Madidi Travel

Placement organization

Name of organization: Madidi Travel
Town/city: La Paz / Rurrenabaque
Country: Bolivia
Website: http://www.madidi-travel.com

Student

Name of student: Bram van de Lande

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2011-2012

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Conservation organization operating sustainable tourism
Organization’s activities: Conservation/protection work and sustainable tourism in Bolivia
Target group of the organization: –
Company culture: Informal
Number of employees: 28
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? There is no real organizational structure, there is one boss, and the rest of the staff is divided in different fields like sales, marketing etc. but everything overlaps each other, student will work in all fields.
Brief description of your daily activities: Madidi traveling is a constantly developing organization where the student is able to implement his or her own ideas and expertise in for example marketing etc. daily activities are working on marketing, networking etc. making sales, assist in administration, preparing tours. The student needs to be able to show initiative and work independent.
Brief description of your company assignment: Work on service quality improvements, strengthen position of company and improve marketing.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Student needs to be able to be flexible in working hours, work independent and be able to show initiative and lead.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Leading skills, ability to work independent, flexibility.
Additional company requirements for this placement? Excel, word
English: Advanced
Spanish: Intermediate
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? In La Paz I rented my own Apartment, I found it in local newspapers. But staying in a hotel Is also very affordable. In Rurrenabaque I had my own room in a guesthouse.
How did you go to work every day? In La Paz with taxis ( very cheap ), in Rurrenabaque on foot.

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No ( only tourism visa ) after that just stay ilegally and pay 1 euro fine per day, thats cheaper and easier than to apply for a visa
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: I did not
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents?
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance?

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? Yes
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? Yes, I followed mine at Pico Verde Language school in La Paz for 5 EUR per hour (private class)

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 1200,00
Accommodation (monthly): € 200,00
Local transport (monthly): € 50,00
General costs of living (monthly): € 250,00
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? EUR 75,00 per month

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did some reading
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Yes, the organizational culture of Madidi Travel is different than those in Europe, there is open communication between all staff members and lacks structure. Also the way of work is different, it´s basically all a bit more relaxed

Future students on placement

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

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: –
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Check lonely planet… Bolivia is the most diverse country on the planet.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link