Malawi volunteering holiday

Environment

Malawi is known as ‘the warm heart of Africa’, both for its stunning beauty and friendly people. It’s also one of the most densely populated countries in Africa and one of the poorest countries in the world, which puts enormous pressures on its natural resources. As a result, the illegal trade of wild animals and their slaughter for bush meat is still a big problem in Malawi, at a time when conservation of both the environment and wildlife is more critical than ever.

We work to protect Malawi’s wildlife & habitats. Since our inception in 2007, our programmes have evolved in response to local needs, working with wildlife as well as people and approaching the issues from all angles.

We rescue and rehabilitate wildlife in distress and conduct scientific research to better inform both our welfare and conservation projects. We’re working with the highest levels of Government to tackle wildlife crime through advocacy and enforcement initiatives, tens of thousands of school children are engaged in our environmental education programmes across the country and our community conservation projects are helping people to live more sustainably. You can find out more about our projects below.

We owe a great deal to those partners, volunteers and generous donors who have helped make our work possible. Thanks for your support and for others interested in joining our cause, please do get in touch.

There have been some fantastic achievements at the centre within the last couple of years – there’s the rescue and rehabilitation of hundreds of animals including lion, leopard, antelope, baboons and crocodiles, with a mojority of them being released back into the wild. The PAW (People and Wildlife) clubs in 12 of the poorest communities are fully supported by the chiefs and officials, with whom we have developed various income generation projects and we even have support from the UNDP and City Assembly for our city wide afforestation project plan.

We are accredited by both PASA and GFAS and are Malawi's only member of the Species Survival Network. Our work was recently recognised when we were awarded the Virgin Holidays 2011 Responsible Tourism Award for ‘Best for Conservation of Wildlife and Habitats’. This is what the judges had to say: “Fending off developers, the centre has reclaimed and revived 90 hectares of urban wilderness to provide sanctuary for rescued, orphaned and injured wild animals, and promotes conservation to locals and tourists alike. It now takes over 20,000 visitors per year, showing its value as a centre for both the people and wildlife of Malawi." Supported by the BBC and Geographical Magazine the awards are the only one of their kind in the world.

Community

We believe we can make a real difference working with the local communities in terms of raising awareness of the importance of respecting our environment and keeping wildlife in the wild, whilst also providing alternatives to practices such as deforestation and the illegal bush meat trade.

The sanctuary provides jobs for over 40 local Malawian staff, and as a ‘centre for the people’ make every effort to ensure that the less privileged people in the communities benefit from the facility. For example, we organise wild picnics for local orphanages to come on a wildlife tour and enjoy the local playground, or run training scholarships for a number of children from the poorer local schools.

As a pilot ‘People and Wildlife’ project we also hope that our success will be used as a model for others around the world. In years to come we will be able to showcase the benefits of addressing conservation issues in partnership with the local communities through education and outreach, and become a true centre for the people and wildlife of Malawi.