Travel Free to the Maldives!

Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili by Six Senses are offering a special opportunity.

For the next six months, guests are invited to stay at either the Soneva Fushi or the Soneva Gili resort for five nights, without charge, and to spend five hours of each day working on local community projects, such as marine conservation, teaching children, planting trees and learning how to turn waste into wealth. This unique Eco Season voluntourism package includes 5 nights paid, 5 nights free in exchange for 5 hours per day of valuable and motivating work for the first 5 days of a luxurious 10 days stay in the Maldives.

From June 1 to October 12, 2010, guests can choose from the following areas of work:

• Marine Conservation - divers and snorkelers will be taught how to boost coral reef recovery and to learn more about how to protect the dwindling shark community.

• Waste Management - learn how to create home-made compost, charcoal and biochar to encourage locals into self-sufficiency and thereby reduce importation of food that can be grown at home.

• Carbon Mitigation - Spend 5 hours planting trees on nearby islands to give Soneva neighbours much needed shade and to mitigate levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

• Youth Education - Give local island schools a 30 minute (pre-prepared) talk on waste management and composting, and to talk about Western culture and geography. Guests are invited to share their own relevant expertise in whichever field they specialize.

• Boost Local Island Income - Assist local families by learning the skill of making cadjan roofing material to sell and public rubbish bins for raising awareness of waste management. This not only helps create revenue streams for the islands that struggle to find alternative methods, but also to helps to keep their islands in a pristine condition.

For more information, send an email to reservations@kiwicollection.com.