The Simple Things - Life on an Amazon Reserve

During her time as a volunteer in the remote Ecuadorian Amazon, Kaya Barker worked to develop and maintain the biodiversity that is crucial to this area, and is constantly under threat from habitat destruction and over-exploitation.

The Amazon Biological Station was founded in 1986, creating a conservation, investigation and education centre to host scientists and students interested in preserving tropical rainforest. This band of wet forest is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. As a volunteer Kaya had the opportunity to learn firsthand from a live collection of the most important and endangered plants of the area.



But, according to Kaya, the most important thing she learnt from her volunteer experience is that sometimes it’s the simple things that really matter. Upon reflection, Kaya noted, “time always seems so precious at home as there are so many distractions and things going on, it feels good to get away from it all for a while”.

Of course, when you ‘get away from it all’ in the Amazon jungle, there are a few other lessons it’s worth learning as well! In a journal she kept of her experiences, Kaya wrote

“After spending a couple of weeks in the jungle there are several things that become part of every day life. You get used to the slightly damp odour of your clothes in the morning and waking up with yet another scratch from something that bit you in the night. Checking the toilet for any giant insects or spiders before intrepidly entering becomes second nature before long. Dodging the never ending ant trails crossing every path becomes a skill you can’t live without. You slowly become accustomed to routines of the reserve, early mornings at 6am, lazy afternoon siestas in the hammocks and bracing yourself for freezing cold showers after a hard days work.”


In another entry, she writes

“There are researchers staying [with us] in the rainforest, one guy is obsessed with snakes and goes on jungle walks every night to find and photograph different species. It’s been amazing as we’ve had the opportunity to see some deadly snakes as well as holding and touching the ones that aren’t able to kill you.”

But the life of a volunteer is not all hard work and creepy crawlies:

“Our evenings are spent getting to know everyone at the reserve; we play lots of games and enjoy deep discussion while chilling in the hammocks. We spend hours comparing each other’s cultures and taking the piss out of their idiosyncrasies. There’s also lots of time for reading, reflecting and relaxing!”

Kaya’s time in the Amazon allowed her to venture deep into the jungle, where communities of indigenous peoples continue to live relatively traditional lives amongst the natural beauty of the jungle.

“We spent our days hiking around the small slippery slopes of the jungle, up and down hills, over streams and rocks, from high up on the riverbanks to low down by the waterside. We passed by small communities along the way and watched small children fishing for food in the shallow parts of the river. Following a night of heavy rain the river swelled to a gushing torrent and we were no longer able to bath in the cooling waters as the current would have swept us away. It was a beautiful sight to observe, so powerful and mighty.”

It wasn’t all easy living in the Amazon, to be sure, but Kaya found that the peace and tranquillity of the jungle was hard to resist:

“It is not until you leave that you realise that things were once different in a far away place.”