Ecoteer

Community development in India

Mitraniketan community, established in the year 1956 as a non-profit organization working for the development of children, youth, women and farmers. It is located in a 60 acre campus and is 25 km away from Trivandrum city, in South India. Education of tribal children through a Residential school is the core of Mitraniketan which imparts formal and non-formal education. Volunteers from abroad participate in these education programs along with local teachers in creative arts, craft education, sports, English in addition to conventional education.

Rural youth are empowered through life and livelihood skill development programmes in a Danish Folk High School model institution called People’s college. The work based learning helps the students to be more active part in the learning process and also gives opportunities for volunteers to work with them. Agriculture, pottery, sports, computer, carpentry and creative arts are some of the subjects in which Mitraniketan use volunteer service/skills.

The Farm Science Center (KVK) and Rural Technology Centre (RTC) of Mitraniketan cater the training needs of small farmers and artisans which concentrate on organic farming, mushroom cultivation, pottery and carpentry. The 600 member community also houses a floating population of volunteers who serve and use the facilities for learning by participating in the community activities like sports, yoga, music, technical skill training, health care activities and technology development.

Progress of society through the total development of individuals is the mission of the institution, for which local staff, part time workers, volunteers and visiting faculties strive together in a participatory manner.

Are you interested in volunteering with us? visit our Ecoteer page at Volunteer India

For other volunteer opportunities in India visit Volunteer in India with Ecoteer

For low cost volunteering in Asia go to volunteer in Asia

Making a difference at Uma Nivas

Although Uma Nivas has had a fairly quiet year so far with only six volunteers to date, Emma and Nuria and Sally and her family, lots is going on. The children’s English is coming on by leaps and bounds and after meeting our volunteers, the children are really motivated to learn to speak English, not just read and write in the usual Indian style. Even Sally’s children, aged 9 and 11, helped teach English, as well as how to play the musical instruments they had brought with them and a host of British games.

We have used the funds Sally and her team of volunteers fundraised last year to cover the high school garden with new topsoil and put water tanks on the roof. So now gardening has started in a big way. Lots of fruit and vegetables are coming up and we are well on the way to self-sufficiency. We also took over one of the two broken vehicles belonging to the orphanage, repaired it, got it working and have built a garage to keep it in. As a vehicle is a lifeline in remote villages, where public transportation is almost nil, this is no small achievement.

Didi Vratiisha has also been very active in other areas too, holding homeopathic medical clinics at different villages 6 days of the week. The clinics are always packed, and Didi is kept very busy, all this on top of her duty as high school principal.

Tatayara School, located in a village around an hour from the Uma Nivas project, used to run in a broken down building with many of the children studying outside in the open air under trees and some of them actually sitting on the dusty street. Now thanks to the tireless efforts of our volunteers, Denise, her children and her friends, who put on a pantomime called Dracula back in the UK, there is a beautiful school building with 5 rooms for the children to study in. The roof is finished, so all 200 children have now moved into the school, although the plastering and doors and windows are not yet complete. Fantastic work, Denise! Thank you all so much! And Denise just now told me that they have raised the funds for the doors and windows. Incredible!

There are so many ways to help. You can go out there and get your hands dirty helping with the garden. You can teach English and a whole range of other skills, you can help treating patients if you’re a doctor, or you can simply play games with the kids. If you prefer to do something from home, you are most welcome to help us fundraise.

As you will realize, a little here can make a big difference over there….Together we can give these kids a better, brighter future.

If you would like to know more about our volunteering opportunities please go to our Ecoteer page at VOLUNTEER IN INDIA

2010 Volunteers Impacts on Community projects – Kenya

We are proud to have made some positive impacts through our eye-opening volunteer program to local grassroots projects.

As the year 2010 winds up and we look forward to greater achievements, we have significantly changed the lives of both the local communities and volunteers as stated by one of our community project member:

“Volunteers have awakened a new sense of pride to our initiatives in the small forgotten villages of the world, it is a spirit to be upheld” Ann Anam – Uhanga education water and sanitation project, Nyanza Province – Kenya.

Indeed, this is a spirit to be cherished and honoured just like those who have volunteered would testify. There are many other sentiments echoed by volunteers and the communities, such as appreciation, pride, and openness to other cultures… This appreciation and hope calls for the continuation of our programs for the benefit of the local people.

In this Year 2010, we have worked with more than 10 different community projects in Kenya dealing with environmental and wildlife conservation, humanitarian, teaching and healthcare.

