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Helping who?
The villagers of Tinangol, Batu Puteh both in the jungle and the Mantanani community found on a tropical island surrounded by white beaches and blue sea.
Helping how
Tinangol - Community Phase: Here you'll become totally integrated in the day to day life of this indigenous community whilst getting stuck into:
- Their harvesting.
- Construction of Bio Gas Collectors – which pipes the decaying gases off human and animal waste into kitchens for cooking or lighting purposes.
- Construction of a community centre – to be used by the kindergarten local women’s group.
Batu Puteh – Conservation Phase: The main work here will be centered around forest regeneration, helping degraded areas of the reserve to be replanted with indigenous species of trees. Here you will collect seeds from the jungle, germinate them back in the community nursery and then replant in the cleared areas.
You'll also help will the development of trails and animal/bird hides. The local community run an eco-lodge on the edge of an oxbow lake and are always looking to extend their facilities and infrastructure. Work could include planning and mapping new areas, clearing existing or new trails, trail improvements such as bridges, steps or rest areas, signage and information boards.
To access the work sites you will transported up and down the river by boats. On these trips be prepared to spot crocodiles, monkeys/orangutans, lizards, wild boar, bird life and elephants.
You may get the chance to help build an enclosure for the sun bears, adjacent to the orangutan sanctuary - this would be a very worthwhile project - they are adorable!
Mantanani - Marine Awareness Phase: The main goal here is to educate and encourage the local community to protect their marine environment. You'll do this by giving environmental education particularly about rubbish disposal and fishing techniques to the villagers and local school. In addition we are improving the infastructures which will help them implement better lifestyle practices. For example we are building a community clinic and some form of rubbish disposal incinerator. With your open water diving qualification, you will be able to conduct several underwater surveys and litter clean ups on the beaches, in the lagoon and around the reef.
All our projects are run in partnership with a local grass roots community charity called Pacos Trust. This means all our work is part of longer term aims for these communities, which have been agreed on by local people in consultation with Pacos. This means we are not just entering a village cold – we are advised which ones are in need and also at a suitable stage in their development to accept volunteers. This relationship with Pacos extends to a Memorandum of Understanding and also direct donations for each individual who stays in these communities.
Ultimately in all our communities we want to help establish alternative sources of income for the community as a whole, through both tourism and employment opportunities. This we do through employing members of the community to work within our camps, looking to provide training and career progression for them as well as income from ground rent for their land/buildings. These are the monetary benefits. The more intangible benefits include confidence building, empowerment of the community as a whole, cultural exchange and a sense of pride and willingness to preserve traditional ways of life. Our ultimate aim is for the community to be able to use its traditions as a way of developing and becoming self sufficient in terms of income and opportunities. Also part of the process is provision of additional facilities such as improved or new educational infrastructure for younger children, better health care and awareness of other global issues such as unsustainable life styles and habits.
We employ professional full time staff whose role it is to ensure volunteers’ comfort as well as giving thorough briefings and activity planning throughout their stay. These staff members are members of the community as a whole and therefore are able to ensure the full integration of the volunteers. In particular one of the key ways of starting this integration process is through sport which breaks down barriers of language and culture very quickly.
We employ up to 10 members of staff from each community we work in. Our camps are also established along long term lines with tenancy agreements drawn up with the community for a minimum of 5 years and up to 10 years. As part of the ground rent for buildings or land we pay the land owner but also insist that a portion of this money is put into the community fund which is common in all Sabah communities. We also encourage the community to set up mini businesses which includes sale of local arts & crafts, personal laundry and small shops of drinks and other general goods. In addition our projects provide the community with much needed facilities. Our funds are drawn from both volunteers and other sources such as charitable donations.
On arrival all volunteers undergo a 2 day induction which includes background knowledge on the country and community as a whole. This also includes language training. Volunteers are encouraged to mix with our camp staff to get a full understanding of how to behave appropriately and also to maximize their experience by trying new things and spending time with other people.
All our camps are placed in local communities and therefore are locally owned and run. As far as possible we try and keep the accommodation in keeping with local building techniques. For example our main community camp in Tinangol is actually in a traditionally built longhouse. The main camp on Mantanani is made of drift wood sourced from the beaches. All camps have water recycling for “grey” water and traditional styles of toilets to minimize water usage. Where possible all food is bought at local markets or from the community itself without compromising their own availability of food. Within the bounds of safety we use local transport and avoid using larger companies or organizations.
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