A Worthwhile Gap Year – Stopping Poachers In India

A gap year is a pause from formal instruction; yet, it has as its purpose, the intent to build on the theoretical. A gap year experience allows you to immerse yourself in your own passion. This could be for another culture, improving your skills in your favourite pastime, or you might want to work with people or in animal conservation.

It is possible to combine the personal facets of your ambitions and passions in one experience. You can have an adventure, gain a broader global perspective, become steeped in a new culture and help to conserve a dwindling population of wildlife species. The best way to accomplish this is to consider voluntourism as your gap year choice. If you're not sure where to go, why not try a stint in India?

India, Wildlife and Poachers

India is host to a diverse and complex culture. Mountains, deserts, jungle forests and beaches combine to create a wonderful habitat for humans and wildlife alike. As well, large crowded cities and small local villages exemplify two completely different Indias.

The country is home to many different species of animals, including the rare and beautiful Bengal tiger, Indian elephants and wild boars. They roam in this sub continent's national parks, often living close to small communities. In India, conservation has a different face. It does not involve preventing the destruction of hectares of land, instead it focuses on protecting species from poachers and helping villagers and wildlife to coexist - if not harmoniously, at least with as little friction as possible.

A gap year in India is not a walk in the park. It is a rough adventure for hardy and determined individuals as voluntourists tend not to spend their time in large cities or even towns. Life in India for the duration of a gap year is a quest involving new experiences. It is a chance to become familiar with the local lifestyle, complete with cuisine and housing. In fact, most who take part in Indian animal conservation efforts live in the jungle in a bansha. This is the basic base of operation from which a volunteer goes forth to:

• Maintain corridors for migratory elephants

•Dig elephant-proof trenches

• Put up solar fencing to protect local crops from elephants and wild boar

• Learn about resource management practices

• Fight poaching by constructing anti-poaching camps and related facilities in the national parks

•Renovating and repairing anti-poaching camps

A gap year in India requires someone dedicated to animal conservation. It is hands-on and you will get dirty. You will be tired at the end of the day, but you will learn about authentic life in India. The most exciting thing of all is that you will get to see, up close and personal, You will see elephants and the beautiful Bengal tiger.

Purpose and Result

So, you could stay home during your gap year, or you could work in a job commuting home each day. Or, you could eschew all that for the unknown in India, knowing that you were set for an adventure of a lifetime and helping conserve the local wildlife. Easy choice really!

By: M. Bottell

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Mark Bottell is the General Manager for Worldwide Experience, an online tour operator offering extended breaks on gap year and other wildlife conservation holidays for adults.