In these projects, we have been able to get over 200 international volunteer applicants from all over the world. And this has helped the communities to take the projects to the next level, for the benefit of the whole community, through implementation of ideas shared by the volunteers, skills input and physical labour.

All in all, there is still a lot to be done and many community initiatives to be uplifted. We thus hope that Year 2011 will bring more smiles to volunteer’s faces and thumbs up developmental steps to the community projects we support. We appreciate the efforts that have been put in by our partners, such as Ecoteer, which makes it easier for volunteers to find suitable placements. We also want to thank all the volunteers who have offered their time and energy to community projects. And we welcome any goodwill among the young people around the world, who want to make a difference in development and will thus discover more about themselves.

Thank You for reading,

Please visit our Ecoteer placement page now

Volunteer Kenya

How our project is benefiting the local community

At the beginning

-Most local thai people and children cannot speak english.

-Some local people don’t know what benefit our centre can bring to the local community

Our project has been running now for 4 years and the local people and children can speak in english with our volunteers and the community are starting to see how they are benefitting from our volunteer centre.

How the children have improved their English

Before at the school and in the village (rural schools in Thailand do not teach the children english) most of the students cannot read, write, speak and pronounce english. In the beginning the students cannot communicate with our volunteers our camp leaders (Thai volunteers) will always translate for them. But now our students can communicate and speak much better with the volunteers and even in some classes they do not need a camp leader to translate anymore. The children now know how to greet and talk with the volunteers and are no longer shy as they were before.

Success with our community farming

The volunteers help to raise fish and chickens. They also help us to grow organic vegetables (no chemicals) which are used in the camp making our project more self sustainable.  We also plant Galanga and can now send them to be sold at the market.  We have just started to plant new baby rubber trees.

Our fruits tree are growing up very fast and we have already got fresh fruits ready to eat.

The volunteers have finished building our new chicken house.

Other progress

Our volunteers and local people get on well and enjoy exchanging their experiences, culture and language.

We are helping the local school and community by supplying support teaching materials such as textbooks, pencils, colouring pencils and more.

We are starting to support the disabled, blind and old.  People with disabilities are not well looked after in Thailand. And are also supporting traditional activities (such as Children day, Songkhran festival, merit ceremony) in the village and community.

Our environmental programs in the villages are another success we collect the garbage (at the temple, school, beach, waterfall) and plant trees near the street, temple, school and other public places. We always ask the local community to join in when we do these activities.

We have alot of work still to do and we need some more help from volunteers.  Inparticular we need help at the schools, teaching the children English.  We are connected with 10 schools and we dont have enough volunteers to support all of them. Secondly we need volunteers for help with our farming, agriculture and environmental awareness projects like recycling and tree planting so we hope in future we can welcome more volunteers to our centre.

To find out more information please go to our Ecoteer page below

Volunteer Thailand

What Ecoteer volunteers get up to in India

In 2009/2010, we had a total of 15 volunteers at our rural development project in
the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, some 120 miles east of Delhi.  They included
three L.S.E. graduates, a nurse from the U.S.A., a computer scientist from Canada, a
language and media teacher from Germany, a high school graduate from Norway, a
mental health nurse from Barbados and a marketing manager from Spain as well as
six others from the U.K. – in other words, a very cosmopolitan mix. They all
enjoyed their stay and four of them, who live in or near London, joined our
executive committee on their return and are now trustees.

These volunteers did a range of activities while in the project. Two of the L.S.E.      graduates undertook a research project into the pollution of the countryside caused by a large paper mill that was set up in the area fifteen years ago. The third looked into the financial viability of running a computer course for local villagers and students.  Anita, whose particular interest is photography, took many excellent photos for us during her stay. She also assisted with the teaching of English in the project primary school.  Teaching English to the primary schools students is an activity that is always available to volunteers and visitors. Our volunteers also worked hard to stimulate the village children whose parents are often illiterate. They organised simple games, songs and art projects which the children loved.

There were also opportunities to teach Conversational English to older students who are studying in the degree college in the village. This is an important part of their education. Without a reasonable knowledge of English, villagers cannot compete for jobs against townspeople. The project’s aim is to bring the modern resources and facilities of the towns and cities to the villages.

During the year, we also had return visits from three people who had volunteered with us several years ago.

To find out more about our project please visit our Ecoteer page at Volunteer in India

Agro-ecological farm in Costa Rica

Our agroecological farm is located in San Isidro de El General, Costa Rica, near Dominical Beach. We are an Environmental and Conservation Project, or “School Farm,” with education as our top priority. At our farm, students, volunteers, and visitors can participate, learn and help.

