PROJECT OUTLINE

Project

Madagascar Pioneer Volunteering

Location

Fort Dauphin

Province

Fort Dauphin

Country

Madagascar

Closest city

Fort Dauphin

Closest airport

Tolagnaro / Fort Dauphin

Malaria-free area

No. Volunteers are required to take an appropriate malarial prophylaxis.

Vaccinations

Tetanus required

Duration

Minimum:  5 weeks by prior arrangement

Maximum: 10 weeks

Combination

This project can be combined with any other project

Requirements

Minimum age 18 years old, maximum age decided depending on participant’s health.

Skills needed

• Flexibility, adaptability
• Scientific research / data capturing and recording skills
• Environmental monitoring / data capturing and recording skills
• Tutoring / capacity building skills
• Practical hands-on ability / construction

Dates

Programmes run four (4) times a year beginning in January, April, July and October.

• 8^th January – 8^th March
• 1^st April - 9^th June
• 1^st July – 8^th September
• 5^th October – 13^th December.

Hours

Volunteers will generally work from about 8.30am – 12 noon, followed by a 2 hour lunch break to eat, relax, sleep or even do your washing! And then project work again from 3 – 5pm.

Costs*

5 Week Programme (by prior arrangement only):

• £1, 500 charitable donation (UK costs)
• £100 for each additional week up to the £2,000 for the 10 week programme (U costs)

10 Week Programme:

• £2,000 charitable donation(UK costs)

The minimum donation is a donation to support the charitable work of the charity. Funds generated by the program support projects in Madagascar, with some 90% of all donations to being spent in direct pursuit of our charitable aims.

Don't let the size of the required donation put you off! The charity has an office to directly support volunteers in raising this donation, with a wealth of fundraising experience and resources available to volunteers including manuals, raffle tickets, posters, sponsor forms, online donation facilities, collection boxes etc!

The fee will also cover you for all in-country travel costs (excluding flights), project costs, training, meals and plenty of safe water, use of campsite facilities, orientation and language classes upon arrival and a dedicated team to guide you in Madagascar.

Inclusions

• A dedicated volunteer coordinator based in London to help you prepare for your trip
• Airport transfer from Fort Dauphin to the project site
• Orientation program about Madagascar and the work of the charity and all in-country project training
• Any daily transport that might be required as part of the project during your stay
• Use of campsite facilities and 3 meals a day and plenty of safe drinking water at project base
• A dedicated team of Malagasy staff to guide you in Madagascar as well as an international Pioneer coordinator who is themselves an ex-volunteer.
• A visit to Nahampoana Reserve for an up close experience with several species of Lemur

Exclusions

Transport to Fort Dauphin in Madagascar, personal travel insurance for the duration of your placement, all visa costs, and personal equipment.

Accommodation

You will camp in some of the most beautiful sites in the world and wake up to deserted beaches and forests teeming with wildlife on your doorstep!

Volunteers will camp for the duration of their placement, camping facilities are provided but you will need to bring your own tent.

When in Fort Dauphin, volunteers camp at the stunning lake-side site of Lanirano, which is fully equipped with flush toilets and showers as well as electricity for charging cameras, ipods, mobile phones etc. Laundry services are also available locally.

Whilst working in the more rural areas facilities will be more basic but there will always be latrine and private washing amenities. Water will be collected (and treated) from nearby rivers and wells. Although conditions here will be more basic than you are used to we can assure you that you will be surrounded by some of the most lush and remote places in the world!

Daily Transport on project

After a first week of orientation and training in the town of Fort Dauphin volunteers will spend the majority of their time working on projects in the surrounding rural villages. Between working on these projects in the bush volunteers will have a few days back in town to catch up with banking and emailing, and enjoy a well-deserved rest and a meal in a restaurant! Transport to the rural villages will usually be by ‘camion’ also transporting project material, possibly followed by a walk from the road to the village, once there the group will generally camp within walking distance of the project site.

Be prepared for adventurous road journeys, physical work and long walks to reach remote and beautiful project sites. The work is challenging but incomparably rewarding.

Meals

A resident cook travels with the team and is responsible for preparing meals for Pioneers each day. Food is simple, but tasty, nutritionally balanced and locally sourced. Meals mainly consist of rice and beans, supplemented with fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and eggs when available, and there should always be enough honey or condensed milk to satisfy a sweet tooth. Chocolate, crisps, croissants and ice-cream are all available for sale in Fort Dauphin and there are some excellent restaurants serving well cooked Western and Malagasy dishes at reasonable prices – think zebu steak and chips, fresh seafood and even pizza! A plentiful supply of treated drinking water will always be available however it is often possible to purchase soft drinks, bottled water, beer and rum from local stores, even in the remoter locations.

Host Resources

Orientation provided

Training provided

Possible tasks

1. Sustainable Livelihoods Projects

• School building: Volunteers are helping this NGO address the high demand for schools in the rural areas of the southeast. The majority of Madagascar’s population live in isolated rural communities and have little or no access to even basic levels of formal education, often children are forced to walk up to 20km per day to attend schools in other communities. The government’s action plan aims to construct at least 3,000 classrooms by 2012 to enable children, aged 6-14, to be taught for at least a half-day, every day and, through assisting with the building of schools, volunteers are contributing to the success of this aim. Volunteers help in all aspects from building the actual school to supplying books and constructing furniture.
• English Teaching: In recent times, eco-tourism has become increasingly important for Madagascar’s economic development and as a viable means of advancing the development of sustainable livelihoods among the Malagasy people.  As a result, there has been increased demand for the teaching of English as a means of capitalising on the opportunities presented by tourism and the increased presence and activity of international NGOs.  Volunteers will sometimes get involved with this project; assisting our permanent English teaching program working with young unemployed youth in Fort Dauphin, and also teaching basic English to schoolchildren in the surrounding rural villages.
• Improved food security: Basic lack of food is an ongoing issue which claims many lives in Madagascar. In this component volunteers assist in developing demonstration and training sites both in town, and in idyllic but very poor rural villages. Volunteers will work on improved planting and harvesting techniques with improved crop varieties, and help develop project sites into thriving examples for the local community.  A lot of emphasis is placed on implanting these project concepts into rural schools, working alongside teachers, parents and students to create school gardens, tree nurseries and teach other practical skills that are vital for the sustainable future of rural youth.

2. Health and Sanitation Work

• Well Construction: Clean water is of course vital to human life and a necessity to prevent the spread of diseases such as cholera that are present in Madagascar. The project is assisting the government of Madagascar to reach the goal of clean water for 80% of rural people by 2015.  Volunteers will work with the experienced Project construction team to build new wells requested by villagers and repair or improve existing ones. As a volunteer you may dig the well, mix the cement, construct the iron foundations or even construct and decorate the base!  We aim that all groups will complete at least one water point during their time in Madagascar.
• Construction of Latrines: This will typically be for a local school and links well with Health Education lessons provided for school children by the Project. Again volunteers will be involved in all aspects of the construction process guided by the experienced Project construction team, including foundation laying, mixing cement, brick laying & brick making, and painting.
• Health Education: Through songs, role play and demonstrations, volunteers may work with Project’s Health and Sanitation team to inform children about the benefits of hand washing, teeth brushing and using latrines.  This is where those of you who like to show off can really shine and, for the quieter members of the group, there is always work backstage!

3. Environmental Conservation

• Setting up Tree Nurseries: In celebration of the projects 10^th anniversary, project managers took on the task of reforestation of 80 hectares of barren land with the help of international volunteers. Crucial to this ongoing reforestation activity, we are in the process of setting up tree nurseries, in Lanirano and a number of villages. Volunteers’ help is usually focused on the propagation and planting of a large number of trees for this ambitious project.
• Environmental Education: Environmental education in its many forms is a key prerequisite for conservation. This has involved the building of a forest information centre, the preparation and presentation of posters, and working with local children to raise awareness of the need for conservation. Volunteers enthusiasm and creativity is essential to aid the communication of environmental issues with local communities, especially with children.
• Build Improved Stoves: Volunteers are helping promote the construction of “improved stoves”, in an effort to reduce both the pressure on the forest and improve the health of local people and the time spent collecting firewood.  The stoves promoted are simple and can be made from local materials; they create an enclosed cooking space which requires 60% less firewood, shorted cooking times, and lessens eye and lung problems through the reduction in smoke  Volunteers may be involved in both the hands-on construction of these stoves and the promotion of them in rural communities,

Recommended Tours

Please consult us further

* Prices subject to change without prior notice