Program Reviews

This experience left a permanent mark on my heart. I’m incredibly grateful to have been a part of it. I’ll always look back on it with love, pride, and the hope to return again someday. 

From day one, I was surrounded by some of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. The team was not only professional and organized but also genuinely kind, supportive, and full of positive energy. They made me feel like I truly belonged, and that made all the difference. The people I worked with were more than just colleagues; they became friends and mentors. Their dedication, respect, and passion for what they do left a lasting impression on me and motivated me to keep striving to be better and do more. 

Throughout my time here, I learned so much—about teamwork, compassion, and the power of giving back. Every moment was filled with purpose and growth, and I felt genuinely fulfilled knowing that I was contributing to something meaningful. 

 Honestly was the best experience of my life, and I recommend it wholeheartedly to everyone.

Coral planting, reef checks, mangrove planting and debris diving – just an outtake of what our month at SORCE Sustainable Oceanic Research Conservation & Education CIC as marine conservation research assistants looked like! I’ve gained a new admiration for all the conservation and education work done by SORCE Sustainable Oceanic Research Conservation & Education CIC to further protect and improve the ecological wonders of the native mangrove and marine life of Lombok.

Insightful, educational but most of all fun to be a part of a team that puts their heart into the conservation work on their coral reefs and mangrove plantations, even if just for such a short period of time. I can definitely recommend anyone interested in a more hands-on approach for their holiday or remote work options to look into what SORCE Sustainable Oceanic Research Conservation & Education CIC has to offer, or any other conservation work in that regard.

Once more, a shout out to the amazing team running SORCE Sustainable Oceanic Research Conservation & Education CIC who provided us with such a memorable experience! Can’t wait to go back, do more coral planting and see how the house reef has developed over time!

Just spent 4 amazing weeks with SORCE on Lombok. What a great experience! The staff are highly committed, both to the mission of the organisation and to ensuring that guests have a wonderful time. Our experience was a wholly enjoyable mix of working and fun diving, and learning.

The location is stunning - fabulous sunsets over the water! - and the accommodation is very comfortable. The common spaces are attractive and well designed for social and educational activities. We enjoyed the delicious, healthy food and appreciated the good quality and well-maintained diving kit.

The dedicated staff achieve an impressive balance of being very well-organized while also being relaxed and great fun. They are attentive to what individual guests enjoy, and are super-inclusive. The boat crew took amazing care of us and were always ready to help when I needed an extra hand to get self and kit out of the water onto the boat!

Our fellow-guests were so much fun - some were involved in research, some were studying and others like us were there for a holiday with a purpose - all great company.

We loved learning about the programmes, then getting involved with planting and maintaining coral nurseries and planting mangroves. Clearing trash from the beach, mangroves and ocean was an education and we had magical evenings by the fire, playing games and just chatting.

Thank you to everyone at SORCE and our fellow-guests for an inspiring and unforgettable few weeks!

Sue and Mike Lee

I had an amazing 4 weeks in this little remote Paradise. I got a great introduction into SORCE, the Marine Conservation and all of the diving gear aswell. I always felt super safe while completing so many dives and got to see amazing wild life aswell. I was also able to complete my advanced open water at SORCE, which gave me even more opportunities to go on really pretty dives.
The day was always filled with great activities, we planted mangroves, cleaned beaches and reefs and to listen to different classes.I learned many new things, which made my dives even more fun. The staff was super friendly, shoutout to the boat crew who always greet you every morning with the biggest smiles:) and also a big shoutout to the kitchen staff, who make great gluten free pancakes! I got to meet so many nice people and i felt so welcome… honestly I had the best time ever and I wish I could have stayed longer than a month🥲

I had a great four weeks on Sorce! We did a lot of diving and coral nursery work. I did over 40 dives in one month and learnt so much about conservation. The staff are great and super friendly, I felt very welcome. The other volunteers were also very nice and friendly. The accommodation is super clean and comfortable, you get your own little hut. The location is a bit remote and isolated and the atmosphere is relaxed and there is not much going on. Still a great experience and one I wouldn't want to miss.

I spent 1 Month at SORCE in January of 2025 while wet season. The whole experience was amazing, I can not recommend it enough. People were amazing, place is great, diving is great, conservation projects are really good and interesting. You will learn a lot during the stay aswell. While diving during wet season do not expect good visibility, the diving will be still fun, and there will be spots with vis up to 15m but sometimes also just 2-4m. I also did my rescue diver which was loads of fun.
The camp is modern and clean aswell, the food is good and will be adjusted to your needs. Being at SORCE it felt like a big and funny family.

As a paying volunteer, I look back at the two weeks I had at SORCE really fondly. The facilities were really clean and amazing. The staff are exceptionally knowledgeable and friendly, which transfers into the work that they’re doing. I felt rewarded by the work that we did there and it’s really benefiting that little part of the world. During my two weeks we did a variety of projects and jobs which included mangrove restoration Beech cleans making coral reef frames and blocks which we used on dives to repopulate coral reef which was really the primary focus therefore we were sometimes doing three dives a day, which was super fun. I will miss the boat crew. They are hilarious and hope to see all that team again.

I stayed at SORCE for two weeks in September 2023.

It was an amazing experience full of education and beautiful dives. Not only do you gain new knowledge about the marin ecosystem but you get to know friends for life.

The local crew was always helpful and created tasty meals for every breakfast, lunch and dinner. The cabins in which the guest sleep were always kept clean.

My favourite highlight though was to gain hand on diving experience and learning about our beautiful ocean friends. The lectures about turtles, fish-ID, corals and others were super interesting and carried so much interesting information that I became even more curious about the ocean-ecosystem.

Overall, I totally recommend staying at SORCE and would love to come back as soon as my wallet allows me to.

I was at Sorce for 3 weeks and looking back I could have stayed way longer. From the moment I arrived with the boat and met all the people I felt so comfortable. Before I got to Sorce, I was a bit worried if this really is something for me, but Sorce really turned out to be my second home. The staff and all the people I met at Sorce were so friendly and I never felt lonely. I‘ve never been diving before my voluntary project. So I did my open water course with coral the dive instructor and I loved the first course so much that I did the advanced open water right after. The facilities and the food are amazing, your room is always gonna be clean because of the lovely cleaning staff. I can highly recommend this program and I‘m maybe also coming back to Sorce in the future.

Best time of our lives! When we (me and my husband) first booked the program, we didn't know what to expect and choose to only book it for 2 weeks in case it wouldn't suit us, but all concerns we might had before disappeared on our first day. Afterwards our only regret is that we didn't spend more time at the site, since the two weeks just flew by.

We were there in November 2022 and did our Open Water the first days at site. During the days we did different types of dives to conserve the corals and planted mangroves. We had a cozy hut by ourselves, the meals were very good and on the evenings we played games, card and socialize. The location on the beach is beautiful and the whole area calm. On our spare time we explored the nearby Gili Asahan, a wonderful island which you could reach by kayak.

The organization were very professional and had a very well though trough approach regarding that the coral restoration also took biodiversity into account. We had several lectures such as fish identification and others focusing on sustainability and environment. It was an amazing experience, and I would love to come back in the future when I have the opportunity.