Nature Conservation Work

Project At A Glance

Location: Chitwan Start/End point: Kathmandu Duration: 2-12 weeks Hours: 30-40 hours per week Food: Local meals(3 times a day) Room: Host family or homebase Date: First and Third Monday of each month

Project Summary

Deforestation, land fragmentation and desertification are major environmental issues facing Nepal. IFRE’s local partner in Chitwan maintains an established community nursery program, which aims to distribute indigenous tree seedlings at no charge to local farmers, schools, communities and NGOs. Conservation volunteers in Nepal support the activities of this community nursery. The nursery role includes: digging, filling plastic bags, weeding, irrigating and related efforts. Volunteers working in a conservation project also support the nearby vegetable gardens that produce vegetables for local orphanages. This project is perfect for outdoor enthusiasts and eco-minded individuals.

Skills/Qualifications Needed

There are no specific qualifications for joining the conservation project in Nepal. However, many of the projects are quite physical, so environmental and conservation volunteers need to be in good physical shape. An outgoing and entrepreneurial spirit is helpful, as is an ability to follow directions well.

Volunteer Responsibilities

Volunteers working in a conservation project in Nepal will support nursery efforts and indigenous seedling care. Volunteers support seedling distribution to villagers in throughout Nepal. Duties may include: digging, preparing nursery beds, sowing seeds, weeding, trimming, pruning, filling plastic bags, applying water and any work related to nursery. Other tasks may include planting, collecting seeds, replanting, eliminating diseased trees and taking flora and fauna inventory, depending on the season

IFRE also supports a small orphanage and school in Chitwan. So, conservation volunteers can teach English or work in the orphanage in their free time. This can be arranged upon arrival in Nepal.

Room/Food/Supervision

IFRE manages living accommodations, meals and supervision for volunteers throughout their stay in Nepal. Most volunteers placed in Kathmandu projects stay at our home base – a permanent home set aside for international volunteers and manned with a local staff. Our safe and secure Kathmandu home base is located in a beautiful area of Kalanki, nearly 5 km away from Thamel, a popular tourist hub of Nepal. Most of our volunteers’ projects are located within 2-5 miles of the home base. Therefore, volunteers can simply walk to their projects or take a local taxi or bus. Most necessary services for travelers are located within 2 km of the home base: internet cafés, restaurants and grocery stores. Our home base is located in the heart of city and provides easy access to volunteer to all parts of Kathmandu. It is a perfect situation for volunteers to live safely and comfortably while making many new friends and sharing experiences every day. In the evening volunteers return to the home base, to relax, eat dinner, explore local areas or share the day’s experiences with fellow volunteers and staff. Our home base provides a same-gender shared room and shared bathroom with running hot water and a “western” style toilet. Volunteers will have the ability to do laundry at the home base.

Volunteers receive three prepared meals per day. Our cooks prepare breakfasts, lunches and dinners of Nepali foods (similar to Indian food, including wheat bread, rice, curry, dahl, chapatti and pickles) for volunteers. If volunteers will be out of the house during lunch hour, they can request a lunch "to go”. If traditional Nepali fare does not appeal to volunteers, they are welcome to buy personal food and prepare it.

Occasionally, depending on volunteer traffic, available projects or distance to a volunteer’s assigned project, we may also place our volunteers with carefully pre-screened host families. Our host families are socially respected and are experienced with hosting international volunteers. They have strong interest in our volunteers’ safety and well-being and demonstrate this with caution and care. In most host family situations, volunteers will share a room with another volunteer of the same gender. Another viable option is an at-orphanage stay. Many orphanages in Kathmandu have special rooms set aside to house international volunteers. Volunteers who have stayed with a host family or at an orphanage describe an enriched experience because of having done so. Once you have applied for program placement, you will find the specific details of your accommodations in your personal placement documents for your project.

IFRE maintains two offices in Kathmandu and Chitwan to supervise and assist volunteers. However, volunteers working in Pokhara will stay in touch with Kathmandu office by telephone or email and will receive staff visits as often as possible, usually every two weeks.