Kenya volunteering for 15-17 year olds
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
Environment
We are dedicated to responsible tourism. 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 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 materials and buying from local businesses, to not exploiting the area’s wildlife or harming the environment.
Our programs often work to rectify damage done to the environment by humans. By encouraging everyone to engage with climate change, we work towards the sustainable development of the environment and the future of our planet. On all of our programs around the world we aim to keep our impact to a minimum and many of our activities directly affect the environment, for example:
Across Latin America and Africa we are working with communities to replace and sustainably manage forests in areas where there is a high demand for wood as fuel. In Kenya we have trained community members in alternative methods of charcoal production which are sustainable, generate income and protect the forest. In Latin America we build and provide simple energy efficient stoves to poor communities which reduces firewood consumption by as much as 70% and dramatically improves living standards.
Community
Unreliable rainfall combined with crop-raiding by elephants leads to poor agricultural productivity and dependence on illegal poaching to supplement domestic nutrition and income. The bush-meat trade is more pervasive than simple subsistence hunting, posing the greatest threat to Africa's wildlife. Under this project, three of the most notorious communities have come together to learn the value of wildlife and potential for socio-economic development through conservation. The challenge is to build their capacity to develop alternative livelihoods, improve infrastructure and relieve their socio-economic dependence on poaching, spreading their message to neighbouring communities
The World Society for the Protection of Animals initiated this project in 2006 working alongside Kenya Wildlife Service and local government, establishing three community-based organisations of former wildlife poachers to seek alternative livelihoods to substitute socio-economic dependence on the illegal and dangerous bush-meat trade. In 2006 we came on board, visiting all three communities regularly to deliver workshops and training to develop skills and build capacity for sustainable development and alternative income generation, addressing issues such as human-wildlife conflict and improved agricultural output. The focus now is on developing their infrastructure to tackle poverty and hardship and build capacity to engage in alternative livelihoods that offer long term sustainablity and responsible utilisation of natural resources.
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