Have you ever thought about spending your holidays or a time-out from your everyday life doing something meaningful? What if this ‘something meaningful’ means being a volunteer in Brazil? Brazil is the largest country on the South American continent and thus offers multiple and variable areas that need your help. Brazil has, on the one hand, the second highest rate of deforestation, and, on the other hand, a huge flora and fauna, and because of that volunteering in environmental protection programs is a great opportunity to do this ‘something meaningful’.
To give you a good overview of what being a volunteer in Brazil means, this guide will provide you with information about the country’s social projects as well as the costs and precautions necessary. Furthermore, it will show you how you can spend your free time with different activities and traveling.
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- Brazil’s capital Brasilia, looks like an aeroplane from above.
- There’s an underground river 4 km beneath the Amazon River, that might be as long, but hundreds of times wider.
- The Bororo People of Brazil are one of the few groups of people where all have the same blood type: “0”.
- There’s an island in Brazil where civilians are forbidden to got to: It has up to 5 snakes per square metre.
- 3 of the 5 wealthiest people in Brazil got rich off beer.
- In 1958, a rhinoceros was a candidate in the city council elections in Sao Paulo.
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Social Projects in Brazil
Animals
Approximately 700 new animal species are discovered each year in Brazil. You can be a part of this amazing experience and help the researchers and conservationists in taking care of these exiting new discoveries as well as of the animals that are endangered. Different stations of your volunteering experience can be animal rescue centers and veterinary medicine as well as the animal’s natural habitat. Moreover, one of your tasks can be to collect data that will be important for future missions to safe certain species from and to prevent their extinction.
Nature and Environment
In addition to the great amount of animals discovered each year, there is also a new species of plants discovered almost every other day! Brazil offers such a great diversity of natural phenomena that just wait for you to discover, document and eventually take care of. Furthermore, due to deforestation, the need to plant new trees and to prepare the land for planting has grown. As a volunteer in Brazil, you could be helping to reforest the lands, prepare seedlings and to register reforesting data to keep track of the improvements made.
Community and Education
Even though Brazil is mostly known for its Carnival, its beautiful beaches and the Amazon River, there are communities that do need support. As a volunteer you can help with the integration from people who have recently moved from poor areas into cities, built up communal vegetable gardens and parks, host fundraising events and participate and lead English lectures. You will be an active part of the improvement of a community’s infrastructure as well as of the creation of secure and productive learning environments. These aspects are very important for the sustainability and development of the various fields of improvement.
It has been a wonderful experience and I hope I can come back some day – Lillian (22), from the United States of America.
Living costs for a volunteer in Brazil
To get the most out of your volunteer trip, you should provide a certain travel budget and not only the required project fees. Depending on where you go, be sure to calculate a daily budget from $ 12 up to $ 35. The following table provides an overview about additional costs that might be important for your trip.
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| Hotel $ 78.81 |
Big Mac® $ 3.10 |
Coca-Cola® $ 0.88 |
Eating out $ 13.80 |
Rental car $ 431.76/week |
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| Hostel $ 19,54 |
Marlboro™ $ 1.46 |
Beer $ 1.92 |
Fuel $ 0.79 |
Public transport $ 0.80 |
Best time to volunteer in Brazil
In contrast to the northern hemisphere’s seasons, Brazil’s winter months are from May till September and its summer months are from December till March. However, within the country are 5 distinct climactic regions: equatorial, tropical, semi-arid, highland tropical and subtropical. Rainfall varies greatly throughout the year and has a significant effect on what time of year is best for travel to and volunteering in Brazil’s different regions.
Spring (Oct – Dec)
October is a transitional month in almost all Brazilian climate zones. The temperatures are now warmer and precipitation levels are increasing in most places. It’s a good season to visit the bigger cities and to start engaging in beach activities.
Summer (Jan – March)
This is the season of fun and entertainment, of festivals and coasts and beaches. The temperatures can rise up to 40 °C (104 °F). Pretty much all regions of the country are good to go to during the summer, but if you like it not too humid and hot the south and the southeast region are your preferable destinations.
Autumn (April)
April is a another transitional month in many parts of Brazil. It’s not the best time to go to the north and north-eastern tropical beaches; it’s a wet month with high humidity and heavy rainfalls.
Winter (May – Sep)
It is an excellent time to visit the Amazon, the Pantanal and the Lencois Maranhenses. It’s a relatively dry season, with pleasant temperatures in the tropical areas, the air and seawater.
What precautions should I consider as a volunteer in Brazil?
Going abroad always includes some issues and precautions that need to taken into account, especially if you are traveling to a country with tropical temperatures and wilderness.
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- Carry in your wallet only the money that you will need for that day, and leave the rest in a safe in your hotel/hostel room together with credit/debt cards, air tickets and passport.
- Don’t stay in extremely cheap accommodation, as the owners won’t probably be prepared to deal with foreigners. Also, a few things may not be as safe as they should: windows and door locks, food, electric showers…
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[item title=”Health”]
- Make sure to renew or get the vaccines recommended for Brazil.
- Watch out for Mosquitos because of Malaria and Yellow Fever.
- Make sure to buy and drink bottled or boiled water because of Hepatitis A and Typhiod.
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- Religion in Brazil is as diverse as its people.
- Brazil’s constitution establishes a secular government, where citizens are free to choose their religion.
- However, the country is mostly made up of adherents to Roman Catholicism but there are, for example, spiritualists, muslims, and bantu/voodoo adherents as well.
