Victoria’s Kalu Yala Internship!

♥ Update! ♥

Arrived in Panamá last night and taken aback by the generosity and beauty here. Hitched a ride to Ciudad de Panama and will be staying here 3 nights before heading south to explore a restoration and permaculture project. Looking forward to sleeping under the stars in the trusty ol' hammock. Simple life is the good life.
Thank you to the moon and back, all you wonderful people that have given your support to make this possible! The fund will continue to be open with hope of being able to repay the loan that I've had to take. Peace be with you my friends!

Hello dear friends, family, and wonderful strangers!

With a whole lot of gratitude and excitement, I've got happy news that I've been accepted to the Biology Internship at Kalu Yala! This is a village in the Panamanian rainforest that is being built upon principles of sound ecological consideration, community integration and sustainable innovation.

During the three months of the internship, I will be conducting biological research on the flora and fauna of the surrounding habitat, turning a keene eye upon how we depend upon, interact with and influence nature. Kalu Yala lies in a forest valley where cattle ranching and guava plantations once dominated the land. The people behind Kalu Yala are restoring key ecosystem functions of the land, whilst becoming a hub for creative expression, community development, and agricultural activism amongst many things.

I can't wait to have this place be my home and to become a part of the family that Kalu Yala is!

In the weeks leading up to the start of the program, I will be spending my time in Panama City taking an intensive language course and exploring biological hotspots across the country, hopefully visiting some of Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's research stations and centres. In this way I hope to be well versed in Panamanian culture and nature and thus be of best service to the conservation of both.

However, I need your kind help to make it happen! Though I have been accepted, I must fund the internship by my own means. As some of you may know, I'm currently on a sabbatical from my Master studies in Nature Management at the University of Copenhagen. I've had to wave farewell to my work at the university since I am not actively studying this year, and my cleaning job doesn't come close to covering rent, let alone supporting this Panamanian dream.

Tuition is due in just over a month and flights from Copenhagen must be booked soon as well. I'll be eternally grateful for your donations, no amount is insignificant! Rest assured that any surplus will go directly to a charity or cause that supports the continued conservation of Panama's precious nature.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Mucho amor,

Victoria

p.s. Check out the amazing Kalu Yalans at work here!

https://www.instagram.com/kaluyala/

https://kaluyala.com/