We receive volunteers, students, and environmental interns locally and from abroad. Primarily we work with volunteer group organizations that are interested in environmental education, however all are welcome at our farm, from individuals up to large groups.

We are very interested in welcoming volunteers from your school, organization, or program and would encourage you to visit our Ecoteer page, volunteer farm Costa Rica for more information. There you will find a detailed description of our grass roots campaign and a summary of the numerous projects we are currently working on. Please feel free to share our mission and information with your friends, family, and co-workers to help us continue our environmental education. In addition to working at our farm, we also encourage our guests to visit the local sites including Dominical and Uvita Beach and Hot Springs and we are more than happy to organize guided tours.

We offer ideal opportunities for graduate students and researchers to extend knowledge, pursue specific interests, find field work or extend opportunities for thesis material. Undergraduate students who wish to pursue a career in conservation often need volunteer work and hands-on experience as a prerequisite. This experience is an excellent way to verify an interest in a specific field. We provide excellent opportunities for gaining experience and making contacts at the outset of a professional career in conservation. In addition, students with families are always welcome as we began as a family farm.

Our family believes the best way to preserve our Planet Earth is for everyone to become active and lend a helping hand to Mother Nature. We currently have major challenges, including green house gasses and global warming, ever expanding landfills, pesticides in our fruit, vegetables, and meat, and shortages of suitable drinking water to name a few. No matter what town, country or continent you live on, we must all live together under the same sun during the day and the stars and moon at night. If we all recognized the issues and started to change one bad habit at a time it would have an enormous effect on the planet immediately, but we all must work together. So start today and join us in our mission to change our planets course and educate future generations.

Thank you for your time and consideration from the Villalobos family and we look forward to hearing from you.

Teaching english in Borneo

Its now been a few weeks since the return of pioneer volunteers, Donna Barlow, Arsalan Naeem and Jody Lee from the isolated schools of Sabah.  The volunteers certainly had an experience not to be forgotten from large spiders hiding in toilets to encountering herds of elephants whilst on night river cruises.

The volunteers first school was at Tomanggong palm oil plantation which is near  Tabin wildlife reserve.  The schools are very isolated and are a 2 hour 4×4 journey  away from the nearest town Lahad Datu.  But saying that the plantation has all what  you need including a small bar and badminton courts but phone signal is low which  is great.  The volunteers helped at the small school (60 children) run by Judith and  Ardana.  The children raise the Malaysian flag and sing songs including the Humana  song each morning.  The children were preparing for a competition at the end of  July where they would compete against 20 other schools in events such as football,  tyre rolling, volleyball, singing and dancing to name a few.  Each afternoon the  volunteers helped the children to practice for these events with Arsalan being the  football coach.  The housing the volunteers stayed in had been abandoned for a  while and many new squatters had taken residence in the house.  One day, Arsalan went to the toilet and to his astonishment when he stood up a HUGE spider was sat in the toilet bowl looking up at him! HELLO.  The plantation and surrounding forests are FULL of creepy crawlies and a nice dry cool house is very appealing for these critters.  Not all the animals living in the surrounding forest are all that creepy.  The plantation backs onto Tabin Wildlife Reserve which is home to Pygmy elephants, Sumatran rhino’s and orangutans.  On one of routes out of the plantation goes pass Tabin reserve and if you are lucky you can see these creatures crossing the road – Arsalan and Jody saw a few herds of elephants.  The weekend event soon came with the Tomanggong team ready and willing to take on the other schools!  After a non eventful journey to the event location the children of Tomanggong won all but 1 event!  With Arsalan’s football team not losing a single game.  The journey back was somewhat more eventful with tires bursting and heavy rains swelling rivers but after 7 hours and very wet clothes everyone made it safely back to Tomanggong.

The second month was based at Melangking which is just 15km from Sukau village which is the  centre of river cruises to see various wildlife including orangutans, elephants, hornbills,  crocodiles and even sun bears.  The plantation has three schools with between 20 to 40 children  going to each school. The children are again well behaved but it is obvious the children lack  confidence in speaking and writing english and their environmental awareness is very low.    Donna an orangutan and nature lover found her place at Melangking and started a recycling  scheme at all three schools at this plantation.  Teaching is not the only thing the volunteers  experienced here!  Have you ever seen male chickens’, cockerels wearing boxing gloves???  Well  one day the volunteers look out their window only to see two cockerels fighting with small  gloves on their claws.  These cockerels were practicing for cock fights which are illegal but are  run at all villagers throughout Borneo especially after pay day.  You never know what you may  see.  Being in the plantation is one experience not to be forgotten.

