Ecoteer

Welcome to Phil, Alex & Football!

At the start of October, RUDEC welcomed Ecoteer Volunteer Phil Gurney from the UK to the family. He will be initially volunteering until July 2012 and is open minded about joining as a long term volunteer. A Scouts Leader and Senior Mentor at ‘The Challenge’ (The largest provider of the British Government’s National Citizen Service), he is passionate about young people and helping them to unlock their potential as responsible, energised members of the community.

At the start of November, RUDEC also welcomed Alex Bradley from the UK. Alex will be volunteering until the end of January and brings with him a wealth of experience of working with, and supporting, the most deprived and disadvantaged families in the communities of the UK. During his time in Belo, Alex will be working with Phil to develop and launch a new development project which utilises the power of sport. Football4Action (F4A) aims to empower young people to be leaders of social change. By providing educational workshops which combine football with health/life skills F4A will help young people to develop their personal & social skills, give them a safe environment to express themselves and discuss important community issues, and lay the foundations for a legion of F4A Ambassadors (peer-educators) capable of spreading their message throughout the region. The project start date is January 2012 and Phil and Alex are hard at work laying the necessary foundations to make the project a success. Donations of footballing equipment are essential to make this project possible.

Any donations (financial or equipment) are greatly welcomed and will enable RUDEC to provide young people with rights that are not currently being adequately met: The ‘right to full opportunity for play, recreation & sport’ (principle 7, Declaration on the Rights of the Child) & ‘the right to a voice on matters that affect them and to havetheir views taken seriously’ (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child).

Ecoteer volunteers use their volunteering to start a career

As a small boy Nick Hogervorst(20) from Holland loved to watch wildlife documentaries on the Discovery channel. Especially Africa drew his attention. When he got older he really went for the adventure. A three months trip to south Africa, an amazing experience. Now back in Holland he shakes up the world. Be careful with nature!

“Most of my toys were plastic wild animals or stuffed animals”, is what he remembers. “ and besides my uncle had a dairy farm where I often stayed in the holidays and helped out. I think this is where my passion for animals developed.”

After High school Nick started a study to become a veterinary assistant. the plan was to study further and become a vet. But after a while the study started to bore him so it appeared not to be the right choice. “I needed to get out and do something completely different”

“With my mum I stated to look at travel agencies. I always wanted to experience Africa. After a few weeks we found the perfect organization with amazing projects. After a intensive preparation I went to Hoedspruit, South Africa. Where I had the best 12 weeks of my life! I got the chance to help raising lion cups and rhino baby’s, caring for a cheetah cup. Training vultures and lots more. Also I achieved my FGASA level 1. That is the first level in Field guiding. So now I’m registered as a recognized first level safari guide at the field guide association southern Africa. Witch I’m proud of. I’ve learned, seen and experienced so much. And especially I’ve met incredible people. As a turned just 18 this journey had a big effect on me. I started to get really annoyed by all the things humans where doing to the beautiful nature worldwide. I had to do something, but what could I do?”

After the travel the adventurer started a new study Ecology&Wildlife. While looking for an internship he found the Atlantic whale foundation in Tenerife.

A hit !

Atlantic Whale Foundation
“This organization gives students a chance to observe and study dolphins and whales on the south coast of Tenerife. But the biggest part of the work is spent on problems in the world like whale hunting, poaching in Africa, loss of habitat, marine pollution and many more horrible subjects” Nick says.” The AWF raises awareness thru media and presentations and they also fight these problems where they start. by letting people know who is responsible for these scandals. They are also setting up new projects in counties as Sierra Leone. That is where AWF will help the community after years of war by education and setting up small businesses. They will also make documentaries and provide the opportunity for students to study the fantastic wildlife of Sierra Leone.”

Nick was very impressed by the organization of Ed Bentham, the founder of AWF, a very inspiring man. “I’ve went to Tenerife four times now to help out.”

Volunteer with Cetaceans

AWF Goes Wild
“After this experience I found it very difficult to stay busy with conservation at home. So I decided when I was back in June to set up my own part of AWF. A fundraising mechanism where I can put in all my energy and idea’s. and do completely my own thing an raise money for amazing projects around the world.”

Jake Parsons
Nick: “in the meeting at the house in Tenerife I held a shout out to anyone who would want to help me out with all my idea’s. everyone was enthusiastic and same night we all got together and had a little brainstorm. But there was one person who stood out and stayed up the whole night with me. And that person is Jake Parsons who without I would’ve never been able to do this. After a few days we decided on a name AWF Goes Wild! After that the whole thing took off and we’ve got a beautiful website.” (www.awfgoeswild.com)

Amsterdam Goes Wild
This year Nick and Jake are raising money for Save the rhino trust Namibia. This organization protects the last living wild population of black rhino’s. they raise the money by organizing big party’s around Europe the first party was on the 28^th of Oct in Club Roses Amsterdam and was a big success! And soon they will have a bar crawl in Bournemouth.

