natural Health Clinic team Canada Honda: We have purchased 140 acres of land which was quickly disappearing due to illegal logging and the ever growing demand for Dragon-fruit and Pineapple for export. Key Springs have been left to dry up and precious timber left to rot. We purchased this land in order to save a huge expanse of virgin forest and reforest areas already impacted by deforestation. Work on this project is seasonally dependent and for the most part involve reforestation. La Soya Community Centre: La Soya was set up to provide a communal space in the area by El Piscacho study centre which would offer a range of activities for local people. Volunteers at La Soya work in the afternoons with children and help them draw, paint, play games, read and learn English. If you have an interest in arts and crafts and would like to help the children with their English you would be perfectly suited to this placement. Working hours: 2pm-5pm La Reserva: The Reserve is located a ten minute walk away from La Mariposa. Volunteers here help to reforest trees (in season), work in the "jardin de hortaliza" to grow organic lettuce, corn, beans and wheat and work on general maintenance of the reserve. There is also a garden of medicinal plants and opportunities to help us preserve the wildlife (building bat houses, for example). If you would like to spending your days outdoors and want to do something that has a positive impact on the environment, this placement is for you. Working hours: 8am-11.30am or 2pm-5pm Work with La Mariposa animals: La Mariposa has a range of rescued animals that we care for both here at La Mariposa and at our study centre at El Piscacho. As a volunteer you would help to care for our rescued dogs, horses, monkeys, and birds that we have been unable to release into the wild and so live on site. This role includes handling the animals, feeding them, bathing them and general maintenance of their enclosures. Working hours: 7am - 9am and 2pm-5pm Cooking: Working in the Mariposa kitchen alongside our wonderful kitchen staff you will get to practice your Spanish and learn a lot about Nicaraguan food. We ask volunteers to offer practical help but also offer recipe ideas for how to use our organic produce; we are also planning on writing a cookbook. Anyone with an interest in cooking and learning about Nicaraguan food would be perfect for this placement; a good level of Spanish would be helpful. Working hours: 7am - 10am One off Projects: At any time, we might be asked to repaint a school building, help re roof a house or reforest public land. At times we also have eco building projects going on. We also often need help taking photographs or making information sheets. Ask us if you are interested in anything out of the ordinary! We also welcome ideas and suggestions from volunteers and volunteers with particular talents should talk to us about doing something different and innovative. Anything from helping the cooks try out new recipes or working with Luis to paint a mural in our entrance way highlighting the environmental problems we are facing. Eco building Painting a mural