Malaysia Expeditions - Where we work
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Where we work
The decision to work on Tioman island was made after many months of visiting Malaysia and much of south east Asia. Tioman island stood out, not only as a stunning dive destination and ecological centre, but as a community ready to take the step into sustainable tourism and development.
Tioman is situated inside the Coral Triangle and the beautiful reefs around her rocky coast support valuable and endemic creatures. In addition, the interior of Tioman is covered by dense, relatively unexplored primary rainforest. Much of the terrestrial fauna and flora is also endemic and endangered. The island is approximately 130 kilometres square in size, and lies off the east coast of the Malaysian peninsular. The 2,700 inhabitants of the six main villages rely on fishing or tourism for their income.
Tioman’s marine inhabitants include green and hawksbill turtles, reef sharks, dolphins, tunas, jacks and many colourful and reef fish and critters, and even the occasional whale shark and manta ray!
The project is based on in Tekek village and volunteers will stay in simple wooden chalets on the long, sandy beach. There is a maximum of three volunteers per room. Each room has a bathroom (with hot water showers!) and balcony. The Blue Ventures Malaysia volunteer trip is a six week program during which volunteers will conduct underwater reef surveys, gain a basic understanding of marine ecology and conservation through workshops and presentations, take part in beach and reef clean-ups and work on the local community awareness raising projects, such as the after school nature club. The community awareness raising projects include a three day excursion to Mukut village, a pretty fishing village with very little impact from the tourism on the rest of Tioman, in the south of the island. Volunteers will also take part in a partner turtle conservation project at Tioman Turtle Sanctuary and conduct terrestrial surveys during a two day trek through the interior of the island.
