We are building a sustainable research center in the rainforest of Ecuador and we need help. In 2007 a few of us ecology, economics, and business graduates, from both Ecuador and the United States founded a nonprofit organization called Third Millennium Alliance. We raised some money and bought a lot of land in a critically-endangered rainforest and established an ecological reserve. There was a small patch of previously-degraded land right in the middle, where we have built an innovative and surprisingly comfortable research station out of bamboo, by hand. Immediately surrounding the house we are designing/growing/building a living laboratory of sustainable resource management (i.e. permaculture). Our goal is 100% food self-sufficiency within 10 years. So far, were maybe 15% of the way there. This is also a testing ground for appropriate technology, such as off-the-grid renewable energy, water treatment and management, organic pesticide production, etc. With the nearby community, we are experimenting with reforestation of ex-cattle pasture and eco-tourism alternatives.
SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM: Help from interns has been a big part of our success so far, but there is a lot more work to be done. Although our internship program is open year-round, this year we are putting together a special 2-month summer program. The first month will be spent familiarizing yourself with the tropical climate, the Bamboo House research station, the production system, the forest, and the community. An introductory course to permaculture and tropical agroforestry will be given by a trio of instructors American, Ecuadorian, and Cuban. You will also get your hands dirty right away harvesting semi-wild oranges and bananas in the cloudforest, tending to the seedlings in the nursery, preparing soil, building a clay oven as a group, producing chocolate from home-grown cacao, harvesting and processing coffee by hand, etc. Once you have a feel for the system, you will need to choose your Primary Project, which is akin to a thesis, but of a practical nature. For your Primary Project, you will design something, construct it, and write an operating manual for it. Or, if it is a forestry or biology project, you will design the protocol and find and record the data and publish a report. Past projects include a slow sand water filtration system, butterfly inventory, rocket stove, tree nursery, renewable energy feasibility analysis, worm compost system, terraced ornamental garden, and a short film documentary, among others. We are mostly looking for undergraduate and graduate students. To learn more, please visit our website at www.3malliance.org. From the homepage, you can download a full program description. And if you are interested, please email us at [email protected]; there are only a total of 4 positions available.
