Sinai Bedouin community project and festival, Sinai Desert
| country: | Egypt |
| location: | Sinai Desert |
| departures: | 2009: 27 Nov |
| price: | From £610 (8 days) excluding flights. Price includes accommodation, meals, transport and guides |
| more info: | Over 60% of the cost of the trip directly contributes towards sustaining the Bedouin Community in various ways, including paying for the many services they provide and supporting the charitable work of the organisation. Any work you undertake whilst on your journey also contributes directly to the wellbeing of the Bedouin. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
The Sinai Desert with its stunning landscape is home to a number of Bedouin tribes. In the South live the Muzeina tribe who are based at the village of Nawamis - but the villagers are unable to maintain their traditional way of life as there is little work, and no demand for their ancient custom of hospitality and guiding for travellers crossing the desert.
To help them local tribeswomen, with our help, are constructing the largest ever woven Bedouin tent, which will become the familiar social centre of the community. It will provide a unique venue for local functions such as camel festivals – but will also be used by tourists who will come to visit the nearby Bronze-Age burial chambers at Nawamis. Revenue from the tent will create a sustainable economy for the Muzeina Bedouin.
During your time here you will live in a peaceful and beautiful desert location, eating by the fire with the Bedouin and camping under the stars. At the end of the week you will join a wonderful celebration of traditional Bedouin culture: an evening of feasting, storytelling, music and tribal drumming the ancient Bedouin tradition, before spending a night at a peaceful eco-lodge on the Red Sea.
You will work alongside the villagers, including women and children, to help build staff living quarters, toilets, a kitchen, a dining room, washrooms, and a well powered by solar pump. Everyone will be able to work at their own pace and there will be plenty of shade for resting. No building skills are necessary but a reasonable level of fitness is desirable. This is a wonderful opportunity to get to know the Bedouin from the Muzeina tribe.
We encourage our participants to get involved in fundraising and already 60% of your cost directly contributes towards sustaining the Bedouin community and the work of the Trust. However if you would like to get more involved in helping the trust by fundraising then please contact us.
To help them local tribeswomen, with our help, are constructing the largest ever woven Bedouin tent, which will become the familiar social centre of the community. It will provide a unique venue for local functions such as camel festivals – but will also be used by tourists who will come to visit the nearby Bronze-Age burial chambers at Nawamis. Revenue from the tent will create a sustainable economy for the Muzeina Bedouin.
During your time here you will live in a peaceful and beautiful desert location, eating by the fire with the Bedouin and camping under the stars. At the end of the week you will join a wonderful celebration of traditional Bedouin culture: an evening of feasting, storytelling, music and tribal drumming the ancient Bedouin tradition, before spending a night at a peaceful eco-lodge on the Red Sea.
You will work alongside the villagers, including women and children, to help build staff living quarters, toilets, a kitchen, a dining room, washrooms, and a well powered by solar pump. Everyone will be able to work at their own pace and there will be plenty of shade for resting. No building skills are necessary but a reasonable level of fitness is desirable. This is a wonderful opportunity to get to know the Bedouin from the Muzeina tribe.
We encourage our participants to get involved in fundraising and already 60% of your cost directly contributes towards sustaining the Bedouin community and the work of the Trust. However if you would like to get more involved in helping the trust by fundraising then please contact us.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive at Sharm el-Sheikh airport then transfer to arrive by moonlight at the desert base camp to be greeted by our Bedouin hosts. We spend the night in a woven communal tent in traditional Bedouin style, or sleep under the stars. |
| Day 2: | We spend the day orientating ourselves with a walk around our desert environment. After lunch we take a camel ride back to Nawamis, where we will spend the next few days working on the community project. |
| Day 3-5: | We walk (approx 1 hour) to the project location at Nawamis, near an ancient oasis mentioned in the bible. Work on the project, which needs no special skills, can include building a water storage tank, shade shelter, compost toilet, garden etc, and the work is shared with the Bedouin. We work at our own pace and there will be plenty of opportunities to rest, tea breaks and lunch served in the shade. At the end of each day we walk (or possibly ride a camel) back to our desert base camp for supper by the fire, and overnight. |
| Day 6: | Help with preparation for the festival and join in a wonderful celebration of the Bedouin tradition and culture: an evening of feasting, storytelling, music and drumming in the ancient Bedouin tradition. |
| Day 7: | Transfer to an eco-lodge on the Red Sea where we spend a night in a bamboo hut on the beach, where you relax, swim or snorkel. |
| Day 8: | Depart and transfer to Sharm el-Sheikh airport for the flight home. |
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
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In helping build this school you will be directly supporting the Muzeina tribe of Bedouin. A thriving school is one of the most important ways that the Bedouin can retain their environment, cultural heritage and traditional way of life, which is being threatened by mass tourism and lack of water.
The school, which aims to assist the Bedouin community of Nawamis to maintain a sustainable desert economy linked to the ancient provision of camels (to merchants in the past, nowadays to tourists). The school and associated well will enable to community to remain at Nawamis the whole year round, instead of having to live in the neon-strip of the coastal tourist resorts, which in turn minimises dependency on the mass-tourism, which is inherently unstable. You will be able to meet the children who you will use this school, and will be working alongside the Muzeina tribesmen. We are a non-profit making organisation, and apart from our overheads, your money goes towards supporting these projects. Wherever possible we source all food, local guides and transport for this trip from the Muzeina Bedouin, so providing important employment and income. We do not use tour operators, but work directly with the Bedouin themselves. Payment is generous by local standards, and our suppliers are regarded as equal partners in our endeavours. It is our policy to practice fair trade at all times, and we encourage visitors to engage with local people and share in camp site duties. On this trip our environmental impact is kept to a minimum. All of our building work uses local stone and minimises the use of cement. We camp outside, and use camels instead of vehicles wherever possible. Where vehicles are used they are restricted to well-used tracks to limit damage to the delicate flora and fauna. We provide advice on water usage in the desert, recommend biodegradable soaps and use compostable toilets (or just the sand!). In our office we print our brochures on 100% recycled paper using vegetable based inks, and where possible we send information to customers by email. The main immediate beneficiaries of this trip are the nomadic Muzeina tribe of South Sinai, who through your help are able to sustain the environment, infrastructure and cultural heritage that allows them to carry out their traditional way of life. |
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. |