Mother Nature Conservation Camp and Temple Stay on Sado Island/Japan

 

Chokokuji is one of the largest and most culturally significant temples on Sado. Due to the declining population and the advanced age of the local residents, it is now visited by only a small number of people for religious purposes. The temple’s upkeep cannot be financed through donations from these few individuals. The 87-year-old monk and his wife are solely responsible for the operation and maintenance of the temple.

 

As a volunteer, you will assist at least once a week with light maintenance and cleaning work on the temple grounds, as well as some light gardening. A special concern of the monk is the temple’s gardens, which shine in vibrant colors throughout the seasons with a variety of blooming plants, including azaleas, hydrangeas, and cosmos.

 

Groups of schoolchildren regularly visit the temple, and you will prepare activities for the children to engage in during their visit, such as crafts.

 

Japanese and foreign tourists visit the temple year-round, especially from spring to autumn. The monk offers guided tours and spiritual experiences such as sutra writing, Zen meditation, and Buddhist sermons, which visitors can take part in. You will help the monk prepare these tourist offerings and support the temple with social media marketing.

 

Our volunteers launched and have been running a small shop since the 2024 season, selling devotional items from Chokokuji Temple, fair trade products, and locally produced natural goods to tourists to generate a small additional income for the temple’s preservation.

 

Various local organizations and individuals on Sado carry out activities related to the habitat restoration of the Japanese Crested Ibis, in which you can participate. These mainly involve working in rice fields, such as creating ditches between the fields and working on irrigation systems that ensure small organisms remain accessible year-round as food for the ibises. Additionally, we maintain biotopes and carry out activities to improve biodiversity and water quality.

 

To stay informed about the details of the ibis reintroduction efforts, we regularly visit the government-run Japanese Crested Ibis Breeding and Research Center and the Japanese Crested Ibis Visitor Park.

 

 

A Bamboo is an extremely fast-growing raw material that can replace plastic and other, less sustainable materials in various applications. On Sado, there is a Bamboo Club that regularly conducts creative bamboo crafting workshops for our volunteers, sometimes joined by Japanese youth groups. You will first learn to make simple objects like cups and chopsticks. Depending on the Bamboo Club’s projects, our volunteers also participate in other bamboo-based initiatives, such as building a bamboo playground on Sobama Beach.

 

 

Once a week, we remove trash from a section of the beach or another natural area. During the summer months, families and tourists sometimes join in. Most of the waste we collect consists of nylon ropes and nets, other plastic waste from the fishing industry, construction materials like plastic pipes and cables, as well as packaging waste. By removing this waste from the beach, we prevent the tide from washing it back into the sea. The collected waste is picked up by the municipal waste disposal service and incinerated in a city waste facility that uses modern filtration technology.

 

 

Besides rice, many farmers on Sado grow persimmons, oranges, kiwis, shiitake mushrooms, and other fruits and vegetables. The surrounding forests are also cultivated.

 

We collaborate with various farmers who practice organic farming and can explain their principles to you. You will assist on their farms. For example, one farmer keeps ducks in the rice fields to eat potential pests, eliminating the need for chemical pesticides.

 

 

A woman with a deep passion for traditional local herbs leads workshops in our program, teaching how to make plant-based insect repellent, herbal juice, herb-filled Gyoza, and toothpaste made from charcoal and herbs.

 

 

As a volunteer, you will regularly take part in activities carried out by the local community. These include working on Akiyas—abandoned houses. Due to the declining rural population in Japan, many houses have become abandoned and neglected. Some villages have about 80-90% abandoned buildings. In the village of Matsugasaki, for example, there is an abandoned workshop that belonged to Sado’s last blacksmith, who has since passed away. The remaining villagers wanted to preserve the memory of this traditional craft by converting the workshop into a small exhibition space. Volunteers from our program cleaned out the building and helped set up the exhibition. Other examples of community work include preparing for and participating in cultural festivals or events such as the annual Sado Marathon.

 

We regularly organize participation in workshops and presentations of traditional local culture. Once a year, we take part in building a traditional reed boat, which oyster fishermen used in the past. Other examples include learning to play the Noh flute, Taiko drumming, and Kyogen theater performances.

 

 

Typically, volunteers visit a local school or another children’s initiative once a week to teach kids about environmental protection. Besides environmental education, cultural exchange is also an essential part of these visits, where we play with the children and engage in sports.

 

 

The excessive use of chemical pesticides has led to the decline of insects, including valuable pollinators. We support wild bees by creating nesting areas for ground-nesting bees and making and installing insect hotels.

 

 

Program activities typically take place on 5.5 days per week. During your free time, you can organize activities independently or with other program participants, such as going to the beach, snorkeling, hiking, and sightseeing. You should also visit Sado’s gold mine—we will provide you with information about it. We also rent bicycles and kimonos at affordable prices. Snorkeling equipment is provided free of charge.

 

 

 

 

First week 625 EUR. Any additional week +330 EUR. From the 10th week only +295 EUR/week.

 

 

• Participation in all program activities (offered on 5.5 days/week)
• Orientation and Introduction at Chokokuji about the program activities
• Transfers for all program activities on Sado Island
• Accommodation in 4-share tent (you choose) [Single/Double occupancy possible at extra charge, see below]
• Full board (3 meals per day) incl. unlimited drinking water and tea
• Access to the World Unite! Online Resource Centre which has Preparation Materials including Intercultural Preparation, compiled particularly for your destination (mobile phone friendly Knowledge Base)
• Individual Consultation and Preparation prior to your arrival
• Preparation Session via zoom, together with further participants
• Support with the travel from Tokyo to Sado by our Tokyo team
• Pick-up and Transfers from/to Sado (Ryotsu) Ferry Terminal on arrival (Mondays) and departure (Mondays or Fridays) to/from Mother Nature Camp Sado
• Personal support staff at your location and at our international office
• 24 Hours emergency support by local support team
• For the CO2 compensation of your long-haul flights: Costs for 10 seedlings of indigenous trees that we plant on the slopes of Kilimanjaro
• Issuance of Confirmations/Certificates for your university, scholarship, insurance, etc. and filling out/signing Internship Contracts for your university

 

 

• Travel to/from Sado Island (you book it on your own; see details in the slider "Getting There" below)
• Insurance (Travel Health Insurance, Liability Insurance, Travel Cancellation insurance; you book it on your own, we can assist you)
• Personal Expenses
• Vaccinations
• Weekend leisure activities