Congal Biological Reserve

Habitat and Location

Congal Station is located in the southern Esmeraldas province, about 15 minutes by boat from Muisne town. The station is divided into three different areas: Lagartera and the adjacent Chontaduro Protected Forest areas are located on the coastline, surrounded by mangroves, beach and native forest. The third location, Congal area, is on a mangrove island in the Muisne Estuary. All areas feature beach, estuarine, mangrove, wetland and wet tropical forest habitats which amount for the region's high biodiversity and local endemism. The Station is part of the Western Ecuador Choco-Darien biogeographical region which is the world's fourth Biodiversity Hotspot where less than 25% of original forest cover remains. Less than 30% of the mangrove in the area remains, and is under pressure from the shrimp industry. The station has an influence on over five hundred hectares of public owned mangroves and was the first mangrove reserve created in the Muisne area. The purpose of the Station is to develop projects in the fields of conservation, aquaculture, farming and forestry. These projects are intended to be implemented in local communities to provide sources of income and to reduce the pressure on already overexploited and threatened natural resources.

Accommodation

Volunteers stay at the volunteer house on the reserve. There is no hot water at Congal but after a hard days work in the reserve and the sun beating down, a cold shower is actually welcomed. The water isn't freezing as the water tank is on the roof, therefore the water is warmed up during the day by the heat of the sun. There is electricity at the station.

Volunteer Activities

Volunteer activities include:

• Mangrove and tropical forest restoration - to restore former mangrove ecosystems so that these continue producing environmental and social benefits.
• Biodiversity Inventories - focusing on key taxa, including vascular plants, birds, crustaceans, and fish.
• Ecological Aquaculture Ponds - aquaculture ponds are managed organically without the use of antibiotics and chemicals.
• Aquaculture Alternatives - in order to produce alternative income sources for local communities and for Ecuador's aquaculture industry, alternative aquaculture species are being researched at Congal.
• Clean-ups and Recycling - areas of mangrove forest exposed to rapid currents often collect considerable human garbage, and volunteers will participate in weekly mangrove and beach clean-ups.
• Agroforestry Local Initiatives - develop a model tree farm that includes valuable non-wood species (fruits, latex, etc.) and valuable native wood species to complement farmer's income, enhance biodiversity and promote conservation of steep slopes and watersheds.
• Community Social Development - improving social conditions of poor surrounding communities, teaching English, at the child day care center, cocoa nursery, and in community mingas.
• Community Economical Development - all projects first developed and successfully tried at Congal Station are aimed to be applied on the farms of interested community members. The goal is to empower local people so that they evaluate community participation and also propose their own productive projects in order to improve their living standards.
• Recreation: mangrove and tropical forest walks, horseback riding, canoe rides, and days off at Muisne, Bunche, Cabo San Francisco, Atacames or Sua beaches.

Free Time

During your spare time, you can visit neighbouring rainforest and beaches. The village of Bunche is very near, and after a hard day's work you can go to the "pub", and listen to Michael Jackson on the jukebox or participate in the salsa dancing on Saturday nights. For big party nights, you can visit the beach bars and sweaty nightclubs Atacames. If you like to relax more, you can make ornaments and trinkets out of tagua (a seed from a local tree), read and chill in the volunteer house, learn Spanish, or hang out with the reserve's dogs.

Number of Volunteers

The Congal reserve can hold up to 20 volunteers at any one time.

Spanish Requirements

Spanish is not essential, but volunteers will get more out of their time working at the reserve of they know a bit of Spanish. The manager speaks very good English, Spanish and German and can explain everything but the Ecuadorian workers with whom you spend most of the day speak very little or no English. They are very thoughtful and slow down their speech, so it's easy to pick up the gist of things.

To apply for this program, click here.

For a GVN article about mangrove issues in Ecuador, click here.

To return to the reserves page, click here.