Mount Kenya conservation project

country:	Kenya
location:	Mount Kenya
departures:	Departures on Mondays throughout the year
price:	From £419 (1 week) - £1739 (12 weeks) excluding flights
more info:	Price includes project placement and accommodation with family home-stay, first night in hotel, airport pick-up and breakfast & evening meals. Minimum age 17
vouchers:	Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday

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introduction to Mount Kenya conservation project

At 16,500ft tall, Mount Kenya is Africa's second tallest peak and helps provide some of the most naturally fertile land in the surrounding region. Over the past four years, our conservation project has helped preserve and improve the quality of plants and trees in and around the area just outside the national park. Kenya has been decimated by illegal activity regarding wildlife and landscape in years gone by and the reforestation of such areas is improving lives for animals and residents alike. Based just a five minute walk away at a lodge used by Mount Kenya trekkers, you can get your hands dirty and help spearhead the need to go green in Kenya by working together with locals to maintain the landscape, planting and watering seeds and also fetching exotic ones found high in the trees if you are an eager climber!

There is a peaceful tranquility surrounding the project's perimeters - but you are by no means in the middle of nowhere! You are more than welcome to visit the local schools to say 'hello', play sports including football and volleyball with other volunteers and locals or kick back and relax with a drink at the on-site pub. If you're feeling slightly more adventurous, there's always the small task of summiting your next-door neighbour Mount Kenya! You’ll be staying at one of Mount Kenya’s lodges, meaning away from the project you are bound to meet plenty of eager mountain climbers so you can kick back with a drink in the on-site bar in good company! Wet season is April to July, which can help cool off from the hot temperatures during November to February.

a day in a life of a volunteer

Your daily duties are likely to vary and depend on the time of year you visit Kenya because of the differing rainfall. If you have a specific request or question, please do not hesitate to get in touch and we will be able to find out the answer for you. No formal qualifications are necessary though anybody who has studied or is studying an agricultural-related qualification will find this an even greater opportunity to utilize their skills.

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

Community
We are one of the only commercial organisations in the UK to donate money directly into its supported projects every time we send a volunteer, specifically to fund project equipment and materials. As an example, one volunteer working on this project for just two weeks will fund enough fertilizer for half an acre of land. In addition to our financial support, the humanitarian aid you provide is invaluable and in recent years, one of our main supported sites has grown to approximately two and a half acres and provides food, shelter and employment to the local community.

Our in-country staff are local residents who are paid well above the national average. We use local staff because of their invaluable knowledge of the local area. They are trained and experienced in welcoming volunteers and provide excellent project orientations upon arrival. The project itself works to improve the local environment and serve the surrounding community with initiatives that encourage young adults to learn new skills which they can master in order to search for future employment, armed with experience from their Mount Kenya conservation site.

You will stay in the nearby Mount Kenya lodge, locally owned and living with Kenyans and visitors alike in order to enhance your authentic African experience as well as providing funding directly into the local economy during your stay. The food provided to you in locally produced, thereby further improving the surrounding community’s economy.

Environment
We are also one of the only commercial organisations in the UK to plant a tree in-country every time we send a volunteer in order to offset the carbon emissions generated from your flight. Where possible, we use public transport to pump money into the local economy as well as reduce fuel emissions whilst in-country.

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'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left).

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