Borneo volunteering holiday
| country: | Borneo |
| departures: | 2009: 3 Nov |
| price: | From £1200 (4 weeks), £1650 (8 weeks) - £1900 (10 weeks) excluding flights & insurance. We can offer advice on flights from the UK. Price includes transfers, food & accommodation and 24 hour support |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Work alongside a local initiative, established in 1997, helping to provide sustainable alternative sources of income for locals in Borneo while simultaneously protecting the rainforest and mega-biodiversity of the Lower Kinabatangan.
10 years on the project has grown immensely, and there is immediate need for the development of nature interpretation trails, building work at the Eco-Camp, and basic wildlife surveys. It is also hoped that volunteers will help teach the local community basic IT skills and English.
Volunteer in Borneo with a local organisation that aims to provide sustainable alternative sources of income for the community, whilst simultaneously protecting the diverse rainforest and its wildlife. The volunteer project is based on the Kinabatangan River, home to orang-utans, gibbons, the endemic proboscis monkey, Borneon pygmy elephants, otters, crocodile, langur monkeys, and a host of rare and spectacular bird species that volunteers may see during their stay.
As a volunteer you will be provided with a one-day forest safety course which will equip you with the skills needed to live in the region, and more importantly will teach you how to make the whole jungle experience comfortable and enjoyable. This course is recognized by the Royal Geographical Society and most universities.
Participants will either be living with a local family in the village (homestay) or camping in the forest. In the village you will learn to live in a traditional way and spend a lot of time with your host family. In the forest camps you may have to cook for yourselves, with basic facilities. Come be a part of this inspiring eco-tourism initiative and see how the little things you do can make a big difference to someone else.
South and towards the interior region of Borneo, the lower Kinabatangan is a much written about location. Richer than almost anywhere in South East Asia in wildlife, it is a hotspot for rare and endangered species. The river is surrounded by small patches of forest hemmed in by oil palm plantations. The river remains crucial to the survival of many species and its protection is of paramount importance.
We aim to assist the initiative to make significant progress with their project. Project work is extremely varied so no two days will be the same. This is exactly what makes it an exciting partnership.
The project is dynamic and constantly changing. There will be times volunteers will be required to support the core team in general maintenance of facilities and equipment such as boat repair, at other times supporting community social work such as rubbish clean-ups. As the infrastructure improves and the facilities get built there are new challenges to undertake. Having said that, below is a sample one week itinerary for the project.
10 years on the project has grown immensely, and there is immediate need for the development of nature interpretation trails, building work at the Eco-Camp, and basic wildlife surveys. It is also hoped that volunteers will help teach the local community basic IT skills and English.
Volunteer in Borneo with a local organisation that aims to provide sustainable alternative sources of income for the community, whilst simultaneously protecting the diverse rainforest and its wildlife. The volunteer project is based on the Kinabatangan River, home to orang-utans, gibbons, the endemic proboscis monkey, Borneon pygmy elephants, otters, crocodile, langur monkeys, and a host of rare and spectacular bird species that volunteers may see during their stay.
As a volunteer you will be provided with a one-day forest safety course which will equip you with the skills needed to live in the region, and more importantly will teach you how to make the whole jungle experience comfortable and enjoyable. This course is recognized by the Royal Geographical Society and most universities.
Participants will either be living with a local family in the village (homestay) or camping in the forest. In the village you will learn to live in a traditional way and spend a lot of time with your host family. In the forest camps you may have to cook for yourselves, with basic facilities. Come be a part of this inspiring eco-tourism initiative and see how the little things you do can make a big difference to someone else.
