Many opportunities exist for volunteers , though most require you to pay your own way for food and accommodation and to stay for at least a month, with a donation of around $200 going towards food and lodging. Reasonable Spanish skills will usually be needed for any kind of volunteer work with communities, and a background in science for research work. Someone without these skills should still be able to find places quite easily, especially in conservation work demanding a degree of hard toil, such as reforestation or trail clearing in a reserve. You can arrange to volunteer either from home or on arrival in Ecuador; we've listed a number of organizations, but it's also worth checking with SAE.

For more information on "gap year" volunteering schemes, visit www.yearoutgroup.org .

Language schools
One-to-one Spanish lessons arranged in Ecuador cost no more than $5 an hour, offering tremendous value for money to prospective learners. Most language schools are based in Quito , with a few in other smaller tourist centres. You'll normally have lessons for the whole morning or afternoon (sometimes both), and there are often social activities arranged in the evenings. To immerse yourself totally in the language, homestays arranged through the language school are a good idea, sometimes costing as little as $10 a day for accommodation and meals. You can arrange Spanish courses in Ecuador from home, but it's unlikely to be as cheap as doing it when you get there.

For arranging lessons and stays in advance, contact Amerispan , PO Box 40007, Philadelphia, PA 19106-0007 in the US (US tel 215/751-1100, US and Can tel 1-800/879-6640, fax 215/751-1986, www.amerispan.com ) or CESA Languages Abroad , Western House, Truro TR1 1SQ in the UK (tel 01872/225300, fax 225400, www.cesalanguages.com ).

Work
Being an English speaker, the only type of job you can expect to get with relative ease in Ecuador is as an English-language teacher . It's usually stipulated that English should be your native tongue for these posts, but completely fluent non-native speakers shouldn't have much difficulty. Don't expect to be paid very much, unless you have a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) or similar qualification, which will give you greater bargaining power. It's best to find work before arrival, as you'll have to have a work visa which costs $200 - enough to put most people off in the first place.

A good contact for information on teaching, working or volunteering abroad is the British Council in the UK, at 10 Spring Gardens, London SW1A 2BN (tel 020/7389 4931, fax 7389 4140), who often have teaching vacancies at their centre in Quito, and also produce a comprehensive fact sheet of resources, including helpful publications and relevant organizations.