Volunteering in Malaysia, rainforest experience
This type of trip is ideal for people who are unable to take very long periods off work but who are interested in volunteering to work with communities in need, or in wildlife conservation. These shorter trips combine volunteering with an opportunity to see the main sights in destinations.
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Whilst trekking
Litter can be seen along many of the paths and in the streams that we cross. The amount is amazing considering the route we take are not used very often by tourists. We promise to never leave any litter behind and to collect the rubbish we meet where possible.
Along the trek our qualified jungle guides will show and tell our guests about the wildlife they see. Along the way evidence of the threats to this wonderful environment will be seen for example illegal logging and the roads associated with them, conversion of rainforests to lakes through large dams, Palm Oil and of course poaching.
Camera Trapping
This part of the Titiwangsa range has not received any formal scientific study interms of large mammals. The local villagers, markings and prints confirm that tigers, elephants, panthers and sun bears live in this part of the rainforest but no formal scientific surveys have been conducted. In 2012 we are introducing the first camera traps along paths which would be used by wild animals. Initially we will be doing a recce survey but in 2 years time once we have 100+ cameras we wish to start a more rigid structured scientific survey of the area. We do need funds for the cameras and you can make donations by going to our website – Fund a camera trap
Raising awareness
In the first evening our ex WWF-Malaysia and My CAT staff will give a informed presentation about large mammals in Peninsular Malaysia. The whole experience is suppose to educate and create awareness about the fragile Rainforest environment and we hope this experience is life changing hence its name – Rainforest Awakening.
Community
Whilst trekking
Included in the expedition team will be a native tribal guide, this is a must as the lands are considered sacred tribal lands. This is particularly true for Mount Korbu as it looks like a person lying down. The native tribes have many local beliefs which must be respected, we teach all participants about the native beliefs and the do’s and don’ts so to not offend the local tribes.
Staying with Native Tribe
For 2 nights you will stay in a homestay in a local native settlement. Living is simple but the most important thing is that your stay will bring much needed revenue for the local tribe. We are currently building our relationship with the tribal leaders to develop a community house to act as a base for longer term volunteers who can then conducted regular lessons and various other community efforts as directed by the village leaders.
School club
You will help to plan, prepare and conduct a three hour school club. This is new in 2012 but we have had great success with conducting these school clubs at other projects throughout Malaysia. The first hour of the club is focused on improving the children’s English. This is normally done through flash cards and comprehension exercises. The second part of the club is focused towards environmental awareness such as littering and recycling. We teach through art and games as the childrens attention span is very short.
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