The Maldives - a holiday hotspot all year round! But what not many people experience is the real Maldivian culture and community! Join us in Naifaru to immerse yourself in the traditional Maldivian lifestyle. Make an impact during your stay and give back by volunteering in our sea turtle rehabilitation center!
Volunteering aspect:
Our centre opened over 22 years ago with the purpose of educating the locals about keeping sea turtle hatchlings as pets. This is a common issue in the Maldives and our centre allows a safe place for the locals to surrender their hatchlings so they can be returned to the wild. Fast forward to now where our centre also works with adult sea turtles who are caught in ghost nets, hit by boats or have been impacted by humans in any way. We also have a coral restoration program to improve our house reef which was impacted by previous bleaching events. As a family support our mission and learn about these marine conservation issues. Help our team with sea turtle husbandry, building coral frames, beach clean ups, outreach events and more!
What will you be involved in?
Help take care of our turtles - including feeding, cleaning and general husbandry. Our marine biologists will be their to support you with all centre duties! Alongside looking after our turtles you can help turn trash into treasure! We frequently look to create things for the centre or items to sell made out of discarded plastic we find on the beaches. This includes ghost nets which can make great jewelry! We run weekly beach cleans around Naifaru or on uninhabited islands. We always try to collect any plastic bottles we see whilst walking around the island as we have a recycling program which uses these bottles to make clothing! We also have our coral nursery which we are in the process of expanding every two weeks (weather permitting). We also have a great outreach and education program where we teach in the local school, run plastic awareness sessions and have resort and local guests visit our centre!
Most importantly our marine biologists and vet give amazing presentations about marine life and the threats they face. We teach to help empower people to pass the message along about what you can do to protect marine life.
What we expect from our volunteers?
To get involved in all aspects of the program and become ocean advocates! We also love volunteers who bring new ideas to our centre! If your family can help us to improve then we want you!
What to bring?
As we are based on a local island we do ask that volunteers respect the local rules. This includes females covering shoulders, chest and thighs completely. Wearing long shorts (to the knee) is fine but anything higher is not acceptable. These rules also apply for swimming - we ask that you bring clothes you can swim in and advise darker colours and lighter colours go see through when wet.
There is also no pork, alcohol and the promotion of any religions other than Muslim allowed.
To get the most out of your stay we ask everyone to bring their own snorkel, mask and fins! The real Maldives is under the water so make sure to bring your own to be able to explore the amazing marine life!
We do have a donations list as we are on a very remote island where medical supplies are basic. Our vet will provide a donations list depending on our stock close to your arrival.
Downtime:
Alongside helping at our centre make sure to relax on nearby uninhabited islands and explore marine life and coral reefs. Even just on your doorstep our house reef is home to a variety of marine life so you can snorkel to your hearts content! Look out for rays, sharks, turtles and many many fish! Naifaru also has plenty cafes, restaurants and shops that you can explore to try local cuisine!
We look forward to welcoming you to the real Maldives and having your family help us protect the marine environment!
