Environmental Volunteers, Malawi, Africa

•	Environmental Volunteers, Malawi, Africa
•	How To Apply
•	Clubs and Groups

Environmental Volunteers, Malawi, Africa

We have quite a number of environmental projects, including tree planting, fruit tree propagation, vegetable gardens, fish farming, beekeeping, fuel-efficient wood-burning stove (mbaula) making, etc. Our environmental projects are not just located locally and could be anywhere within Nkhata Bay District, an area of 4,000 sq.km. We encourage communities and local Malawians to take ownership of these projects and, consequently, it can be difficult to provide full-time volunteer placements. One of the main problems, however, is transport which can be time-consuming and costly; for example, our environmental projects office is based in Chintheche which is 25km north of Mwaya, and it costs about GB£1.00 (US$1.50) to get there on public transport. However, we would be happy for any of our volunteers who are working in education or healthcare to become involved in some way with one or more of our environmental projects.

If you are looking for a full-time volunteer environmental placement, we would need to discuss with you on the phone or via e-mail what your skills are and what opportunities could be available. Previous volunteers have been involved with, for example, in-depth studies related to fuel-efficient wood-burning clay stove (mbaula) usage and benefits, and community vegetable gardens for the benefit of HIV/AIDS sufferers. We will be placing great emphasis on environmental awareness training in the future.

How to apply: Click here.

Clubs and Groups

There are a number of clubs and groups organised by previous volunteers which are either still running or which have been discontinued, and we hope future volunteers will be willing to lead or reinstate one or more of these. Some do require funding, while others just need imagination and initiative. Examples of some of these are listed below:

•	Environmental Club: Following the establishment of the tree nursery at Mwaya, primary and secondary school students can be educated about the problems associated with deforestation. An experimental demonstration garden is also being established at Kapanda Secondary School to teach students and members of the local communities better agricultural practices.
•	Community English: Volunteers have been teaching members of the local communities (mainly women) English in the afternoons. These lessons are held in the nursery school buildings at Mazembe and Matete.
•	The community Library, the funds for which were raised by three English volunteers, was officially opened in November 2005. In the past, volunteers have organised English reading lessons with the primary school students, and a possible future project could be a Literacy Club for both children and adults to improve English reading, writing and speaking skills.
•	Health Club: One of the primary school teachers has run a weekly health club for the primary school students, and any help from the healthcare volunteers would be welcome.
•	Arts and Crafts: Artistic volunteers have taught both primary and secondary school students how to draw, paint, make papier-mâché models, and generally have fun and use their imaginations.
•	Debating Club: There is a debating club organised by our volunteers that meets at Mwaya Beach on one afternoon a week. Malawians love debating, and they are good at arguing against their own beliefs in order to provide a balanced contest.
•	Sewing Group: There are two sewing machines kept at Mwaya Beach, and there is a group of 10-12 women who use them periodically. In the past, they have made beekeeping suits for the honey project, and more recently they have been having a go at making uniforms for local schoolchildren and church choir members. We strongly advise any volunteers interested in helping this group to encourage them to make items for members of the local communities and not to make items for the tourist trade, which has been tried a number of times in the past and has always failed.

TO PRINT THIS PAGE: Click on 'File' in the top left hand corner of your browser's toolbar and select 'Print'.

Company Registration No. 04823686 • UK Registered Charity No. 1103256

Contact RIPPLE Africa