Nick is a keen Ecoteer member and is currently helping to promote not only his new ventures but also Ecoteer.com

Volunteer abroad – Ecoteer.com offers volunteer opportunities around the world

Responsible Travel in Asia – Ecoteer Responsible Travel offers green holidays which include an aspect of volunteering in Asia

Volunteerabroadasia.com– directory of low cost volunteer projects in Asia

Turtle conservation – Help Our Penyu a sea turtle conservation project was initiated by Ecoteer

Soapnuts — Mother Nature’s Answer to Wash and Clean

Have you ever realized that to make our household clean and tidy, free from dirt and dust, we used a lot of commercial detergents and cleaners? For example, we have washing detergents for dishes, laundry detergents for washing our clothes, floor cleaners to clean our floors. Imagine the amount of harmful chemicals and other stuff that we are using just to make sure that our house is clean as well as these products are then dumped into the sewerage and environment after used, multiply that amount by the number of people in the world, that is a very scary and alarming thought.

For people who can really afford it and environmentally conscious, there are many so called natural ingredients based cleaners and detergents that are currently available on the market, but the price of these products are usually a bit pricey for the rest of us. But even then, each of these products has its own plastic packaging and manufacturing process to produce it, this would translate to a significant amount of the carbon footprint and waste just to get that natural cleaner and detergents out to consumers. It has since been a quest of sorts for me to search for the ultimate cleaning agent from Nature and finally after so long, I’ve finally been able to come across what I believe is Nature’s best answer to my quest so far and the best part of it is that it grows on trees. ☺

Soapnuts are actually a kind of berries that grow on the soapnut trees which are usually found in the wild in Indonesia, Nepal and India. Once the fruits have ripened, they are gathered by hand, dried in the sun and with its seed taken out. The scientific name for soapnut is Sapindus Rarak or Sapindus Mukorossi (depending on where it is grown) reveals the powerful magic that gives it the ability to clean and wash, this magic ingredient is called saponin. Soapnut releases saponin when it is wetted, it is the saponin that helps to effectively wash and clean a wide range of items, from doing the laundry, doing the dishes to be used as a pesticide for plants. The saponin from the soapnut effectively replaces the current use of chemical detergents and commercial soaps that are currently found in today’s markets.

If we can replace all the commercial detergents and cleaners in the world, just imagine the amount of carbon footprint and environmental related pollution that would be significantly reduced by just using berries that are grown from trees. For those people who want to have live an eco-friendly and green lifestyle, this is really living the concept of coming from nature, going back to nature.

Soapnut Applications and Uses

1. All purpose cleaner
2. Laundry Detergent (Good for High Efficiency washing machine)

3. Great for washing of batik, silk, linen and delicate fabrics

4. Floor Cleaner

5. Jewellery cleaner

6. Window and glass cleaner

7. Dishwasher detergent

8. Hair Shampoo

9. Pet Shampoo

10. Vegetable wash

Online resources on using Soapnuts

1. How to Wash your Clothes Naturally with Soap Nuts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUm5S6Svomg

2. Soapnut Recipe 1 Making Liquid Cleaner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR2SLj7bZFM

3. Soapnuts Recipe 2 Foam Cleaner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASjw9QYcYFw

http://www.soap-nut.info

1. Bloo Lagoon Village, Bali

2. AIONA Guest House, Bali

3. Balila Guesthouse, Bali

4. Annabel Inn, USA

5. Salon Pacifique, Finland

6. Paskins Townhouse, UK

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

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

Terengganu Eco and Marine Tourism Conference (TEMCO 2010)

On the 1^st November 2010 Azimi and myself went to the first Terengganu marine and ecotourism conference.  One of the highlights of the conference was listening to Anuar McAfee who told us about the birds of Terengganu. He has seen 8 species of hornbill within a square mile near Tasik Kenyir which is more than the whole of Sarawak or even Borneo has.  I was shocked to hear there were even any species of Hornbill as I thought they only lived on the island Borneo. In fact Terengganu has a large variety of birds due to many types of habitats from montane to island.  We also listened to a talk from my good friend and owner of the world renowned Sukau Rainforest Lodge – Albert Teo.  Ecoteer has volunteer opportunities at Sukau Rainforest Lodge.  He told us about his new venture in the northern part of Sabah in an area near Kudat.  He is doing capacity building and soft skills training with the local communities there with the view to opening a new community based tourism product.  I really like the way Albert is so humble even though his lodge has just been named the best accommodation in Asia at the world tourism awards –you definitely cannot say success has gone to his head.

