Borneo family volunteering holiday

Planet

The overall aim of this project is to maintain and develop a beautiful area known as the ‘Corridor of Life’ located alongside the Kinabatangan River, a 560km long river in Sabah. The river runs from the centre of Borneo through its incredible, tropical rainforests, floodplains and mangroves and is an epicentre of biodiversity. The area in which the project is based, has been severely damaged by logging and plantations and requires urgent replanting to restore the habitat of countless rare and beautiful species. Volunteers on the project will assist mainly with wildlife population observation tasks, and data recording.

People

The indigenous Orang Sungai people depend on the rainforest and river for everyday resources. Volunteers working with the local community is an integral part of the area’s conservation, and the project is most likely to succeed when it bridges the gap between the community and the natural environment. Volunteers also spend half a day with school children in the local community, in an attempt to share the importance of conservation. This is important in the education of the next generation of local people, ensuring that they are aware of the importance of conserving their natural surroundings. Lunch and dinners will be in the private homes of individual villagers. allowing volunteers and local people to bond on a personal level.

More generally the project has a wider scope of community development. This involves the creation of a continuous project with the community of the local village.