Last Friday,  volunteers of the house participated at the local fair of Riberalta for the tourism week. All volunteers participated and added their personal touch and knowledge. It was also the perfect occasion for them to discover self-made products made by the Riberaltenos. For exaple jewels, home decoration, and other accessories, created from local materials such as wood, walnut shells, berries such as Acai and even more strange products like fish bones. This was an opportunity for us to present our work as volunteers, but also to present the Aquicuana reserve to the locals. Aquicuana Reseve is located 20 kilometers […]Read More »

In Riberalta, children invariably go through the same rites of passage as they grow older. First they learn how to crawl. Then they learn how to walk. Then they learn how to ride motorcycles. Indeed, if one were to sit down to enjoy an ice-cold acai in the main plaza, one would immediately notice the robustness of the motorcycle culture here. In the evenings, teenagers and elders alike double up on their bikes and circle the palm-lined streets, chatting away about their day as they collectively participate in a massive, swirling, end-of-day ritual. The matter in which riberaltenos ride motorcycles […]Read More »

The Amazon is known as the lungs of our planet, since 20% of the oxygen in the atmosphere is thanks to this large area of ​​forests and rainforests. It is so immense and with such biodiversity, that 25% of the world’s species are found in the Amazon. It is so important also because it is the main climate regulator in South America. That means, any degradation is another point for climate change. The trending topic of the week: The Amazon burns. In Brazil, in Paraguay, in Bolivia. Most of the fires that have occurred in Chiquitania, have been caused by […]Read More »

Bolivia, one of the 15 most mega-diverse countries on the planet, has a National Protected Areas System with 22 national protected areas covering over 15% of its national territory. In addition, and complementary to the national system, Bolivia also has departmental, municipal and private protected areas. Working closely with Aquicuana Reserve, in the Beni department of Bolivia, we wanted to go back on the importance of those protected areas … (especially at these times at risk).  Background information:  Bolivia’s National Protected Areas System aims at conserving the natural and cultural patrimony of the country, and improving the quality of life […]Read More »

One of the situations that was the most striking for me in Riberalta was to see girls with babies in their arms. Many times, I thought they were girls taking care of their little brothers and sisters, but when I saw them breastfeeding, I understood they were their children. Teen pregnancy rate in Bolivia is high. According to the most recent studies, 18% of teenagers (15 to 19 years old) in the country are pregnant or already mothers. That is a rate of 88 young women giving birth per thousand women.   However, in the department of Beni there is […]Read More »

Motorbikes, motorbikes, motorbikes and even more motorbikes. Walking? No. It’s the first observation that caught my attention when I arrived in Riberalta. The fascinating natural wealth of the Bolivian Amazon cannot boast of having public transport. However, motorbikes are not just individual transports. In Riberalta, the seat is always optimized, helmets don’t even exist, four-people families share on bike. In addition, it would be interesting to determine whether they use sunglasses to prevent a potential infection in the eye due to the red and dusty roads or to seduce. It is also curious to note that almost all citizens have […]Read More »

Going to the Pampas of Yacuma was a coincidence of the destiny and turned out to be a “must” on the checklist if you are in the Bolivia. I had heard about Madidi Park in Rurrenabaque, but never about this hidden gem in the depths of Santa Rosa del Yacuma, a small city located about 8 hours from Riberalta (with the roads here, everything is relative as to the distances). This municipal protected area was created in 2007 and covers a bit more than 616, 000 hectares, a huge Bolivian savanna with a great biodiversity of species that live in […]Read More »