South and towards the interior region of Borneo, the lower Kinabatangan is a much written about location. Richer than almost anywhere in South East Asia in wildlife, it is a hotspot for rare and endangered species. The river is surrounded by small patches of forest hemmed in by oil palm plantations. The river remains crucial to the survival of many species and its protection is of paramount importance.
a day in the life of a volunteer
We aim to assist the initiative to make significant progress with their project. Project work is extremely varied so no two days will be the same. This is exactly what makes it an exciting partnership. The project is dynamic and constantly changing. There will be times volunteers will be required to support the core team in general maintenance of facilities and equipment such as boat repair, at other times supporting community social work such as rubbish clean-ups. As the infrastructure improves and the facilities get built there are new challenges to undertake. Having said that, below is a sample one week itinerary for the project.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Assisting with construction on the eco-lodge, basic building, plumbing, wiring depending on skills. |
| Day 2: | Trail mapping / inspecting. Repairing bridges or rerouting trails that are flooded. |
| Day 3: | Teaching English to local staff or helping with IT skills. |
| Day 4: | Tree planting. |
| Day 5: | Weed removal from lake. Taking out the parasitic weed that flourishes here. |
| Day 6: | Wildlife inventory. Early morning start, walking the trails recording wildlife, photographing when possible. This might include a night walk or boat ride to monitor wildlife. |
| Day 7: | Day off. Play volleyball, swim, spend the day with host family. |
volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
how this holiday makes a difference
 Established in 1997, the initiative was led by village youth from four nearby villages who volunteered their time to plan and establish community owned ecotourism activities. Among other things these pioneer volunteers documented traditional indigenous knowledge and aural history and began detailed studies of the seven different types of rainforest which surround the community. The aim of this community initiative is to create sustainable and alternative sources of income for the local indigenous people of the four villages of the Batu Puteh Community of the Lower Kinabatangan. In 1998, volunteers spearheaded forest fire fighting in the nearby forests, saving orang-utans and allowing numerous other wildlife species to escape to safety. Since that time our partners have wholeheartedly adopted the second key objective to immediately intervene to restore degraded rainforest habitat and wetland ecosystems. By 1999 the group had secured funds to start forest habitat restoration, the work of which has been ongoing since that time. The initiative has been developing community based eco-tourism ventures that will provide income from eco-tourists who will come to experience the amazing diversity of wildlife and rainforest types surrounding the community. At the same time as providing an income for the local people of the area, the initiative works to protect the rainforests of the region. With one clear focus (develop eco-tourism in the region) this initiative accomplishes two goals, conservation and sustainable development. Most volunteers will assist with forest habitat restoration and wetland lake restoration which provides critical habitat, food and nesting areas for rare and threatened wildlife species, such as orang-utans, gibbons, proboscis monkeys, elephants and otters, amongst others. Other roles may include developing nature interpretation trails, building work at the Eco-Camp and conducting basic wildlife surveys. It is also hoped that volunteers might prove useful with IT skills and teaching the local community English. There will be times volunteers will be required to help the core team with the general maintenance of facilities and equipment (helping with the boat repair, for example), and at other times volunteers will be required to support community social work (helping with rubbish clean-ups, for example). As the infrastructure of the area improves and more facilities are built, there will be new challenges to undertake. The core project work involves supporting and developing the ecotourism products, which includes trail building, signage, interpretation displays, construction work, landscaping work and hauling construction materials. Though a small and independent community-based organisation, it is very impressive and the product rivals bigger commercial operators, proving that community projects are not only viable but are also competitive at the highest level. Tasks could also include tree planting in degraded forest or other direct hands-on conservation work, and while this is tough work it provides the opportunity to get volunteers out into the rainforest and amongst the very wildlife that they are working towards saving. We are dedicated to responsible tourism, and all of the projects that we support directly benefit the environment, the local community, or both. All projects are carefully chosen to offer our volunteers sustainable and responsible travel, with specific attention being paid to their involvement in the sustainability of all their practices / project goals. All of our projects and expeditions issue the participants with clear guidelines on responsible tourism and ecotourism, all specific to the particular environment / region. These cover a number of issues, ranging from waste disposal in remote areas, recycling |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |