Borneo Tribeschildren and Horses Volunteer

This project is packed with the best that Borneo has to offer, it is ideal for people who love the great outdoors, enjoy exotic culture and cuisine and above all really want to work with children. If you enjoy working with children, or horses, or just want to escape and experience another way of life, then this project offers a challenging, fulfilling option. Volunteers are invited to become active members of the local society, living out in rural Borneo, and participating in activities that benefit the lifestyle and the education of the local tribe’s people.

Project Age Limit
Minimum 18 years, maximum decided on potential participant’s health.

The Volunteer Programme
The project is based in a secluded region of northern Sarawak, relatively untouched by tourism. The nearest large city is Miri, which has a population of 300,000 people.

Miri is the main tourist gateway for the Loagan Bunut National Park, Lambir National Park and the Niah Caves National Park and is considered to be a safe city that has a low crime rate.

The farm is a mini agro-forestry park and wildlife sanctuary and has been developed under stringent ecological principles, as a measure to preserve the peace and tranquillity. Crops are cultivated for their health value and ecological considerations. Half of the land is secondary forest, which is being conserved and rehabilitated to its original tropical rainforest condition and into a small wildlife and bird sanctuary. The farm is also exploring the use of solar energy to meet its energy needs for the future and to further develop its eco-friendly status. The farm has a great relationship with local tribe’s villages and is involved with helping at the local school. The aim of the farm is to educate the outside world on unique conservation techniques and is working closely on carbon offset projects, teaching environmental English to schools, eco guide training workshops, and encouraging rainforest village industries.

Your day to day activities will generally include visiting the local kindergarten and school to interact with the tribes children, tree planting, learning tribal traditions, going on a lake cruise at a nearby National Park and general farm work. You will also be able to spend time with the farm’s horses, but this will not be a daily activity.

The farm is almost 100% eco-friendly. Local materials have been used for the building and all food is organic. Volunteers can benefit from learning healthy living techniques on site. Yoga classes are offered by the owner, as well as lessons in herbal remedies, nutrition, oils etc. For those who are passionate about the environment you will welcome the chance to offset your carbon dioxide emissions for the year by planting trees in the forest surrounding the farm, as part of the rainforest regeneration project.

The tribal children are in desperate need of English speaking volunteers who can involve them in learning activities. If your preference is to help with manual, hands on work, you may also have the chance to help with the building of new classrooms for the tribe children.

A highlight for volunteers with some horse riding experience will be the chance to go horse riding in the jungle, but for those who do not wish to ride there will be the option to help groom and care for the horses.

Children
During your first visit to the kindergarten/school you will get to know more about the children there. You will have the chance to interact with the children through simple games and play, as many of the children will not be able to communicate well in English. You will then have the opportunity to draw up a programme for interaction with the children for subsequent visits.

The school is about 15 km from the camp and has around 300 students with 27 teachers. The level of English at the school is low which is why there is such a need for volunteer presence. Students at the school are very bright and pass Maths and science. However, if they fail the English exam it means that all their hard work passing Maths and science is wasted and they fail everything!

Farm Work
You will undertake daily routine farm activities, such as feeding animals such as deer, birds and fish, cleaning the horses’ stables, producing organic manure and maintaining the organic vegetable farm.

You may also help with periodic farm maintenance activities for various crops, such as dragon fruit, coffee, oil palm and fruit trees. Planting of trees, maintenance of tracks and trails, and landscaping are also examples of the wide variety of activities that you may have the opportunity to help with.

Further farm activities may also include planting, weeding and harvesting hill paddy fields and winnowing of paddy fields. Occasionally farm work will include construction of farm infrastructure and buildings and making nurseries.

Project Support
Throughout your stay in Borneo you will have the support and guidance of our coordinator and team. You will be provided with competent assistance and help with any questions, or advice you may need during your stay.

In addition you will have access to a 24 hour emergency contact number so you can contact one of our UK staff at any time should you need to.

Project Orientation
Upon arrival at the farm, you will be invited to a welcome dinner. There will then be an orientation session with information about the project and the available opportunities, including:

Safety is paramount on this project, so you will be housed in a comfortable farmhouse, which is guarded at night. The accommodation is based on a maximum of 3 people sharing a room and most rooms have attached bathrooms with modern flush toilets. All rooms are fitted with wall fans, though they may only be required during early evening, as the rooms are well ventilated. The house is now almost completely free of mosquitoes, which is very unusual for a remote jungle lodge. The rooms are tidied daily and linen and pillows are provided.

If you have any further questions about the Tribes-children and Horses programme in Borneo or you would like to book your place on the programme, please contact the Malaysia team at Real Gap on 01892 516164 or email the Asia Programme Manager at Katie.singleton@realgap.co.uk.