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[item title=”Law”]
- Smoking in public places is forbidden apart from these five exceptions:
- Religious cults where smoking is part of the ritual
- Tobaccoshops
- Film studios
- Research and Development laboratories for smoking products
- Health care institutions, when the doctor allows the patient to smoke
- Women being topless at the beach can be regarded as a legal offense in Brazil.
- The majority of Brazilian states have a law that forbids the use of helmets or any other type of object or piece of cloth covering the face of individuals upon entering a public or private premise.
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[item title=”Essential Packing”]
Your packing list should be as diverse as Brazil’s geography.
- A sweatshirt for cold bus rides (they get VERY cold!).
- Long pant pajamas for cold bus rides and to protect you from mosquito bites at night.
- Locks for hostel lockers / your bags.
- Good walking or hiking shoes for different terrains.
- comfortable short clothes for the hot and humid days.
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Key Phrases
With Portuguese as its national language, here a some key phrases to simplify your stay:
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Hello: olá (oh-LAH)
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Goodbye: adeus (ah-DEE-oosh)
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Thank you: obrigado/a (oh-bree-GAH-doh/dah)
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How to spend your free time as a volunteer in Brazil
Since you are at this point very well informed about the volunteering facts in Brazil it is about high-time to learn about all the free time-activities this amazing country offers. Get to know the cultural and natural diversity, travel along the Amazon River or join one of the biggest parties in the world, namely the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.
Natural Need-to-see-places
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Fernando de Noronha is a beautiful archipelago with pristine beaches, landscapes and wildlife, situated 354 km (220 miles) off the northeastern coast in Brazil. The islands are a Mecca for divers and snorkelers with warm waters year-round and very good visibility even at depths of 50 meters. [/item]
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The Pantanal is the world’s largest wetland, lying mostly in Western Brazil but extending into Bolivia and Paraguay as well. Famous for its wildlife, it is one of Brazil’s major tourist attractions. [/item]
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At approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) the Amazon River is the second longest river in the world, just slightly shorter than the Nile, and the largest river by volume. The Amazon has over 3,000 recognized species of fish and new species are still being discovered. The Amazon Basin is covered by half of the planet’s remaining rainforests. [/item]
[item title=”The Iguaçu Falls “] 
One of the great natural wonders of the world, the Iguaçu Falls are situated on the border between Brazil and Argentina. The waterfall system consists of 275 falls along the Iguaçu River. The most impressive of them all is the Devil’s Throat, a U-shaped waterfall with a height of 82 meter (269 ft). [/item]
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Sights and Cities
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Christ the Redeemer is the famous statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro. Located at the peak of the 700 meters (2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain, the Christ the Redeemer statue stands 39.6 meters (130 ft) tall, including its 9.5 meters (31 ft) pedestal and has become an icon of Rio and Brazil. [/item]
[item title=”Teatro Amazonas”]
Teatro Amazonas or Amazon Theatre is an opera house located in Manaus, in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest. It was built during the heyday of rubber trade using materials from all over the world, with furniture from Paris, marble from Italy, and steel from England. On the outside of the building, the dome was covered with 36,000 decorated ceramic tiles painted in the colors of the Brazilian national flag. [/item]
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One of Brazil’s best-preserved colonial towns, Ouro Preto, meaning “black gold”, was founded at the end of the 17th century. The city contains well preserved Portuguese colonial architecture, while modern buildings must adhere to historical standards maintained by the city. 18th- and 19th-century churches decorated with gold and the sculptured works of Aleijadinho make Ouro Preto one of the most popular tourist attractions in Brazil. [/item]
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Festivals
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[item title=”Carnival Celebrations”] 
There are carnival celebrations in virtually every corner of Brazil, the best-known ones taking place in Recife together with the neighboring Olinda and Salvador. But the biggest and most famous carnival is undoubtedly the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The Rio Carnival attracts two million people per day on the streets and almost half a million foreigners during its 4 day celebration. The Carnival is all over the place, in the streets and squares, bars, clubs and all other venues in Rio. [/item]
[item title=”Parintins Folklore Festival “] 
This festival is held in the state of Amazonas and is the second-largest annual festival in the country. It is held over three days during late June and celebrates a legend about an ox that was resuscitated. [/item]
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Food
Because Brazil is such a melting pot of colours, languages and customs, its cuisine is similarly varied. In addition, the various types of dishes and ingredients used depend on the geographical location within Brazil. Therefore, as a volunteer in Brazil you will be able to experience loads of new and exciting dishes.
In general, root vegetables are commonly used. Fruits grow well in the tropical and sub-tropical conditions and are also, therefore, used extensively, even in savoury cooking. Mangos, papayas (also known as paw paws), guavas, granadillas and pineapples are all firm favourites.
These make for delicious dishes, whether savoury or sweet. Many dishes use rice or beans as a staple or base ingredient, since these are widely available, filling and fairly nutritious. Common meats include beef, pork and different kinds of fish and seafood.
Breakfasts are often fruit-based and refreshing. In general, lunch is the main meal of the day and, therefore, the largest and most filling.
Volunteer Requirements
- For most programs, you should be at least 18
- You should speak English at a basic level
- Especially when working with kids, you should provide a health declaration
- In some cases, a criminal background check is demanded
How to find Volunteer Opportunities in Brazil
Excited about your various opportunities as a volunteer in Brazil? Explore volunteer programs in Brazil and find your very own volunteer opportunity abroad on Volunteer World. Featuring more than 500 volunteer programs and over 600 social projects in 70+ countries, Volunteer World is a one-stop resource for volunteer abroad opportunities. This platform is all about bringing simplicity and transparency to the international volunteer industry.
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