Mateo is a member of Hoja Nueva’s on-site maintenance and field-operations team, working alongside Toreto to keep the organization’s remote rainforest facilities functioning safely every day. In an off-grid field site several hours from Puerto Maldonado, maintenance extends far beyond ordinary repairs: Mateo helps build, modify, dismantle, and repair wildlife enclosures; move construction materials and equipment; maintain trails and facilities; manage waste and compost; support water and infrastructure systems; and assist with boats, transport, loading, and countless practical needs across the site.

He and Toreto are also the people the team relies on when something breaks, floods, falls, needs to be moved, or has to be built quickly and safely around animals. Their work supports the research station, rescue center, staff facilities, and field operations simultaneously.

Much of conservation is only possible because the physical systems behind it continue working. Mateo’s versatility, strength, and practical problem-solving make him part of the infrastructure that allows Hoja Nueva’s wildlife, research, and education programs to operate in a difficult remote environment.