Organizational Vision
Citizen Base Strategy
Results

Organizational Vision

The Adventurers, an environmental CSO working in the jungles of southern India, has an ambitious plan to protect the biodiversity and culture of the region. However, with a core staff of only 15, Adventurers is finding a creative human resource solution in its large volunteer base. The Adventurers has been nurturing its volunteer base over many years through numerous activities and awareness building. Determined to harness this awareness, S.L.N. Swamy, an Ashoka Fellow, drew out a strategy to involve the volunteers in tasks that would check the degradation of the ecosystem and revive the cultural heritage of the region.

Citizen Base Strategy

One of the innovative methods Swamy adopted to involve volunteers is the means by which he draws attention to the plight of these tropical forests. Swamy built a strong network of volunteers and supporters using the novelty and excitement of adventure tourism, which has so far lured 100,000 visitors. What begins as an exciting activity—a hike in the forests or a canoe trip—soon evolves into respect for nature. Swamy reports “in most people it leaves a feeling of wanting to give back to nature. We have been effectively translating this positive feeling into meaningful action.”

Visitors who want to join in the effort to protect the forests make the transition from adventure enthusiast to volunteer. “Of course, when we have a specific campaign or program, there will be a game plan which everyone has to adhere to.” As the volunteers get more involved, they gain skills and better understand the wilderness and the communities living there; the Adventurers gradually grooms them to handle more projects, initially with some monitoring, and then independently. This is an orientation period, which generally lasts 4 to 5 weeks. At the end of the orientation, they work in an area that best matches their interests and the organization’s needs.

The group functions like a family into which volunteers are quickly absorbed. “I have met and made friends with other volunteers from the far corners of the globe and it has been my window to the world,” says Hemanth Kumar, a young software engineer, who spends a few weeks each summer running adventure camps for school children.

Results

Swamy’s vision of attracting people from all walks of life towards the plights of the forests has become a win-win situation for all. His volunteers provide the much needed human resources to make an impact on the South Indian forests. They have set up cooperatives for forest dwellers, gathered data about endangered animals, and planted endemic species of plants, all the while exploring a prime wilderness area.

Read a profile about S.L.N. Swamy, Ashoka Fellow