Volunteer Experience Report at Finca Noah (Marco)

It's Friday, April 29th, 2022, and my flight from Zurich to Palma is on time. My volunteer week at Finca Noah is about to begin, and I'm fully motivated. Full of anticipation, I sit in the plane, my thoughts already racing ahead. What awaits me, and how much can I really help?

A few hours later, I'm right in the thick of it and have already taken on many tasks. After a thorough introduction from René, I'm now solely responsible for the 3 horses and the donkey. This is my first and last station each morning and evening. In between, I need to care for and look after all the other animals—dogs, cats, rodents, parrots, ducks, the pot-bellied pig, and Theo the rooster. Cleaning the sheep enclosure, where Rambo the pony was also housed, became a task we all did together. I was warmly welcomed from the start and felt at home throughout these very demanding days. The daily walks with the dogs brought us all closer together, despite the small language barrier. Since we also run an animal sanctuary in Switzerland, I knew from the beginning what this work was all about and that it wouldn't be a walk in the park.

Every evening I arrived at the hotel completely exhausted, then went to a good Spanish restaurant and wound down the day. My thoughts were with the fates of the animals, who thankfully now get to live a species-appropriate life here at Finca Noah.

It's always beautiful to see how animals that didn't have a good life regain trust in us humans and give us their love. We can all learn so much from them and make the world a better place than it is. Thank you to Farah, René, Perla, and José—I carry you in my heart and will definitely come back.

Marco