For those who tried to apply last week, we apologize for the technical
difficulties on our website--some people said that they had trouble
downloading the Program Description. That problem has been fixed as of
today, April 22. The Program Description should now be download-able on our
website.
Applications for the summer internship session are due Tuesday, April 28.
We are working towards a sustainable future in the rainforest of Ecuador and
we need help! In 2007, a few of us—ecology, economics, and business
graduates—founded a non-profit 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 (Jama-Coaque
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), which also serves as our field headquarters
for biological scientific research and forest monitoring.
Project Activities: Interns are encouraged to take on high-impact and
dynamic projects; we are a young organization forging our path as we
discover it. There is a tremendous amount of work to be done and experience
to be gained – for interns and for us. Above all, creativity, innovation,
and self-motivation are the fuel of our intern program.
In addition to work managing the agroforestry production zone and organic
vegetable garden, each intern is assigned a personal project, which is akin
to a “thesis” of sort, but of a much more practical nature. Generally
speaking, there are three categories of personal projects: 1) conservation
biology research and 2) permaculture/sustainable food production and land
management, and 3) appropriate technology. The following is a list of
projects we’re looking to tackle during the upcoming summer session.
Flora & Fauna Research:
• Camera trap survey of wild felines (ocelot, margay, jaguarundi, puma)
• Herpetological inventory of sample plots in an
agroforestry/reforestation zone
• Ethnobotany* (requires strong Spanish-speaking skills)
Food Production
• Building a mushroom propagation system on natural logs
• Diversifying shade-grown cacao plots with supplemental agroforestry
food crops
• Design and plant an ornamental garden in and around the agroforestry
production zone
• Vegetable garden assistant
Appropriate Technology
• Design and build a bicycle-powered blender and grain grinder
• Design and build a solar food dehydrator
• Design and build a non-electrical refrigerator
• Working with natural materials (mainly, native bamboo) to build home
appliances (e.g., cutlery, etc.)
Summer Internship Dates: June 8 – August 3
Application Deadline: Tuesday, April 17
To see a complete program description, please visit our “Internship” page at
our website at www.tmalliance.org. Here you can download the application
form and contact details, as well as other media, such as the
intern-maintained blog, and the program FAQ.
We look forward to working with you!
Jordan Trujillo
Internship Coordinator
Third Millennium Alliance
Jama, Ecuador
www.tmalliance.org
