We have quite a number of environmental projects, including tree planting, fruit tree propagation, fuel-efficient cookstoves (RIPPLE Rockets), vegetable gardens, beekeeping, etc. Our environmental projects are not just located locally and could be anywhere within Nkhata Bay District which covers an area of 4,000 km².
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 local environmental projects.
If you are looking for a full-time volunteer environmental placement, we would need to discuss with you on the phone, on Skype or via e-mail what your skills are and what opportunities could be available (please go to the Contact Us page for our contact details). 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.
To find out how to apply to become a volunteer with RIPPLE Africa, please go to the Application Process page.
To see all of RIPPLE Africa's videos, please go to the YouTube RIPPLE Africa Channel