The second day the event turned to the sea with talks on the coastal environment of Terengganu, an ecosystem named BRIS.  The dominating species of the BRIS ecosystem are Melaleuca which includes the species nicknamed the Tea Tree.  Prof Jamilah from UMT told us about how the local people use the trees for medical purposes and handicraft – this could be a possibility for community based tours.  You can get the chance to experience the BRIS environment if you join the Terengganu Turtle conservation expedition.  After the BRIS talk, Rahayu from WWF Malaysia spoke of the potential for turtle tourism in the state and Clement Lee of Borneo Divers told us how Sipadan Island and Borneo Divers have benefitted from them removing their resort off the island.  It is a real credit that Borneo Divers did remove their resort from the island and the recovery of the island just shows how much damage resorts do to marine habitats.

The conference was wrapped up by a tour of the Setiu wetlands, PEWANIS and ended up with us all planting mangrove trees.  The ladies of PEWANIS are very inspirational and are developing their own cottage industries and conservation initiatives like the mangrove replanting.  Ecoteer through their Terengganu Turtle Expedition are supporting PEWANIS.  As an expedition volunteer you will not only get to meet and dine with the ladies but also join in a mangrove tree replanting session and help them make Kerepek Pisang (Banana chips) which they are famed.

All in all the conference was very interesting and a great success.  We hope this is not the last Terengganu Eco and Marine tourism Conference but the first of many.

Well done to the organisers.

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.

Conservation volunteer with our wildlife centre

“Come and join our exciting and dedicated team in the heart of the ‘Warm Heart of Africa’ – Malawi. Volunteer positions are currently available for keen and adaptable individuals with an earnest desire to make a difference. Our centre is a unique initiative of the Born Free Foundation. The world’s first ‘People and Wildlife’ centre, we are also Malawi’s only sanctuary for injured and orphaned wild animals, releasing them back into the wild wherever possible. We also believe that wildlife conservation can only be achieved in partnership with the local communities. Our outreach program addresses the pressures facing the people – through income generation, health and education projects – as well as improving awareness around the importance of caring for the wildlife and our shared environment.”

“We could not do our work without our volunteers, who are crucial in supporting our work in animal care, vet assistance, primate release, education, community outreach, marketing and/or construction. Placements are available from 3 weeks (£950) to 3 months (£2330) including all food, accommodation, work related transport and airport transfers (excluding flights). Find out more at Our Ecoteer page and from the video clip below…

Ecoteer Wildlife Centre – docu project 2010.

Responsible Travel

There are numerous accounts of where tourism has destroyed the original reason why people came to the destination in the first place the opposite of Responsible Tourism. The natural progression for a tourism destination involves one of low impact moving into mass tourism then the demand from tourism destroys the main attraction. Examples include the Pyramids in Egypt which are eroding away due to tourists or the great barrier reef which is dying with a large proportion of the blame being laid at the feet of the tourists themselves.

So what is Responsible Tourism???

Responsible tourism is tourism that strives to minimize its impact on the environment, to respect local people and cultures, to offer economic benefit to local businesses and communities, and to provide a memorable experience for travellers and protects destinations for future generations. Using small-scale lodging, local transportation, supporting locally-owned businesses, and incorporating community-based ecotourism projects into tours are some ways travel can work towards sustainability.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) provides a conceptual guide for the sustainable development of all tourism:

Responsible tourism development guidelines and management practices are applicable to all forms of tourism in all types of destinations, including mass tourism and the various niche tourism segments. Sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability.

The UNWTO provides further guidelines at unwto.org.

Ecoteer Responsible Travel endorses the Global Responsible Tourism Criteria, an international initiative to create a common understanding of responsible tourism. Four main themes drive the criteria: effective sustainability planning; maximizing social and economic benefits for the local community; enhancing cultural heritage; and reducing negative impacts to the environment. To learn more or download the criteria go to the Global Responsible Tourism Criteria website.

How is Ecoteer Responsible Travel practising Responsible tourism?

The Global Responsible Tourism criteria can be segmented into fours easy to answer questions. All Ecoteer Responsible Travel packages must adequately answer the following questions:-

1. Does the project have a clear aim?

Without a clear and concise aim a project will not be focused and ultimately fail to fulfill its intended purpose therefore making efforts by the project largely obsolete;

2. Does the package have a low tourist impact?

Small tourist numbers ensures minimized negative social and environmental impacts. The small group sizes ensures greater involvement and connection time per tourists with the local community and/or environment maximizing enjoyable, meaningful holiday experiences;

3. Does the tour package contribute to the local community?

With each tour locally owned accommodation and restaurants will be sought and a stated proportion of your fee will go towards the local economy ensuring your dollar goes to the hands of the people and animals who need it most;

4. Is there an element of environmental and/or cultural conservation?

On each tour you will be introduced, and where possible, asked to embrace the local culture of the people you visit, building an understanding and respect between the tourist and the host community. On many of the tours, particularly the voluntours, you will actively partake in social or environmental projects helping to conserve the culture and environment which ultimately are often the purpose of your travel in first place.

It is important to know that the projects associated with Ecoteer Responsible Travel are run 100% independently and Ecoteer Responsible Travel are providing them with the opportunity to be able to achieve their aim more efficiently.

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