Overview
Volunteer with Turtles and Community Development in Vanuatu, Australasia

Volunteering with turtles as a part of vital sea turtle conservation will take you to the turquoise waters and golden sands of Vanuatu, voted the ‘happiest place on earth’ in 2006 by the New Economics Foundation. This grassroots effort to protect sea turtles is run by the inhabitants of Tasiriki village on Moso Island, from the long-term nesting survey that was started in 2006 in conjunction with Wan Smolbag and GVI.

Joining this project will also give you the chance to try your hand at many other activities that occur in the village, such as reef surveying, teaching at the village school and cooking local food. In your spare time you can snorkel on tropical reefs, learn to dive or just sit and ‘storian’ with your new friends in the village.

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I made some wonderful friends and I learnt so much about another culture, about sea turtles and about myself.

Sallee Harman, Volunteer

What Difference Does This Project Make?

The Vanua-Tai (meaning ‘Of Land and Sea’) Natural Resource Monitors are a national network of community members that are working within their communities to institute bans on the harvest of turtles and their eggs in coastal villages all across Vanuatu. Coordinated by Wan Smolbag Theatre (WSB) in the capital of Port Vila, this network has been growing in size and accomplishments since it’s inception in 1995. In addition to working with communities to conserve their turtles WSB has started to work with communities to conduct surveys of turtles nesting beaches.

One community that became involved in this effort, Tasiriki Village, is located on the shores of Moso Island. Moso is home to a nationally significant nesting beach and foraging grounds for Hawksbill turtles. However the people of Tasiriki were slow to join onto the nesting beach survey effort.as the time involved to conduct the surveys is significant. At this point WSB suggested the possibility of setting the survey up as an international volunteer project and contacted GVI. GVI then joined with WSB and the community to provide volunteers to the project.

Without the volunteer involvement this survey would cease to continue. The labour that the volunteers provide is actually a small part of their total contribution. The money that the community receives from the volunteers provides a small income to many people in the village that would otherwise not have one. It pays for the project manager, the turtle guides that work with the volunteers on the beach and all the women that take care of the bungalows and cook for the volunteers. In addition to the income the project provides it has created interest within the community to learn more about the turtles they co-exist with and ensure they are still there for future generations.

Highlights

Living and working with the ‘happiest people on earth’, contributing to conservation of local turtle populations, seeing nesting turtles and hatchlings, exploring the stunning island’s beaches and forests.

Location

Vanuatu is a Melanesian island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago of 83 islands is located some 1,750 km east of Australia, west of Fiji and south of the Solomon Islands. Volunteers will have the opportunity to explore the beaches of Moso and snorkel or dive in crystal clear waters. If you have the time and a sense of adventure you can see a bit more of the country before you finish your trip to Vanuatu. Past project volunteers have given a ‘must see’ rating to two things: Yassur volcano and the S.S. Coolidge. Yassur, on the island of Tanna, is the most accessible active volcano in the world. Whether they felt it was exhilarating or down right terrifying every volunteer coming back has said it was amazing. And if you have your diving certification the S.S. Coolidge is the pinnacle of wreck diving. A cruiseship that was converted into a troop carrier during WWII the Coolidge sank just off the island of Santo when it hit an underwater mine. Floating around inside a ship and seeing things like full size Jeeps laying about is only topped by diving the wreck at night where you will see clouds of flashlight fish that light up the inside of the wreck and guarantee to make you feel like you’re in the middle of a sci-fi movie.

Field Conditions

The community is quite proud of the accommodations they have built for the volunteers and continue to improve upon them each year. At present there are two bungalows for the volunteers to stay in while they are living in the village. Each bungalow is split into two rooms and each room has two single beds. There is one bucket flush toilet and two huts for bucket showers. The newest addition is a dining hall/common room. This will provide the volunteers with a spot to gather for meals as well as a place to relax on rainy days. Amenities will be sparse, but the basics are there.

At the bungalows, drinking water will be provided by a rainwater collection tank and a nearby freshwater spring will provide refreshing cold water that is used for bucket showering. Volunteers will eat local food prepared by members of the community. Vegetarians are welcome, but please notify us ahead of time. The turtle beach is a 40-60 minute hike from the village.