• Kaya’s environmental gap year package allows you to explore Africa, Asia, the Americas and the world whilst taking part in meaningful projects along the way. Take part in ecosystem preservation, rainforest conservation and even conservation on an African game reserve leaving a positive impact on the countries you travel through. You’ll start your journey in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest carrying out vital conservation work and research. Next you will travel to South Africa and experience the unique opportunity to go behind the scenes of a working game reserve and learn first hand about the issues surrounding conservation on an African game reserve. Finally, you’ll head off to Borneo, a beautiful country that has lost much of it’s rainforest due to deforestation by the oil palm industry. Here you will live with local families in a small rural community and not only get involved with conservation efforts but also with community based projects leaving your mark on both the environment and the community. These projects are all in need of volunteers and enable you to contribute to the preservation of our endangered planet. Whether you are a beginner, skilled, on a career break or a student your time spent volunteering will be sure to give you an unforgettable experience.

• 

  Environmental Conservation on Biological Stations in the Amazon Rainforest

  Ecuador

  The Amazon Biological Station was founded in 1986 through the creation of a conservation, research and education centre to host scientists and students interested in preserving tropical rainforest....

• 

  Environmental Conservation and Community Empowerment in Borneo

  Borneo

  This volunteer project in Borneo is based on the banks of the stunning Kinabatangan River; an extremely biologically diverse area where orangutans, gibbons, proboscis monkeys, langur monkeys, Borne...

Project Facts

• Duration: 12 weeks (4 weeks in each country)
• Cost: £3771
• Requirements: age 18+
• Location: Tena, Ecuador / Chintsa, South Africa / Mengaris Village, Malaysian Borneo
• Project activities: Teach English and provide one-on-one tutoring, feeding animals, cleaning enclosures, tree planting, trail maintanence, community development and manual labour
• Working hours: 08:30 – 15:00, Monday - Friday, project hours will vary

What is included

• Accommodation: Single or shared room in a combination of homestays and volunteer houses
• Food: 2 - 3 meals per day
• Airport pick up and drop off
• Training: Predeparture pack and onsite orientation
• Support: 24 hour support
• Activities: Staff can help organise weekend activities (activity price may be extra)

What is not included

• Flights
• Insurance
• Visas

Role of the volunteer

In Ecuador volunteers will get involved in trails in the forest to collect seeds and learn about the flora and fauna of the region, trail maintenance, maintenance of the botanical gardens, seed collecting, soil preparation, tree nursery maintenance, monitoring of rare and endangered bird and monkey species, and aiding in eco-tourism by building fun and informational trails for tourism sites. Some environmental education may also be involved at certain times of the year.

Volunteers in South Africa will spend time on game drives and bush walks identifying species and monitoring the present game and other wildlife in the reserve. With over 10,000 hectares of land set over three conservation sites, volunteers are guaranteed that they will never get bored! You will get stuck in with general reserve maintenance tasks including fence patrols, field management and game capture, release and relocation.

Volunteer work in Borneo is split up so that approximately 60% of the work is based on conservation and 40% on community development. This may vary according to the time of year and the needs of the project at the time. Volunteers are split into groups and meet every morning to be assigned their tasks. Following this you will be taken to your project site where you will either be involved in tree planting, clearing Salvinia Molesta (a form of weed) from the lake, or various community projects including teaching, home/school renovations, and helping the locals with any manual work that needs to be done such as fixing their boats. The work is split on a 4 day rotation so, for example, you will work on community based projects for 4 days and then move onto another area.

The hands-on nature of this part of the project is a real high point: from learning about elephants in the elephant sanctuary and working within an animal rehabilitation centre which cares for a huge host of animal and birds, right the way through to identifying the hundreds of bird species in the reserve, wildlife lovers are given the opportunity to develop real skills and a knowledge of the South African eco-system.

Volunteers will also spend time helping to reverse damage done by the non-indigenous plants by controlling the alien vegetation and cultivating the indigenous, in the indigenous plant nursery. These plants are then used in rehabilitating areas of land that are damaged by soil erosion and previous poor land utilization practices. Alongside this work there will be informative lectures on environmental issues and the sharing of wildlife management skills from project staff. You may also be involved in visiting a rural school where we host 3 environmental interactions a month as well as integrating into the local community teaching them about traditional medicines with many chances for cultural interaction.

The tour of ecology doesn’t end in the reserve; surrounded by white sandy beaches and rocky shores, time will be spent learning about coastal systems and marine ecology as well as supporting the local systems with beach cleanups.

