Directions and General Information

Location, arriving and transport

The hacienda Picalqui is 1.5 km south of Tabacundo, one and a half hours north of Quito on the Pan-American highway .

To get here take any bus from Quito heading towards Otavalo from the bus station "Terminal Terrestre".

Ask for Picalquí / Tabacundo and pay $1.25. After the "Peaje Cochasquí" (a road toll), you will see blue and white signs on the right side of the road counting distance. At 40km you pass through a community called " La Esperanza ", at 41km you are 300m short of the foundation entrance (this is 1.5 kms before Tabacundo).

You can see a large yellow sign for “Picalqui” on the right hand side on the bend. Get off here and walk down the track, taking the left turn going downhill to reach our hacienda.

From Otavalo take any bus heading to Quito and get off 1.5 km after Tabacundo, about 1km after "El Control" (all bus drivers know this), 500m after a gas station on your right, and just a few hundred meters after the blue and white sign counting distance indicating 42km. The yellow “Picalqui” sign is on your left. The fare is $0.75.

For those staying a month or more, after the induction week we will arrange transport to the family in the community of your choosing.

The volunteers

The work can be quite physically demanding at times, but always enjoyable, as the campesinos are extremely friendly and relaxed. Therefore it is better if you are in good physical health, but far more important is your commitment and enthusiasm to do a good job. You will gain more from the program, and the community will benefit more from your efforts.

Please note that nobody at the hacienda, or in the communities speaks much English. Therefore at least a basic level of Spanish is required (remember communication is the key to this cultural experience), although you will have the opportunity to learn a lot more in the communities.

Useful things to bring

·Clothes to work in (you will get dirty!)
·Warm clothes (also light, quick drying clothes are useful in Intag and Puyo due to the humidity)
·Waterproof clothing (a poncho will be useful in Puyo)
·Swimming gear
·Sturdy shoes for working and walking in, and a pair for sport
·Rubber boots are required for Puyo (they can be bought there) and may be advisable depending on the season in Pedro Moncayo, Intag and Columbe
·Sun screen (factor 30 is advised due to the strong equatorial sun)
·Mosquito repellant (primarily for Intag and Puyo)
·Flash light
·Towel and wash kit

Services and communications

Pedro Moncayo: when you are staying in the communities you will find a telephone within around 15 minutes walk. In Tabacundo, there are restaurants and shops where you can by most things you may need and an internet café with international call facilities. Please note the nearest bank is in Cayambe and accepts some Mastercard and VISA accounts. Travellers cheques can only be exchanged in Otavalo).

Intag: some of the communities are quite isolated with the nearest services up to an hours walk away, whereas others have telephones. In the main populated center, Apuela, you will find phones (suitable for international calls), a few restaurants and also some shops. For cheap international calls, internet or banks you will need to travel to Otavalo or Cotacachi three hours away by bus. The nearest bank is in Otavalo as detailed above.

Columbe: there are no telephones in the communities of Columbe, but there are in the populated centers, a half hour walk away. There you can find small shops and also international call services. For internet or banks you will need to travel to Riobamba, an hour and a half away by bus.

Puyo: will be no more than an hour’s journey from your community and you will find all the facilities you may need. As a former trading centre it is a well developed town, with internet, banking (VISA, Mastercard, Cirrus), international call, hotels, restaurants and a raft of tourism opportunities.

Conduct in the communities

You should take into account that you will be staying in a very different culture to that of western countries and naturally we ask that you respect the customs of these communities. A basic rule of thumb is if they don't do it, neither do you.

An important point concerns money. Please avoid talking about salaries or any other comparative money matters with the locals; the levels of pay between developed countries and these campesinos are enormous and may be incomprehensible for them.

Health

The areas where we place volunteers are perfectly safe and without risk of tropical diseases (eg malaria, dengue). If you go to Puyo you need a vaccination against yellow fever. To avoid stomach upsets ensure that any water you drink has first been boiled (all the families are instructed in this aspect).

In case of problems there are various types of medical facilities available to each area, ranging from local doctors to medical centres where basic treatments can be received. For emergencies there are hospitals in Otavalo, Ibarra, Cayambe, Quito, Puyo and Ambato. You will be given an emergency contact phone number for a member of staff within the foundation for any eventuality.

Health Insurance

Volunteers must have their own health insurance that will cover any medical costs incurred, and when you arrive you will need to sign a waiver to release the FBU from any responsibility for any illness or accidents that may occur during your stay in Ecuador.

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