SOS Tartarugas

Placement organization

Name of organization: SOS Tartarugas
Town/city: Santa Maria
Country: Afrika
Website: http://sostartarugas.org

Name of student: Jolijn Sophie Janssen

Specialist area: TM
Placement period: 2013-2014

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Non-profit organization
Organization’s activities: Protects the Loggerhead turtles on Sal, Turtle Walks with tourists, Stargazing tours, Bird watching tours and morning walks where the endangered nests are getting relocated.
Target group of the organization: All-inclusive hotel guests
Company culture: very informal, a big group of Rangers that work together with the same goal; protect the turtles. Also a lot of different nationalities and backgrounds.
Number of employees: 40
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? I am working as a Tourism Ranger.
Brief description of your daily activities: I give Turtle Walks every evening, work in the shop and in the Hatchery during the day. Also releasing baby turtles and doing nest excavations.
(Hatchery is a fenced area on the beach where the endangered nests are going to)
Brief description of your company assignment: No company assigment – no time to do that.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The Tourism Team has a Supervisor and with all your questions and problems, you can go to her.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Flexible, stress-proof and teamplayer
Additional company requirements for this placement? Writing skills (English) and Oral skills (English)
English: Advanced
Spanish: Basic
French: Basic
German: Intermediate
Italian: Basic
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane and taxi

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Company
How did you go to work every day? by foot

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? yes, a tourism VISA (they are not that strict here)
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: the Cape Verde Consulate in Rotterdam
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? a couple of days
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? three months

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? No

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 600
Accommodation (monthly): € 0
Local transport (monthly): € 0
General costs of living (monthly): € 250
Costs of visa: € 40
Costs of work permit: € 0
What did the company pay for/to you? Accomodation

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I read a lot of reviews on Tripadvisor and Zoover, bought a travel book from Cape Verde (Sal) and read the blog from the student that was here last year.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? no

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: jolijn_janssen@msn.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Bring a lot of suncream, deodorant and shampoo – that is very expensive here. Also vegetables and fruits are very expensive; everything needs to be imported from other islands.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: A lot of possibilities: surfing, paddle boarding, diving, snorkeling, island tour, restaurants, bars etc.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link