Introducing IPBio´s Volunteer Coordinator: Imran Viroomal

Welcome to the IPBio volunteer blog! My name is Imran Viroomal and I am the volunteer coordinator of IPBio. As prospective volunteers will work alongside me I thought it would be a good idea to start this blog off by introducing myself. I will then recount the tale of how I came to discover IPBio and the town of Iporanga which I now consider home.

So first, who am I? This sounds like the type of question that is screamed up at the sky on a miserably rainy night while someone is going through some tumultuous soul-searching. I will try and stick to the facts.

I am originally Indian, British, Bangladeshi and Spanish. I think the scientific name for this is a mutt. I was born in Spain, lived in the UK for 9 years, in Portugal for another 9, then moved to Canada to study at McGill University and then decide to relocate to South America which I will explain in more detail below.

I believe that speaking both Spanish and Portuguese along with the fact that my formative teenage years were based in Portugal has given me a certain affinity to the Latin culture. Additionally, my political leanings always made South America attractive to me as it appeared to be the last stronghold of international left. However, what really cemented my desire to live on this great continent was when I began to develop a passion for science, biology and nature. The Ecuadorian Galapagos represented my intellectual endeavour to understand the mechanistic force of evolution as well as my appreciation of the natural beauty that ensues. I was mesmerized by Darwin’s idea. How such a simple process could produce such stunning complexity. The Amazon represented my passion for wildlife but simultaneously it was a symbol of the importance of conservation in a world where there is a lack of political will to act on climate change despite the troubling facts.

I had chosen the continent but couldn’t decide on the country. Not to mention, I needed to find a job so I could sustain myself when I went through with this master plan. At this point I was back in the UK working for a non-profit which dealt with health and social care. I managed to save up 6,000 pounds in a couple of months and it was finally time to venture out. With no job secured, I decide to travel and volunteer in South America in hopes that I would find my way. It was scary time as my future was so uncertain but I knew I had to do it now if not I would settle into life in the UK and then potentially never leave. 

I first travelled to Ecuador where I visited a couple of animal release and research centres.  I never managed to make it to the Galapagos but I will in time. Brazil was next. I became a temporary volunteer coordinator at an organization in Minas Gerais which was deep in the Atlantic Forest. When I arrived, I began to feel my Portuguese upbringing trying to sprout roots in Brazil. The culture, the abundance of nature and the lifestyle that came with it (as well as the caipirinhas) started to take hold and I realised Brazil was the country of my future.

I heard about IPBio from a friend of mine who told me I would be “insane not to visit” and that “they were looking for someone just like you”. I checked their website out and it looked ideal. Research, conservation, great infrastructure and in a region with so many natural wonders that it became a UNESCO World Heritage site. I contacted Ana Glaucia, the manager of IPBio, and discussed the possibility of my becoming their first volunteer. She was thrilled about the idea and we agreed on what my tasks would be for the 3 months I was to stay which was primarily to help set up a conservation education course called Young Biodiversity Artists for the local school kids. I packed my bags and was on my way.

 On my bus drive to Iporanga, where IPBio is located, I looked out the window to see the stunning view of the vast state park called PETAR. This park is famous for its caves which actually lead to Iporanga being named the Cave Capital of Brazil.


 As soon as I got off the bus at the Betary Reserve and crossed the wooden bridge onto the reserve I was already pretty convinced I wanted to stay.

I began work which further solidified my desire to stay. Never before had I woke up early because I couldn’t wait to go to work. Learning about the research projects was the most exciting. Bioluminescent mushrooms, frog inventories, mammal monitoring and the list of interesting topics just goes on and on. In my first 3 months, I managed to fundraise enough money to fully finance the Young Biodiversity Artists course and managed to acquire donated bioacoustics equipment from a company called WildlifeAcoustics.

At this point the IPBio staff was convinced that they wanted to continue receiving volunteers as they saw what could be accomplished. I proposed that, given my experience as a volunteer coordinator in the past, I could design a formal volunteer program for them. At this point they had only received me as a volunteer by word of mouth but I informed them that there are various ways to recruit volunteers. I went about writing the volunteer package, creating training presentations, posting announcements for volunteer positions on volunteer websites, developing all the administrative documentation, conceptualizing what projects volunteers could participate in and how. In the blink of an eye only a month remained of my three month stay at IPBio. I was sad at the thought of leaving as I had finally found a place and organization I loved.

Then we received a volunteer application. And then another. And another. It was clear that people all around the world were interested in the work being done at IPBio and wanted to participate. The staff were delighted but realised that their staff consisted of, already very busy, biologists who did not have experience with running a volunteer program. With more applications coming in they realised they would not be able to run a volunteer program without someone to coordinate it. I had previously mentioned my interest in staying and living in Brazil to the staff and suddenly it clicked. Ana, the manager of IPBio, turned to me and asked “Imran, would you like to stay on as a staff member and run our volunteer program?”. I think by this point you can guess what my answer was. To be clear, it was “YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!”.

In the first year of the volunteer program we had received 24 volunteers from 9 different countries. We began to open the volunteer program to non-biologists also as we had received so much interest in areas we never imagined such as photography and reserve maintenance. It has been a privilege to see the volunteer program grow into what it is today. The volunteer program is my baby so I am truly attached to it. I work hard every day to improve it and make sure each and every volunteer not only accomplishes a great amount of work in their stay at IPBio but also enjoys their time doing it.

Well, that’s me and my story. Our next blog entries will be written by volunteers so they can tell you about their experiences here at IPBio although I am sure I will be back blogging at some point in the future so until next time. Signing out.

Written by: Imran Viroomal