Volunteer & holiday in Kenya

Highly Commended in the Responsible Tourism Awards 2007, Best Volunteering Organisation category, we own our ground operation, which means we have complete control over the integrity of our projects and the quality of the experiences we provide. We additionally subsidise our philanthropic objectives through additional funds raised by our Charitable Trust.

Your participation on this tour provides a significant contribution to indigenous communities, environment and wildlife in the Shimba Hills. Achievements include the construction of a new water supply at Mukurumuji village and an initiative at Stephen Kanja School to construct a school kitchen which is used to prepare food daily for 110 nursery children to sustain them through their school day. We take significant measures to reduce our impact on the environment and offset our carbon footprint. We educate volunteers to the importance of using water conservatively and encourage them to adhere to guidelines on the amount of water they use in the camp.

Our initiatives in Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary, which include producing Elephant dung paper, have generated revenue for the community and in turn provided protection for the animals. During just two months in 2007, varying quantities of 6 different species of tree were planted all with a significant value to the community in some form, from indigenous hardwood trees such as Mbambakofi and Mvule through to Jatropha, used to produce soaps and bio fuel. Other species included Neem used in many medical purposes and chilli trees which can be sold to the community or used on farm fencing to prevent Elephants from crop raiding.

Our Team in Africa originate from the host country and their passion for sustainable development of their communities and environment is inspiring. Camp Managers such as Patrick in Kenya are the local guys that make our experiences unique. They provide advice on conduct, language training and skilled project managers such as Sammy will make camp feel like home. This interaction creates a unique bond between you and the Community and leaves you feeling a guest not a tourist. 100% of fresh produce and project materials are sourced from sustainable local supplies and group sizes are kept small to reduce any negative impact. Our programmes combine Community work and Wildlife Conservation in an uncompromising way.

Our commitment to the environment does not stop in Africa our UK office is dedicated to saving energy and have systems in place to deliver shredded recycled paper to local pet shops for bedding!

In short, our commitment to local people and the environment is not a by-product of our programmes but core to everything we do - we adhere to the Responsible Tourism code of practice and encourage everyone we work with to do the same.