What can I do? | Big Beyond - make a difference, boost your career & travel abroad

Minimum length of stay for:
Ethiopia:	4 weeks
Malawi:	2 weeks
Uganda:	2 weeks

Environmental Management Programme in Malawi

Gain practical and educational work experience in the conservation field. This programme is really varied so enables Big Beyond environmental volunteers to grow a big range of skills.
Protected areas such as Liwonde National Park are globally and locally important, and without their conservation most of the Earth’s resources would disappear. You’ll help tackle the root causes of the most pressing issues for Liwonde and the surrounding communities.
Through reforestation, education, research and monitoring tasks, Malawi Environmental Management Volunteers will help increase local knowledge around conservation issues and also improve the livelihoods of these communities through a better understanding of the natural world.
Live and work around a true wild Africa gem and get to know some of the friendliest people in Africa.
We’ll also write you a reference for your future employers if it helps when you get home.

Location

Malawi is a small and stunning country in Southern Africa nestled between Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania. The Big Beyond Malawi volunteer base is on the banks of the Shire River next to Liwonde National Park, Malawi’s premier and most scenic wildlife destination. It’s about an hour south of Lake Malawi. Dotted with palm trees, baobabs, woodland, hills, a huge diversity of plants, birds and animals including large herds of elephant, buffalo, hippo, Nile crocodiles, black rhino, warthog, impala, kudu, hyena, sable and loads more. You’re also near the small town of Liwonde so everything you need is on your doorstep.

Most Big Beyond Malawi volunteer projects are based in the villages next to Liwonde National Park, and some are in Liwonde town. You may be cycling to travel around the villages or jumping on a bicycle taxi for the lazier days but everything’s quite close together. In your free-time you can explore Liwonde National Park, soak up the atmosphere of true African bush, marvel at incredible sunsets over the Shire River and Zomba Plateau, visit Lake Malawi, hike a mountain or just hang out with a fun and friendly bunch of local people.

People

Malawian’s are without a doubt fantastic, relaxed, placid, hospitable people, and you’ll make some really great friends during a Big Beyond Malawi volunteer placement. The people where you’re living are of Bantu origin, and mostly from the Yao ethnic group. A spirit of cooperation is amongst the Malawians as family members share both work and resources. Children generally get overexcited and will shout ‘Mzungu’ when they see you and they’ll make you feel the warmth and excitement. In Liwonde there’s a great combination of new and old, everyone loves music and dance and the social scene can be pretty good. Language is less of a barrier for Big Beyond Malawi volunteers compared to some places because many people speak good English, as well as the native Chechewa.

Climate

You can visit Malawi at any time of the year, the country has a great climate. In general the seasons are divided into the cool (May to mid-August); the hot (mid-August to November); and the rainy (November to April). From May to July the landscape is particularly green and lush, and temperatures are cooler. In October and November at the end of the dry season, the temperatures can be pretty hot. There’s unlikely to be a day without sunshine, and even in the rainy season.

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Your accommodation and meals are included in the Big Beyond volunteer placement fee – so you won’t need to worry about organising either.

Although serious luxury is not really an option when you volunteer in Malawi, we want to make your trip as comfortable as possible and give you a nice home to live in whilst you are generously investing your time to help developing parts of the world.

You’ll be living in the Big Beyond River Bedrock – our volunteer hub. You’ll probably have to share a room but we’ll spread you out as much as possible. The bedrock is located on the banks of the Shire River where you’ll be able to gaze at Liwonde National Park from your garden, whilst lying in a hammock! You’ll feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere but you actually have quite a few facilities on your doorstep in Liwonde town.

You may find the accommodation relatively basic to what you’re used to back home, but we’ve got nice comfy bedding, running water, electricity and we’ve created homely corners for you to relax and take some time out. You’ll also be living with other Big Beyonders so you can meet good mates, share stories and ideas and have that piece of familiarity to hand after a hard day’s work in the community. Big Beyond will also look after your belly! You’ll be fully catered for with three decent meals a day, including a pack-lunch if you’re out and about in the community.

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On your doorstep there are hippos right at the bottom of your garden! And, the beautiful and wild Liwonde National Park packed with elephants, warthogs, buffalo, rhino, hyena and loads of different antelope. It’s a real African gem. Sunsets over the bush are stunning and the villages are a nice place to hang out. There’s a cool mountain plateau down the road if you fancy a break from the lowland heat too. In the nearby town there are a few bars where you can mingle with the locals and a nearby hotel with a big pool that you can dip into after a busy days work.