We have a set monthly schedule of activities which is designed around an environmental management plan. This plan runs parallel to the training modules of the FGASA Guides which allows volunteers to attend some workshops, lectures and also practical excursions as part of your volunteer experience. Please contact us for a more thorough breakdown of your day to day activities according to our management plan.

Additional to the everyday activities on the reserve, volunteers may have the opportunity to: explore the river in canoes, horse grooming and riding for those that are interested and bush sleep outs.

Skills Required

In Ecuador no specific skills are required to participate, although a knowledge of Spanish would be helpful. There are a wide range of varied tasks on this project therefore flexibility is essential; other than that the main requirements are a positive attitude and a willingness to work hard on each project.

In South Africa there are no specific skills required to take part, however, volunteers must be physically fit due to the physical nature of the project. A keen interest in conservation and wildlife and a willingness to get stuck in to a wide range of tasks and projects is essential.

No specific skills are required to take part in the project, however, the work is quite physical so a moderate level of fitness is required. Those with a background in environmental research are highly valued and if you are have a medical background you can carry out refresher first aid courses for the local staff. Also anyone with skills in carpentry or web design can join the project to assist the local professionals possibly to provide a fresh perspective. Because of the wide focus on this project many skills may be of help so if you feel that you might have another skill that may be useful on this project please contact one of our advisors so that they can look into what options might be available for you.

Your life outside the project

At weekends in Ecuador you can take day trips to Tena for white-water rafting or to Misahualli, a town part way between the reserve and Tena, which has wild monkeys running through the main square and some beautiful waterfalls. Or you may just want to hang around the Station and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the area.

You'll get the best of both worlds in South Africa; hanging out and enjoying the natural beauty and calm of the reserve with the option at weekends to visit the small town of Chintsa - just a 10 minute drive away. You will be given free transfers on Friday to Chintsa, returning on Sunday but please do remember that your accommodation and meals will not be provided, so take a little extra spending money with you for this.

Volunteers often choose to spend a night at Buccaneers the local backpackers in Chinsta at the weekend. There’s plenty to keep you entertained here you can enjoy horse riding, surf school and mountain biking. Buccaneers offer our volunteers free use of canoes and boogie boards to use on the stunning 17km beach.

In Borneo the area you will be staying in is quite rural. Once you finished your project you can head down to the small shopping area where you can snack on scrumptious Indian roti and dahl and drink chai (Indian tea). There’s plenty of children in the local area so you can join them for a game of volleyball or football, or you can just hang out in your homestay. The majority of the time you will be sharing your homestay (and sometimes your room) with other volunteers and the homestays are fairly close together so you will never be far from other volunteers to spend your evening with. All volunteers also get the opportunity to spend 2 nights in the eco-camp that is run by the project.

The homestays are all located close to a major highway so weekend travel is pretty easy as buses pass by quite frequently. If you enjoy diving then there are some great diving opportunities in the town of Semporna and some of it’s surrounding areas. This is around a 3 hours bus journey from the project.

There are a number of national parks within a few hours of the project including Sepilok, Danum Vally, Sipadan Island and the Tabin Nature Reserve – the largest wildlife reserve in Sabah. Here you can see rhinos, elephants and orangutans in their natural environment.

Highlights

Paragliding in the Andes

View the spectacular views of the Ecuadorian Andes through the thrilling experience of paragliding. Carry out a tandem flight and no experience is required. The best places to paraglide are Crucita Beach, Pichincha Mountains and the cliffs above Canoa.

Kruger National Park

This is South Africa's largest game reserve and one of the oldest in Africa. The park is now part of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere, an area designated by the United Nations Education and Scientific Organisation (UNESCO) as an International Man and Biosphere Reserve. Kruger is home to an impressive number of species: 336 trees, 49 fish, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammals. The best time to go is during the dry season (May - September) when the plains are sparse and animals are easier to view.

Mount Kinabalu

At 4095 metres high, Mount Kinabalu is South East Asia’s highest peak. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Mount Kinabalu and it’s surrounding areas are one of the most popular biological sites in the world with over 4500 species of plant, 326 species of birds, and 100 mammalian species identified – including orangutans and many varieties of monkeys. If you choose to climb Kinabalu you’ll spend a night in sleeping in basic rooms on the mountain and then get up at 4am in order to reach the summit at sunrise – a truly spectacular experience!

Itinerary