Volunteer in India at Farm and Conservation Project which Includes Reforestation

  India

Auroville

Durations of Program: 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months, 7-12 months, 1-2 years and over 2 years
Typical Duration of Program: 5-8 weeks
Dates: All year

Description: We are a vegan home-schooling family establishing a sustainable community. Our main project is the reforestation of 70 acres of severely eroded land in the international community of Auroville. We are working to re-create the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest indigenous to our area. We practice an eco-friendly way of life including veganism, organic gardening, alternative construction, solar energy, and composting toilets. Throughout the year, we welcome volunteers of all ages and physical abilities, and warmly invite families with children. Accommodation is free in exchange for 4 hours of work per day, 5 days a week. Free facilities include: bungalows, bicycles, a small book collection, a small swimming pool, a vegan community kitchen, and a children's playground. We offer an environment for personal development, yoga and meditation. Auroville offers a wealth of courses, workshops and treatments in areas, including yoga, meditation, tai-chi, shiatsu, water shiatsu, etc.

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.

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.

This project is part of Ecoteer - the solution to travel and volunteering on a shoestring.

Ecoteer is a unique volunteer opportunities agency - offering a directory of cheap volunteer work opportunities, volunteer jobs abroad and working holidays. Our volunteer opportunities are cheap because we have eliminated the middleman slashing the price to volunteer abroad for gapyears, careerbreaks and working holidays. Ecoteer is leading the way in a new type of volunteer work opportunities abroad and is changing the volunteer and working holiday industry back to what it used to be   benefiting both the volunteer and the volunteer project.

We have other opportunities in ecotourism, conservation, humanitarian aid and teaching in other 50 countries.

To volunteer with Ecoteer you need to become an Ecoteer volunteer member which costs only £20 per year.

Please inquire for more of our cheap volunteering opportunities.

Highlights: 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.

Qualifications: None

Cost in US$: Free

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to India Independently

Typically Participants Work in Groups of 1-10

Application Process Involves:

• Other
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Job and Internship Network

Ecoteer's Mission Statement: To help locally run grass root organisations to achieve their aims via attracting paying volunteers and tourists. Plus we personally help develop and improve the projects we work with to help them to achieve their objectives.

Year Founded: 2005