I personally would like to say a big THANK YOU to the Borneo Child Aid Society (BCAS), the two plam oil estates (Melangking and Tomanggong), Judith, Nesta, Junecel, Torben,  Mr Chee and Mr Wong and of course the three brave pioneer volunteers – Arsalan, Donna and Jody.

Ecoteer are now working with BCAS on a permanent volunteer program focusing on improving the English skills and environmental awareness of the children of the Palm Oil estates.  The program is starting on January 3^rd 2011 at Melangking estate and hopefully in the future we will be able to host volunteers at Tomanggong and other estates in the future.

We hope this is the start of helping not only the children but the wildlife living in the rainforests surrounding the palm oil estates of Sabah.

For more information on the new volunteer program please go to teach english in Borneo

For information on other volunteering opportunities go to the following pages

Volunteer borneo

volunteer malaysia

volunteer asia

Volunteer Abroad

Teach English in Thailand

Ecoteer have been superb at helping us locate excellent volunteers to come on English teaching projects this summer in Surin, Thailand, but our work is never done. We are continually looking for volunteers for the year ahead to come out on one of our three English teaching projects. As well as teaching English to children and adults and our childcare project we are particularly keen on finding volunteers to spend a week on our English camp project. We have schools waiting for us to run these camps, but to do so we must find at least 3 volunteers willing to come on the same week. The English camps are a lot of fun and ideal for people who only have a short amount of time to spare. If you are planning to come to Thailand for a holiday, then why not do something different whilst you are here and get a friend or 2 to join you on an English camp? We guarantee you will have an unforgettable experience and get to see the real Thailand. For more information on this and all our projects, check out our listings on Ecoteer

For our English camps go to English education work camps in Thailand

Also check out our other projects

Teach English to children in Thailand

Teach english to adults in Thailand

Help orphans in Thailand

Volunteer Southeast Asia

Volunteer in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia (SE Asia) is a collection of related but dissimilar states squeezed between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The area has long been a favorite corner of the world for globe-tramping backpackers, well-known for its perfect beaches, tasty cuisine, low prices, and good air connections.

Southeast Asia is perfect for the volunteer looking for a tried and tested location perhaps its your first volunteer project, gap year, travelling independently or careerbreak.  Volunteer in SE Asia and you will not be disappointed or lost in the middle of nowhere.  Use volunteering in south east asia as a stepping stone to other locations like India or China.  Southeast asia’s perfect beaches and lush forests make it a wise choice for any eco traveller.

Recommended volunteer abroad projects in Southeast Asia

Volunteer in Malaysia

Turtle Volunteer project in Perhentian, Malaysia

Cost – GBP200 per week

Be part of our fledgling community-based turtle conservation and marine awareness project in the most beautiful bay in the Perhentian Islands, off mainland Malaysia. Green turtles are in dire need of our help especially in Terengganu, where 4 species of marine turtle nest but three of them, the hawksbill, Olive Ridley and Leatherbacks are almost locally extinct. Volunteers help protect an important turtle beach, run a fortnightly after-school club at the primary school and teach tourists about marine conservation and turtle protection.

Join the Turtle volunteer project now

Orangutan volunteering in Borneo

Cost: Over GBP200 per week

The orangutan project is a collection of orangutan conservation projects in both Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo, funded by volunteer contributions. The GOP”s strength lies in its unique collaboration of orangutan conservation organisations or individuals who exchange knowledge, advice and ideas towards orangutan conservation in this part of the world. Each project has the shared vision of increasing the size and health of Borneo orangutan populations, bringing them back from the brink of extinction.

Join the Orangutan volunteer project new

Volunteer and teach English at borneo learning centres

Cost: Unknown

Ecoteer are combing forces with a local NGO to help them expand their network of learning centres across Sabah, Borneo Malaysia.  This volunteer project will be the second project to be run by Ecoteer.  Help teach English to the children of palm oil workers who would otherwise have no education.

Teach English in Sabah, borneo Malaysia.

Volunteer in Cambodia

Volunteer in ecotourism or teach in Cambodia

Cost: FREE

The lodge offers bed and breakfast accommodation to “green” and eco-friencly travellers, but it is also open to all kinds of visitors who want to stay somewhere completely different to conventional lodging in town. Volunteers teach English to the youth of the tribal groups to make them more employable.  English is not included in the national curriculum so volunteers teaching English is of great need.