For those that feel a travel urge, the amazing Lake Malawi is not far away and definitely a good place to head to for some of your weekends. Lapping turquoise waters, white sands, good bars, swimming, snorkelling amongst hundreds of colourful tropical freshwater fish (Lake Malawi boasts the largest number of fish species of any lake in the world), kayaking or cruising around on a dug out – try steering one of those!

After your Big Beyond Malawi volunteer placement, we recommend you explore other parts of Malawi or you can travel easily to Mozambique or Zambia, which border Malawi. We’ll help you organise whatever trips you’re keen on.

Or there’s just living locally. You don’t have to travel in Malawi and uncover every stone to experience what this sensational country is all about. Sometimes meeting the different local people, sharing some food, enjoying a cold beer, or going for a stroll at sunset is simply enough. Or you can relax in our thatched lounge area right on the river and read a book.

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Your international flights aren’t included in your Malawi volunteer placement fee, but we do look after your travel arrangements right from the moment you land, and this includes your transfer from the airport to the Big Beyond Malawi volunteer base.

For the first part of your journey, you need to organize your flights to Blantyre (in Southern Malawi) or Lilongwe (Capital City of Malawi), which should coincide with one of the Big Beyond Malawi volunteer start dates. Blantyre airport is slightly closer to the Big Beyond Malawi volunteer base, but either is fine with us. When you land at the airport a Big Beyond Malawi volunteer representative will be there to meet you and drive you to your new home. The drive from Lilongwe is approximately 3 hours, Blantyre about 1.5 hours.

Tips for booking your flights:

If you’re flying to Malawi from the UK, you can often find great deals with Ethiopian Airlines or Kenya Airways. Sadly, there are no direct flights to Malawi so you’ll be changing planes somewhere on the way. Alternatively, check out ‘add-on flights’ from South Africa or Zambia, which sometimes have cheap deals to Blantyre and Lilongwe. Look at Malawian Airways which often don’t get listed in comparison sites. But do check out kayak.com for some good deals.

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Costs & Money:

Malawi is quite an inexpensive place to visit, so you won’t find yourself spending a huge amount of cash whilst volunteering in Malawi. Don’t forget that your food and accommodation is included in your placement fee, so spending money will entirely depend on what and how much you decide to do in your free time.

The local currency is Malawian Kwacha (MWK) and cash can be changed easily at major banks and foreign exchange bureaus. ATMs are available at most banks for visa debit or credit cards and there’s an ATM within a short walking distance from the Big Beyond Malawi volunteer base. We’ll take you via the bank on the way to your house after you arrive at the airport, so you don’t need to worry about organising Malawian currency before you arrive. However, it’s always useful to have a few dollars or sterling on you, especially for paying entry visas at the border (which Brits don’t need to pay for).

Visas

All Big Beyond Malawi volunteers require visas but some nationalities don’t need to pay for their first month. Malawian visas are available at the International Airport in Lilongwe and Blantyre. Single entry visas valid for one month are granted on arrival and are free for some nationalities, including Brits (we can advise on the others). If you’re staying for longer, which most of you will be, we’ll help you organise your visa extension which is easy to do and costs around US $20-$50 depending on the length of your trip.

Language

While your volunteering work will be conducted in English (sometimes with the help of a translator when you need it), being able to communicate with the locals, even in a basic way, is really valuable and hugely appreciated. As you’re living in their village it’s nice to make the effort, even if you’re terrible at languages and can only manage to learn hello and thank you! We’ll provide you with some key Chichewa words and phrases to try and remember before you arrive and you’ll have basic language lessons organised on arrival as part of your excellent orientation programme.

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Environmental Management Programme in Malawi

What next?

Prices

Programme start dates

Environmental Management Programme in Malawi

Location

People

Climate

Tips for booking your flights:

Costs & Money:

Visas

Language

Apply now

Other programmes

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Environmental Management Programme in Malawi

What next?

Prices

2 weeks £995

Programme start dates

Environmental Management Programme in Malawi

Location

People

Climate

Tips for booking your flights:

Costs & Money:

Visas

Language

Apply now

Other programmes

blog

SIGN UP to our e-newsletter...

Home

Where can I go?

Our Story

Why Volunteer?

Pricing

Thank you for applying

Thank you for getting in touch

Thank you for entering the competition

Thank you for your message