Horse riding & volunteering in South Africa
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
On a day to day basis our volunteers head out either on horse back or in vehicles to look out for injured wildlife and to mend any broken fences that may be of danger to the animals. Groups have built bird hides and helped with waterholes in the dry season.
This new horse safari team placement is adding a new dimension for our volunteers. The horses have been taken on by the reserve to offer a horse safari element to encourage more tourists and hence more income into the reserve. Our volunteers will assist with the safari aspect but in addition they will be using the horses to complete the conservation work around the reserve.
Whilst we contribute we will remain working with KWA, run by Conrad - a forward thinking conservationist at heart.
Community
The local communities within and the surrounding areas of the reserve directly benefit from our volunteers who will tackle all sorts of maintenance and lifestyle programmes. Over the years our volunteers have taught at the orphanage and helped look after the kids on a day to day basis. They have built wells, dramatically improving their sanitation and reducing water borne diseases. They have introduced the use of mosquito nets to help reduce malaria in the area.
We have been working with Kwa Madwala for the last 6 years. Each year we send 4 teams of volunteers to help with their community, conservation and eco-tourism projects. Each team consists of about 15 – 20 people, departing back to back and each staying for 10 weeks. We have specifically chosen to do this so that our projects have continuity and the people they help don’t suddenly feel deserted.
The volunteers have seen first hand how a safari lodge helps with the upkeep and well being of it’s local population and wildlife. They see that it is an interdependent circle of life. For example the women of an African family will be employed to help with the lodge house keeping; their income goes directly to a very extended family who therefore have money for food which directly helps reduce the need for poaching on the reserve. In addition a proportion of the money from each volunteer can go directly to housing and feeding the orphans on the reserve, reducing the pressure on the other families who have taken them under their wing.
All our volunteers live on the reserve in eco-friendly, locally made bandas, eating locally produced food. At the weekends they head out to visit local tourist attractions, putting more money back into the local economy. A donation of £80 is made on behalf of all our volunteers to the sustainability of the reserve, and you choose how you want this spent.
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