If you want to contribute to the preservation of biodiversity, support vulnerable communities, live a moment out of time, make unforgettable encounters, observe wonderful animals and spend time exploring some of the most beautiful places on the planet, our ecovolunteer missions are for you!
Why go on an ecovolunteering trip?
At Naturevolution, we want our ecovolunteer missions to be an opportunity to discover some of the most beautiful remote corners of the planet, to marvel at the wild world, to contribute concretely and effectively to the protection of biodiversity or to the development of the communities that depend on it, to open up to the reality of conservation projects in the field and their socio-economic context, while experiencing a disconnection from the modern world and a reconnection to a way of life closer to nature and to people. Nothing but that! Almost a turning point in life :) In this sense, we are quite happy with the comments made by our ecovolunteers after our missions!
In addition, since 2014, ecovolunteering has a definition:
“Ecovolunteering is a solidarity and participative action that consists in helping, during one’s free time, a project related to the preservation and the enhancement of animal, plant, environmental and cultural diversity. The ecovolunteer is a committed and voluntary citizen and as such cannot receive any financial compensation for his action. – Ecovolunteer Collective
What kind of missions?
We offer throughout the year :
- Two types of ecovolunteer missions in Madagascar in the heart of the Makay massif, a gigantic labyrinth of canyons hosting a rare and unique biodiversity. Whether it’s helping villagers live better and more in harmony with their environment, collecting scientific data on a participatory science mission, or exploring the least visited corners of the massif with a specific scientific objective, you will contribute to our actions for the preservation of the Makay with our local team while discovering this biodiversity treasure chest.
- Some ecovolunteer missions in Indonesia in the southeast of Sulawesi island which offers you the opportunity to take part in the various activities of our local team for the protection of the spectacular coastal ecosystems of a small paradise sometimes called the ‘mini Raja Ampat’, while discovering coral reefs and mangroves as well as the jungle that covers the surrounding karstic massifs.
Some practical details
Duration – Our nature and humanitarian volunteer missions last a minimum of 2 or 3 weeks. As we don’t go (anymore) to the other side of the world every day, it is possible to carry out several missions and to stay 4, 5 or 6 weeks with us, and thus to be even more useful and discover different aspects of our projects. We sleep in tents during the whole mission, except for one night in a hotel on arrival.
Price – From 1700€, excluding airfare, depending on the duration, location and type of mission. It should be noted that this cost, as well as your airfare, is 66% tax deductible (for French citizens only).
Do you want to know why?
As the word says it, in the field, you’ll become a volunteer for Naturevolution. As such, all the expenses you incur – insofar as they are essential to the successful completion of your mission – are reimbursable by the association, unless you declare that you waive the reimbursement of these expenses, in other words that you donate them to the association. In this case, these expenses are considered as a donation and therefore open the right – like a classic donation – to a tax exemption up to 66% for an individual (capped at 20% of income), 75% if you are subject to the IFI (capped at €50,000) and 60% for companies (capped at €10,000 or 0.5% of sales before tax, whichever is higher).
The management and logistical costs (about 35% of the total cost) as well as the transportation costs that you will have incurred on your side (airfare, train tickets and possible hotels) fall within this framework. As far as management and logistical costs are concerned, your waiver of their reimbursement will be mentioned in the contract signed before your departure and you will receive the corresponding tax receipt at the end of the mission.
As for additional expenses (airfare, train tickets and hotels), once the mission is over, we will ask you for the invoices and the letter of waiver for the reimbursement of these expenses in order to issue you the corresponding tax receipt.
The remaining part 65% (approximately) is purely a donation to our conservation program which will result in a tax receipt from us at the end of the mission.
The entire amount of the mission is therefore 66% tax deductible.
Thus, if you are a private individual going on a 3-week mission (for example 2200€) and if you find a plane ticket at 1000€, your mission will only cost you, after tax deduction, (2200€ + 1000€) – 66% = 1088€.
Please note that if you do not pay taxes this year or if your contribution exceeds the limits mentioned, the tax deductibility can be carried forward to the 5 years following the year of the donation.
Finally, we would like to point out that, insofar as our missions take place abroad, this tax exemption on the expenses incurred is only possible because the aim is to protect the environment or to carry out scientific research or to participate in humanitarian works. This is why, on the one hand, we insist on the fact that our missions are neither vacations nor tourism, but that they commit the ecovolunteer to give his time and energy, and on the other hand, we produce a report of each of our missions. This report serves as proof of the real involvement and mobilization of our ecovolunteers in case of a tax audit. Also, in the event that an ecovolunteer refuses to participate in the proposed actions, we reserve the right not to issue the official document (tax receipt) entitling him/her to tax exemption.
Who can come? All audiences are welcome, including families, as long as you are in good physical condition!
What are the impacts for conservation projects?
The benefits that ecovolunteers bring to the conservation projects we carry out in the field are threefold:
- Direct contribution to the project
Whether it’s building a school, collecting scientific data on a lemur population, setting up a new tree nursery, doing village cleanups, or replanting a mangrove, some of the projects we conduct in the field simply could not happen without the presence of ecovolunteers, or would take much longer.
- Year-round project funding
The financial participation paid by our international volunteer not only allows to pay for their mission (~50% of the amount) but also allows to finance the project in its entirety – material, logistics and teams – throughout the year. Since Naturevolution does not receive any large-scale institutional, together with private companies fundings, it is the regular arrival of ecovolunteers in the field since 2012 that has allowed us to finance our projects independently.
- The dynamics generated by the presence of volunteers
The presence of ecovolunteers in the field generates indirect and unsuspected benefits for the projects. In Indonesia, community clean-ups of villages and beaches generate a certain enthusiasm and renewed motivation, not only among the inhabitants but also among the local authorities, who are sometimes a little surprised that ‘tourists’ cross the world and spend that much money to carry out such activities in their region. Moreover, an awareness-raising message on environmental preservation or ecotourism is all the more credible if it is physically demonstrated by the regular arrival of ecovolunteers and the initial economic benefits that this already generates.
Want to know more?
All the questions you may have about our missions will be answered on the following pages: