Volunteers

At Hotplanet, guests can participate in voluntary conservation and community development programmes. The guests are asked to cover the cost of a small project of their choice. The Hotel provides full support and guidance. Guests may simply cover the costs of a project to assist the local villagers, or they have the option to also participate.

The divers and snorkellers can help to save the coral reefs in our offshore artificial reef project, while others can improve drinking water through solar desalination or replanting for sustainable logging and wildlife. Development within the local village is also underway.

Research opportunities are also available for the students. We host up to 3 student interns per year and enquiries are welcome. The typical stay is 5-6 months.

Local NGO participants are working with the World Wildlife Fund and other aid agencies to regenerate Lombok’s reefs, stripped of their coral for the world’s aquarium market or by bombing to capture fish.

Donations for any of these projects are always welcome. Examples of our key projects are:

• Village library, school and technical centre, with
• Village sanitation
• Village drinking water by solar desalination
• Artificial reefs for habitat and coral regeneration
• Forest planting

Student research projects include:

• Fossil and geological studies
• Oceanographic and reef studies
• Water quality and desalination
• Gardening and farming in dry climates
• Sustainable tourism
• Alternative energy
• Baywide ecology mapping
• Hotel business, operations and management in eco-resorts
• Lombok monkeys in their natural habitat