Barefoot Conservation

About

Barefoot Conservation is a new and exciting, not-for-profit organisation that takes a fresh look at marine conservation and community awareness.

Our focus is grass roots conservation and community action. Our aim is to engage, educate and empower the local community to make sustainable conservation a way of life, not just a project.

We feel this holistic approach to conservation will give you/us a greater depth of experience and understanding. Through community projects we gain vital insights into the needs and values of the community and how marine conservation efforts can be integrated to benefit local people.

Our conservation strategy is to help the local community build their resilience to climate change, globalization, and the economic and ecological choices the region will inevitably face.

Website

www.barefootconservation.org

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Reviews

This was my second time on the project and I enjoyed every moment of it. From teaching children English, to being taught Bahasa myself, and from bonding with the fishing community as with the fish themselves. It has absolutely changed my life to see all the marine biology there is to discover and I cannot wait to further my studies in this field and deepen myself into what the ocean still has to offer. The diving in Raja Ampat is amazing and I especially loved diving with the Manta Rays. I highly recommend this project to anyone.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?

Try and bring an underwater camera, as the marine life is amazing!

I am so happy I decided to join Barefoot Conservation, it turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. I can highly recommend this project. It was the best diving I have ever done, seeing so many Manta Rays, sharks, Turtles and so much coral. Met some amazing like minded people who I am sure will remain friends for life. Great staff, safe and professional diving instructor, and if you also love community programs this is the project for you. It is on a remote island so life is pretty basic, not 5 star, but that is what I was looking for. Enjoy!

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?

I would try and stay longer next time, 4 weeks just flew by!

Raja Ampat is amazing, so many Manta Rays, even just at the end of Barefoots own jetty. The food, accommodation, staff and science were all really good, I enjoyed the Manta Ray part of the science training the most, and we even added a couple of new manta rays to the Barefoot's manta ray database, that we had ID'd during the time I was there.
I stayed for 4 weeks, but wish I could have stayed longer. Made some good friends who I traveled a bit with after the project. I really recommend this project.

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?

Durian - It is a fruit that is very popular in Indonesia