A small established community focused tourism project. Enjoy the beautiful Ilha De Mozambique

Infos

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  Description

  We operate a small community focused tourism business on the UNESCO World Heritage listed island - Ilha De Mozambique. Our business creates great employment opportunities for local people within the nascent tourism industry. We have been operating for 9 years.
  
  In 2017 our efforts were recognised internationally when we won 'GOLD' in the African Responsible Tourism Awards presented in Cape Town - "Best for engaging people and culture". And in 2019 the silver award for responsible destination.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Projets artistiques

  Enseignement

  Accueil / tourisme

  Aide informatique/internet
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  Be a part of something ongoing and meaningful. Your contribution here really will make a difference for years to come.
  
  In addition there's good opportunity for language learning. Portuguese is the official day-to-day language but more local languages are also spoken.
  
  Also learn more about the local culture and way of life through our activities which are all operated from start to finish by local people. Hang out with the crews of traditional dhows , explore the marine environment with people who were born to the sea. And if you are interested in social justice observe close up local politics, issues and empowering strategies and events - Ilha is a hot spot for these things
  
  A lot of people want to learn about our business, how we operate and how we keep it ethical. We are always happy to share this

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  Aide

  We would like to hear from IT people, educators, administrators, communicators, fixers and creative types. Specific knowledge of retail, tourism marketing and/or whale watching/marine biology would be absolutely fantastic but not essential. Always at the core must be some specific skill to share, we are choosy because this project and the people who benefit from it deserve the best, and we can offer volunteers a lot in return
  
  We haven't got a hotel and we never ask volunteers to do work that we can pay local people to do - so no pulling out weeds, tour guiding or serving customers when you volunteer with us. Instead we want to give volunteers the chance to really use their talents to make a meaningful contribution to the lives of people who are less well off.
  
  IT AND MARKETING
  We always need Volunteers who can help with IT and digital marketing support along with Admin improvements. Earlier volunteers Sophie and Jonathan completely set up an online booking system with Bookeo. Matt and Megan did a huge job to integrate everything through Google drive, Calendars etc. Lowan's work on SEO, Instagram and general improvements was priceless, Oscar cataloging all of our media clips so that we can make better movies easier has greatly improved our ability to make promo films, Dani and Henard for sooo much online creativity, enthusiasm and inspiration, Eneida helping everyone get their heads around the retail aspect, and right now Lee with story telling - big thanks guys, sorry if I missed any one. If you can build on these earlier efforts then get in touch with us. This will be especially useful post pandemic as so much of our digital stuff has been dropped (Bookeo for example) or allowed to get out of date
  
  EDUCATORS
  Simply put, the education system here is rubbish, young people deserve better. So providing learning experiences is a huge part of what we do.
  
  So far our workers have benefited from Jen's very timely presentation on ocean plastics, this really made an impact at the local level and we continue to see changed attitudes towards plastic bags and other 'disposable' items. Brian's whale workshops inspired our guides and gave them a whole new way to see and describe these magnificent mammals. Kate helped out with customer service and sales techniques but her main contribution was in encouraging our guides to break away from standard historical narratives and introduce contemporary issues and lifestyle stories into their walking and bike tours. Most recently Rosalind worked alongside Atija to develop a new Capalana tour, led by women for women. Rosalind contributed her beautiful illustration skills to create groovy menus and other things, while Marianna provided our pilot women's cooking classes. Again a big thanks and a call out for more educators to continue these initiatives and develop new ones.
  
  ALL ROUND GOOD PEOPLE
  Of course these are the measurable contributions made by volunteers, just as important are the intangible things like friendship, inspiration, fun, style and global connectedness that each volunteer has brought to our staff and to the island community.
  
  OUR FOCUS FOR 2021
  RESPONSIBLE WHALE WATCHING.
  We are members of the World Cetacean Alliance (WCA) and have developed Ilha De Mozambique as a globally significant whale watching destination, but, there are animal welfare issues that we need to address. More and more local operators are taking advantage of this new opportunity, and so they should, but without fully understanding the importance of responsible practice they could negatively impact the whales and also damage the destinations reputation. Education on keeping a safe distance, not disturbing mothers with newborn calves, not chasing the whales and other protocols would benefit both the whale watch operators and most importantly the whales themselves. We need Cetacean/marine biology experts as volunteers and also communication and training professionals to get the messages out to operators and future visitors. In 2019 we had our first whale festival with a focus on conservation education, we had no choice but to skip it in 2020, but July 2021 the whale festival will be back.
  
  BUILDING UP OUR CAFE AND WOMEN"S TRAINING SPACE
  Our cafe is up and running and getting a good reputation for delicious, healthy snacks and drinks (look up cafe azulejo) and we have some fantastic projects happening in the space (axinene women's project). Now it would be brilliant to have some creative input from cafe and retail professionals and trainers so that the cafe becomes a high profile example of what can be achieved with generosity and talent; cafe azulejo not just good but the best.
  
  This is a very special opportunity for one or more special people. A volunteer/s for this project would most likely (but not necessarily) be female, have skills in engaging women through stimulating activities that relate to food handling/tourism and are educational, creative and fun. Portuguese speaking would be great but not essential. At the beginning we'd like somebody who can devote a decent chunk of time to this and have an ongoing connection
  
  HOW VOLUNTEERING WORKS WITH US
  We like discrete projects where we agree in advance some clear objectives and time frame. And we try to get it to fit into 12 to 20 hours a week, leaving volunteers with lots of time to socialise, play and experiencing this unbelievably wonderful, "like nowhere else on Earth", tropical island paradise.
  
  IN ADDITION WE HAVE OTHER WORK THAT MIGHT SUIT A PARTNER
  We still need help with Bike repair and maintenance - we have 12 Pashley ex Royal Mail bikes that we use for tours around the island. These bikes are top quality but would benefit from some expert love and attention. We also have 14 cheaper bikes which we hire out.
  
  Gardening/ training. People here have a good understanding of how to grow essential food crops. We would like to step things up a little with more herbs and leafy greens that can handle this climate and also ornamental plants for which there could be a small business opportunity in local homes and hotels. We are creating a garden on our roof which is big and flat with some shelter. Growing will be in large beds made from bamboo using traditional techniques. There's need for a dedicated potting shed/shade area to nurture seedlings/cuttings, also help us improve our compost system to make better soil perhaps using coconut husks, and other activities that can be scaled up, even creating opportunities for small enterprises.
  
  DESIGNERS
  There's always need for illustrators who can help create eye catching promo material to use locally

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  Langues parlées

  Anglais: Courant
  Portugais: Courant

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  Hébergement

  We have 2 comfortable rooms in a big house, both with private ensuite bathroom. One room in the main house the other attached but with separate entrance from the garden. The house is World Heritage old and lovingly restored, with a rooftop terrace, big kitchen and lots of living space. We have a cat
  
  Food provided is breakfast everyday and a big lunch 6 days a week. To this you may need to add light snacks at own expense. Food is healthy and wholesome, no meat but plenty of seafood. We can do vegan

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  Autres infos...

  Because we are a tourism business we can offer unlimited activities such as snorkelling, kayaking, sailing on our traditional dhow, bike riding etc Volunteers can also immerse themselves in the local culture, the island has a very lively social scene that centres around the streets in the evening and regular events like festivals, sports and cultural ceremonies. Also because we provide activities for visitors from all over the world you will never be short of opportunities to make new friends.

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  Cet hôte a indiqué qu’il aimait accueillir les digital nomads.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Plus de 2

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  Nombre d'heures attendues

  12 to 20 hours per week depending

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