Chinchillas are farmed for their fur all over the world (and sometimes kept as pets of course), which means that they are not exactly an endangered species; but chinchillas living in their natural habitat are becoming a thing of the past. In the wild they are unique to the stretch of the Andes between here, Bolivia and Peru, where it is thought that the long-tailed chinchilla species has already disappeared. I'm usually a bit wary of voluntary work because I want to know that I'm doing something useful and not just handing over money, but Save the Wild Chinchillas was a project that I felt more comfortable with - they only ask for help in exchange for free accommodation. It sounded a bit different, so I volunteered to spend a couple of weeks at their remote hill station in the Auco Desert.

The project is very small. Shortly after arriving in Illapel I was met by James, who turned out to be the only other person on site, and probably the only other English speaker in town. We spent the first few nights at the home of Tila and her family who also help out with the project. It was a great experience to stay with them - they were very welcoming, cooked all our food and gave me an opportunity to practice my Spanish; particularly on the night that some friends arrived with several crates of beer. Trying to talk nonsense in another language after a few cans does wonders for confidence! And when I say they arrived one night, here that means that they arrived well after midnight and left not long before dawn. Not much work was done that day, though I did help wire up a wash house whilst staying there.

We awaited the arrival of three more volunteers (Layla, Ben and Katie) before heading out of town to the station, since getting there and back is only possible by hitch-hiking in the trucks which head back and forth to the copper mines. Most of the work involves planting trees and shrubs to expand the habitat and food source for the chinchillas. During my time here I have planted 550 seeds and helped construct a cubicle for the otherwise open-air toilet. But the main headache is currently the water supply and irrigation system, since there has been no rain for a very long time. With little water and little budget, this is difficult to achieve.

We were joined by a few furry-tailed rodents in the evenings, scurrying around the hut. These are relatives of the chinchillas, but since the latter are nocturnal, the only ones we saw were in captivity. I found it very difficult to work in the heat of the desert, so after rounding off my stay with a couple of walks through the surrounding hills and official chinchilla reserve, I have hitch-hiked back to town with Layla and James with the intention of gradually moving back towards the more usual backpacker trail.

Posted from Vicuña, 13th Feb 2012