Badilisha Eco-Village

July 2025 Workcamp

NO. OF VOLUNTEERS : 10

START & END DATES

05 - 21 July 2025

ORIENTATION DAY

04 July 2025

SAFARI DATES

22 - 24 July 2025

ACCOMODATION & FOOD

Host Family, Share Rooms / Local Food (3 meals)

LOCATION

Rusinga Island, Homabay County of Kenya

Permaculture and Conservation

Badilisha Eco Village promotes permaculture farm design techniques and ethics to
bring change to the lives of people on Rusinga Island. 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Immerse yourself in community life
  • Live and work with a group of international and local volunteers
  • Joins forces toward a collective goal
  • Free time on the weekend to discover Kenya
  • CIVS organizes tours and safaris to spectacular sites of interest in Kenya
  • Affordable fees which include airport pick up, accommodation, meals, orientation and 24/7 support

General Information

300 Euros

Volunteers participating in a workcamp will be required to pay the fee has to be paid upfront on arrival in full. The workcamp fee includes the following:

  • Airport pick up upon arrival & Airport drop off after the workcamp
  • Up to 3 nights’ accommodation in Nairobi
  • Introduction to Kenyan life through a Nairobi City Center Tour before the workcamp
  • Workcamp Orientation at the CIVS office in Nairobi or the workcamp site
  • Food (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
  • Workcamp facilitation and mentoring of volunteers by an experienced workcamp leader
  • Certificate of participation for the volunteer
  • All administrative costs 

The following costs are NOT included:

  • Flight ticket & Visa costs
  • Local travelling : from the office to the project
  • Cost of drinks like soda, beer, mineral water etc
  • Cost of sightseeing
  • Direct donations to the project

All volunteers taking part in this project will be picked up from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi. CIVS will arrange accommodation before and after the workcamp in a host family in the Buruburu area of Nairobi.

There will be a one-day orientation for all participants the day before the workcamp starts.

Accommodation will be at shared houses closet to the project in this workcamp and it is important that you have your own sleeping mat, mosquito net and a sleeping bag. During the workcamp, volunteers will get food from locally available foodstuffs and will share the responsibility of preparing the food.

Sleeping bag, sleeping mat, and mosquito net are necessary. You can also bring photos of your country, clothes, books, pens, toys etc

During weekends, volunteers can visit the Rusinga hills, Mafangano Islands, and Tom Mboya Mausoleum. We advise volunteers not to swim in the lake because it is contaminated with parasites.

Leisure activities’ cost are not included in the participation fee. 

CIVS Kenya organizes tours and safaris to spectacular sites of interest in Kenya. Volunteers, who wish to participate, should let us know as soon as possible in order to enable us to make proper arrangements. The fee charged is all-inclusive of meals, transport, park entry fees, accommodation and tour guiding.

The cost of a 3-days safari to Masai Mara National Reserve is 400 Euros by Tour van and 480 Euros by a Landcruiser jeep.

It includes: –

Day 1: Nairobi – Maasai Mara: game viewing drive in the evening
Day 2: Maasai Mara game viewing drive in the morning and the evening
Day 3: Maasai Mara game viewing drive in the early morning

Project Profile

Badilisha means “change” in Swahili. Badilisha Eco Village aims to bring change to the lives of people on Rusinga Island, who face challenges such as food insecurity, HIV/AIDS, lack of education among other pressing issues. It also seeks to inspire change in the general paradigms of local population towards a more holistic and responsible way. Badilisha Eco Village promotes permaculture farm design techniques and ethics: Earth care, people care and share of surplus. It is a model farm, or epicenter, for both sustainable agriculture and holistic community development. Badilisha successfully hosted a Permaculture Development Course in March 2011 and aims to become an International Permaculture Centre. There is a primary school also within the project that was established with an overall objective of providing education to the children around the community.

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

The volunteer will be an integral part of community life:

  • Farmwork activities like digging, planting crops, weeding, etc
  • Preparation of tree nurseries
  • Seedling distribution and tree planting in local schools and homes
  • Controlling soil erosion on the Rusinga Hill
  • Playing with local Children
  • Weeding, slashing, and clearing bushes
  • Beach clean-up exercises to improve sanitation and hygiene around the community

In this workcamp, volunteers will have a chance to do evening nature walks, home visits, cultural meetings and games. During weekends volunteers can visit the Rusinga hills, Mafangano Islands and Tom Mboya Mausoleum. We advise volunteers not to swim in the lake since it is contaminated with parasites.

MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

EMAIL US YOUR REQUEST

WE WILL SEND YOU THE INFO SHEET & REQUIREMENTS

PROJECT PLACEMENT BEGINS

AWAITING YOUR ARRIVAL

Any Question?

CIVS will respond to any question.

ABOUT US

The Center for International Voluntary Service (CIVS Kenya) is a Community Development Organization working with local marginalized communities in Kenya to support them in their development and fight the poverty through volunteering and community development programs. 

REACH US

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