Eco Waste Management/Beach Cleanup Volunteers, Maldives

If you are passionate about the environment and want to make a difference, then this is your chance to combine your passion for environmental issues with life on a tropical island and make a real difference to a community in need! On Naifaru island (and in the Maldives in general) there are serious waste management issues. These issues stem from a lack of capacity, awareness and knowledge about waste management and environmental protection.

This programme focuses on the planning, development, and implementation of a comprehensive waste management plan to help the island in the fight to control waste and pollution. As a volunteer on the Eco Waste Management Programme, you will be involved significantly in community organizing efforts and awareness campaigns to increase attention towards this issue. These campaigns often focus on schools and community centres. You will also be closely involved with representatives from the local authorities, community leaders, and youth in the various steps of planning, developing, and implementation of the waste management plan. Volunteers engage in every step of the process to best utilise the skills they bring to the community.

Location

A geological eccentricity nestled in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the Maldives are a series of ancient coral reefs that grew up around the sides of towering prehistoric volcanoes. These immense structures have long since sunk into the ocean, leaving behind coral islands of incredible natural beauty, from the modernity of Male to the idyllic paradise of the Southern Atolls.

The Maldives have bright blue skies, all-year sunshine and fantastic diving and snorkelling in lagoons the temperature of bathwater. The country embraces travellers from around the world but maintains a deep Muslim faith. The Maldives has a tropical climate with warm temperatures year-round and a great deal of sunshine. The weather is determined largely by the monsoon seasons.

Accommodation

Volunteers on this project stay together in our shared volunteer guest house. The guest house comes with a living room with comfortable furniture, laundry facilities, TV, a large bookshelf and a fridge. All rooms in the house come equipped with aircon, fans and wi-fi internet. The standard room is a two to three-person shared (single-sex) room with its own Western-style bathroom.

We provide 3 meals per day for all volunteers. We will also organize for volunteers to eat together at local restaurants with the staff from time to time as a social event and order the food in advance if needed, but volunteers will need to pay either in dollars or local currency during their stay for any extra food expenses on top of this e.g. snacks.

Project Dates

You can join this project for 2 weeks or longer all year round, starting on any Thursday. Please note this project is unavailable in November and December.