Conservation Project in India which includes Reforestation
Placement number:
0220Location: India
Preferred Languages: English
Minimum Period: 3 months preferred with re-imbursement of food costs
Type of Volunteer: Everyone welcome including Families and children.
Role of Volunteer
We are offering both short and long term work exchange
volunteer/internship/study abroad opportunities in the fields of ecology,
sustainable living and conservation. The main objective is the reforestation of
70 Acres of severely eroded land in Tamil Nadu, India. We re-create the
indigenous forest of our area, the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest. This forest
type is found only in South India and Sri Lanka and provides a rare biological
richness due to its very high species abundance but it is now close to
extinction as only 0.01% survives.
We practice an eco-friendly way of
life including veganism, alternative construction, solar energy, water resource
management, and composting toilets.
We are happy to welcome volunteers
here any time of the year and always have plenty of space for them. We are fully
committed to accept everyone that wishes to volunteer here and help recreate the
forest.
The types of work you will be involved in includes: Tree
planting, indigenous plant nursery, contour bunding, organic gardening, fence
building and installing, compost and soil management with Effective
Microorganisms (EM).
We are particularly keen to hear from volunteers interested in the following long term positions:
Administration Assistant(minimum 3 months) To assist the director with the daily administration and correspondence related to Sadhana Forest. Basic computer skills necessary (email,word processing, internet use)Fundraising Coordinator(minimum 3 months) To assist with writing grant applications and contact potential funders. Previous experience is an advantage but not essential.
Head Gardener (minimum 1 year or more) To coordinate and manage the development and planting of the herb, fruit and vegetable gardens and coordinate volunteers maintaining these. Some previous gardening experience would be beneficial.
Volunteer Recruitment Organizer (minimum 3 months) To assist with the development of opportunities to recruit long term volunteers and to keep our entries on volunteer websites updated. No previous experience necessary. Basic computer skills needed.
Work Coordinator(minimum 3 months) To coordinate the team of volunteers working in the forest. On the job training will be provided. No previous experience needed.
Development Worker (minimum 3 months) To organize and facilitate weekly community meetings and assist with the development of the community in general. No previous experience needed.
Training for all these positions will be given. Previous experience would be an advantage but is not essential. For these positions a minimum of three months commitment applies. There is no maximum time limit for any of the positions.
You will have the opportunity to work closely with
the director. This will enable you to be actively involved in the planning and
implementation of our projects. We welcome and encourage new ideas and input. We
can also assist in research and independent studies.
This is
a nonprofit ecological project that does not generate any income. The only way
we can currently afford to compensate our volunteers is by providing them with
free on-site accommodation and other free facilities, such as a daily yoga
class, small swimming pool, internet access, the use of several bicycles, and a
small collection of books.
Unfortunately we cannot yet afford to provide
free food for our volunteers. We have communal vegan meals and use organic
ingredients whenever possible. We all equally share the cost of the food
ingredients we purchase. The total cost of food per person (including 3 meals a
day) is 100 Indian Rupees per day (approx. $3 US). In the future, when we grow
our own food, we hope to pay less.
We are particularly keen to have
volunteers staying for three months or more and those who do will have their
food costs reimbursed.
Cost
Free accommodation in return for 4 hours work a day, five days a week. Food costs are equally shared but we are particularly keen to have volunteers staying for three months or more and those who do will have their food costs reimbursed.
Volunteer Comments
Hi,
Sadhana Forest is definitely a great place to visit for any volunteer
interested in taking part in a really active environmental project. They've got
a fixed routine in time for work which starts early in the morning. The forest
around the area was previously extrordinarily arid and eroded but thanks to the
hard work of all the volunteers who've passed through, its on the way to
becoming its own self sufficient ecosystem. I loved my time there, working
in the forest, learning about the lifestyle practiced by Yorit and Aviram with
veganism and unschooling. Its a hybrid utopia in india for anyone wanting to get
dirty and plant more trees. We all lived in an eco-sustainable manner too, with
compost toilets and solar power.
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