Volunteer teach english and help the Cambodian youth find tourism employment

Volunteer in Laos

Volunteer in Laos and become part of the community

Cost: GBP100 per week

Our volunteer project focuses on community-based voluntourism in the Northern region of Laos. We help 7 villages to organize and run their own tourist products. We believe responsible tourism is the only way to reduce poverty in this region and are succeeding!  Volunteers live like a villager in Northern Laos and take part in everyday tasks.  Volunteers teach English and assist the community.  Volunteering in Laos is a great way to experience what Thailand was like pre- mass tourism.

Highly recommended.

Volunteer and immerse yourself in Laos culture

Volunteer in Laos textile

Cost: GBP50 per week

This volunteer project in laos is dedicated to Lao cultural preservation through the promotion of Lao textile arts. It is our goal to economically and socially benefit Lao rural mountain artisans and thereby contribute to the wider community especially to women.

Unique aspects are that our new volunteers do not come into an existing role rather than being able to co-steer the process of building up the future work with their commitment. A small team is in place to supervise and the founder of the Foundation can guide through various ideas connected to the projects aims.

Volunteer in Laos now

Volunteer in Thailand

Volunteers help the rural community of Thailand

Cost: GBP20-50 per week

The rural population in Thailand is poor and has only little access to education. Volunteers who share their lifes and support them can make a big change.  Volunteers at this project get involved in teaching English, construction and just about anything that makes the lifes of the local community better.

Highly recommended.

Volunteer and make a difference in Thailand

Volunteer with Elephants in Thailand

Cost – GBP100 per week

The Elephant Park is a unique project set in Northern Thailand. Established in the 1990″s our aim has always been to provide a sanctuary and rescue centre for elephants. Elephant volunteer jobs are varied, from bathing elephants to basic health care. Volunteer roles also include assisting elephants keepers bathing elephants and general duties around the park and surrounds.

Become a elephant volunteer in Thailand

Teach English in thailand

Cost: GBP100 per week

Most children in the Surin region will have never seen a foreigner and by meeting volunteers first hand and understanding the bigger picture, they can really grasp the reason and importance behind their studies. Volunteer roles at this project vary from teaching English to adults and children running educational camps and volunteer at orphanages.  Surin is one of the most poorest areas of Thailand and volunteer helpers are needed desperately.

Volunteer and teach English in Thailand

Volunteer in Borneo

Marine volunteer in Sabah, Borneo

Cost – GBP100 per week

Giant Clams the pearls of coral reefs are almost locally extinct.  Become a marine volunteer in Borneo and help save these Giants.  Volunteers help with the spawning of giant clams and coral re-planting work.  Volunteers are also involved in the environmental education work with school children.

Become a marine volunteer in borneo

Orangutan volunteering in Borneo

Cost: Over GBP200 per week

The orangutan project is a collection of orangutan conservation projects in both Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo, funded by volunteer contributions. The GOP”s strength lies in its unique collaboration of orangutan conservation organisations or individuals who exchange knowledge, advice and ideas towards orangutan conservation in this part of the world. Each project has the shared vision of increasing the size and health of Borneo orangutan populations, bringing them back from the brink of extinction.

Join the Orangutan volunteer project new

Volunteer and teach English at borneo learning centres

Cost: Unknown

Ecoteer are combing forces with a local NGO to help them expand their network of learning centres across Sabah, Borneo Malaysia.  This volunteer project will be the second project to be run by Ecoteer.  Help teach English to the children of palm oil workers who would otherwise have no education.

Teach English in Sabah, borneo Malaysia.

Walking from Kuala Terengganu to Merabang Panjang

Sea turtles are “ambassadors of the oceans”, for conserving these animals means protecting the seas and coastal areas. The collection of nesting numbers is vital for their conservation but has never been conducted statewide in Terengganu therefore the walk will provide invaluable data which the decision makers wouldnt otherwise have. The Walk for Turtles event is a 10 day walk which will start, annually, on World Sea Turtle Day (16th June), in 2010 from Dungun to Kuala Besut, visiting every beach along the way (mainland and islands). The team will be collecting invaluable sea turtle data during the walk, visit conservation projects and give awareness talks. The data will be used to identify potential new areas for sea turtle nest conservation in Terengganu. The walk will be further extended in 2011 to cover all beaches in the State of Terengganu resulting in a thorough annual monitoring of sea turtle nesting densities. Raising awareness is the second objective of the walk with the team hosting presentations, meeting turtle conservation experts and visiting conservation projects. The event will be broadcast via the worldwide web, television and newspapers raising awareness throughout the world. The third objective of the walk is to raise RM100,000 for sea turtle conservation projects throughout Terengganu. The funds will be used to support sea turtle conservation in Terengganu, Malaysia.

To find out more walk for turtles