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Voluntourism in the beautiful Elgin Valley Western Cape, South Africa.

The Elgin Learning Foundation (ELF) offers a once in a lifetime experience to voluntourists wishing to make a difference on a diverse rural community development project. Apart from an opportunity of being part of really meaningful interventions to help people change their lives for the better, ELF projects are situated in the Elgin Valley which is part of the Kogelberg International Biosphere. (A tourist haven)

Size for size, this 100 000 hectare UNESCO registered Biosphere Reserve is home to the most complex biodiversity on the planet! This reserve boasts some 1880 different plant species… the next richest is the South American rainforest with just 420 species per 10 000 square kilometres!

Over the past 15 years The Elgin Learning Foundation has developed an integrated approach to community involvement. We have learnt that development does not happen in isolation and have integrated both individual and community development with environmental, economical and social challenges.

We invite you to come and play your part in the process of change.
How you can get involved.

There are many ways you could get involved at ELGIN, depending on your skills and expectations.
We have 52 projects covering the following areas of community development:

Agriculture: Food gardens, essential oils propagation and farming; vineyard management and a winery

Small business Development: Product development and branding for emerging entrepreneurs;
mentoring of small businesses; business plan development

Health and Social Development: These projects will offer you the opportunity of working with youth
and school groups or with health and social care workers in the communities that we serve.
This department concentrates on health promotion and training, peer-to-peer educational programmes, lay counselling to HIV Aids patients, health and social care giving

Education Department: This department is involved in Basic Literacy programmes, Early Childhood
Development (Kindergarten) Training as well as offering school drop-outs night school classes to
get them back into the formal education stream

Resource Department: Here you can be part of the library team that offers a mobile library and
reading literacy service to schools. The department also manages the Rural Schools project where
you can become involved in music and art enrichment programmes, mathematics and science tuition, a swimming and water safety programme, as well as other sports outreach programmes, depending on the season

Grounds, Buildings and Hospitality: This department offers the opportunity to get creative in our
estate sized garden, the medicinal plants acre, decorating our backpacker’s accommodation, the library or the building at large

If you have carpentry skills these can come in useful in our carpentry workshop using discarded apple and pear wood donated by farmers in the area

Catering: Is cooking nutritional, interesting meals your passion? Our hostel sized kitchen is
the place to be as we cater for various groups that come in for training or stay over in the
backpacker’s accommodation

Research and Development: Research and development. If research is your thing, you might want to become involved in various research projects, doing multi-stakeholder surveys, participative action research, data-analysis etc. Research themes include sustainable development, green energy and building techniques, tourism opportunities, environmental management etc.

Input at our Technical Trades campus: Work on community building projects and Community Works
Project to clean up the environment and get rid of alien vegetation in the rivers of the area.

NEED TO KNOW INFORMATION:

• Elf is situated 57 kilometres from Cape Town International airport
• The environment of Elgin lends itself to hiking, canoeing, biking and other outdoor activities
• There are recreational clubs in the area that you can join on a temporary basis
• Our premises are safe and there will always be some staff present over weekends and after hours
• There is an opportunity to network with students from the Netherlands and other European
countries as they like doing their practical fieldwork in this area

How to book

Contact Voluntour South Africa (VSA) for quotes and booking information.
www.voluntoursouthafrica.com or email them on info@voluntoursouthafrica.com

What’s included:
• Food and on site accommodation
• 24 hour assistance from the Elf team
• Donation to the project

Please contact Veronica Jacobs at veronica@elf1.co.za for more information about our projects.

Elgin Learning Foundation | Non Profit Trust T4233/94

9 Appletiser Road, Elgin, 7180, South Africa
Tel: +27 (0)21 848 9413
www.elf1.co.za

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