The Great Projects

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Reviews

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  Justyna Józefa Mucha

  The Great Projects team is very friendly and supportive, and I had an amazing time at Lilongwe Wildlife Centre. I was impressed by professionalism and commitment of the team at the centre, and it was great to be a part of it. The experience has given me a good understanding of wildlife rehabilitation process.

  23-05-2023
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  Jennifer Chatwin

  Volunteering with orangutans at Nyaru Menteng Genuinely one of the best experiences of my life! The climate is hot, humid and be prepared to get sweaty, however the knowledge that the work we were doing and enrichment being prepared makes a difference to the orangutans waiting for their move to pre release islands makes it all worth while. The opportunity to see the animals up close is a real privilege and watching them return from forest school and play together was a personal highlight.

  08-05-2023
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  Ruth Marie Callinan

  I had a wonderful time in Matang at The Great Orangutan Project. Dom and Sam were amazing, and it was truly a pleasure to learn from them and hear their stories! They are both incredibly helpful, fun and they are very passionate about their work. Everyone at the center is dedicated to animal welfare and it is clear they go to great lengths to ensure the health and safety of the animals in their care. You will stay right beside the center in simple accommodation, waking up to a chorus of Gibbons singing their hearts out. The group atmosphere is really lovely, where you share meals together and spend free-time enjoying the jungle as a group. The work includes some housekeeping in the morning and enrichment activities or maintenance in the afternoon. It is sweaty work, but thoroughly enjoyable! Tip: bring welly/ football socks and a proper rain poncho - rain coats don't really help! You’ll have the best time, and you'll fall in love with the bears.

  29-04-2023
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  ggThomas Thomas

  I have traveled to Costa Rica, Namibia and Zimbabwe using Great Projects. All 3 excursions were life changing and exactly what I was told to expect by the people in England. All communication with the Great Projects staff was very helpful, friendly, insightful, and professional. I plan on traveling back to Africa annually and will in all probability use Great Projects. I am in my early 70's and travel solo. It is a wonderful experience to work alongside and be accepted by young people from Europe, the UK, Australia who are all committed to the concept of world wildlife conservation. The people who live and work in these conservation centres are totally committed to helping volunteers learn as much as possible about the wildlife sanctuaries purpose and long-term goals. I may do an Asian or South American project as well. It is a wonderful way to visit conservation centres and have the opportunity to work behind the scenes and meet people who love the life they are living

  29-11-2022
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  Merle Elßberg

  I had the best time at Samboja Lestari! I've loved orang utans since I was a kid so this was an absolute dream come true. I have also been making donations to BOS for a very long time so it was extra exciting and interesting to see and experience their work - and even help myself! I had super nice, fun and knowledgeable coordinators, I enjoyed working and spending time with them! There was a great itinerary with a good mix of hard and more relaxed labour as well as great planned group activities during free time. Even the hard physical labour was fun and there were always tasks for different levels of strength/endurance. The Samboja Lodge was a very nice accommodation with hotel perks like air conditioning, house keeping, three tasty cooked meals a day (even vegan for me!) and an affordable laundry service. I was also lucky to have a super nice and fun group of volunteers which made work as well as leisure way more enjoyable. The best part was definitely seeing orang utans every day, especially from the boat at feeding time on the islands of the non releasebles (the biggest treat for everyone of us). Also, even though I came for the orang utans, I got to know the sunbears and ended up loving them as well! I'm already looking into the other projects because I was so happy with everything. I would definitely recommend The Great Projects and this project in particular to anyone who loves orang utans and also would like to experience a country in a different and in my opinion more meaningful way than just as a tourist. In addition, the Great Projects office was always super helpful whenever I had any questions beforehand and answered my emails very quickly!

  29-10-2022
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  Akshay Patel

  Absolutely fantastic. Booking was effortless with The Great Projects. They are very knowledgeable and helpful, and answered any questions and queries I had promptly. They help prepare you for practically everything required for the trip, e.g sorting out insurance, a visa, packing list and ensuring dietary requirements are passed on. I thoroughly recommend and would not hesitate to book with them again.

  29-05-2021
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  Jess Barnard

  Every expeiance I have had with The Great Projects has been excellent. I have booked two projects with them now and both times that have been so helpfull throughout the process and with any questions I have. The first project that I joined was the Samboja Lestari Orangutan volunteer project in Borneo. This project is amazing and give you a brilliant opportunity to get invloved in the conservation of Orangutans and sun bears in Borneo. The co-ordinators at the project were so friendly and are just amazing people which made the trip so enjoyable. I can't recommend this project enough, it is a once in a lifetime experiance although I am sure I will be back soon. The second project that I joined was the Namibia Wildlife Sanctuary. This was an incredible trip and an amazing organisation to be invloved in. It is clear that conservation is so important to them and that the work of the volunteers is so appreciated. The project organisers are incredible people and make you feel so welcome and part of the N/aan Ku Se family. There are so many opportunitys to work closely with a wide range of Namibian wildlife on this project... one of the high lights being the baboon walks! This trip was one of the best experiances of my life and I will definitley be going back very soon! Thank you too all the staff at The Great Projects for being so helpfull... I'm excited to get organising my next trip!

  29-05-2020
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  Katharine J

  The Orangutan and Tribes tour was one of the best trips I have ever been on. The Great Projects Team were really helpful and knowledgeable which made booking the trip really easy. From beginning to end the trip was great, full of variety, a great guide, people and wildlife. The first few days at Matang Wildlife Center was great. It was amazing to see sun bears and orang-utans and the other wildlife they look after there. We repaired one of the Orangutans enclosures, worked in the orchard and learnt more about the work they do. The trip to Bako was great and so were the Proboscis monkeys and the night hike. Meeting the people and working on the Turtle conservation project was hard but valuable work and the beach was amazing. The stay in the longhouse and trek to the waterfall with the locals was great. They were so knowledgeable and happy to share their culture this with us, it made us feel so welcome. Although difficult to pick a highlight out of all the wonderful places and people we met, I think Batang Ai was the highlight for me. swimming in the river, trekking through the jungle looking for orangutan and meeting the Iban. This trip was so great we have just booked another for 2020!

  29-05-2020
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  fernando martins

  29-05-2020
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  ria austin

  We had a great experience from start to finish with The Great Projects, the booking process was easy and throughout the staff were helpful and informative. We had an amazing 2 weeks in Borneo and will definitely be booking with them again!

  29-05-2019