Experience Travel the Mad Way
“An incredible, awe inspiring, self-enquiring, people meeting, lentil eating, culturally astounding, adrenaline pounding, sun scorched summer!”
Richard King, Kenya
Madventurer employ experienced country managers at our UK Headquarters to provide you with constant support and advice in the build-up to your departure. With first hand knowledge of your destination, our experts can answer all of your questions and help you prepare.
All volunteers receive comprehensive pre-departure information to help with preparation. All information is accessible online from anywhere around the world and updated regularly; we will provide vital details about your Project, Placement and/or Adventure including information about flights, insurance, visas, kit, currency, security, location, local culture and language.
If required, you’ll receive fundraising guidelines with ideas and information to help you get the funds together. A teaching pack will give you suggestions on how to prepare lesson plans and outline basic principles involved. We provide pre-departure checklists to make sure you’re on-track.
We also provide online access to our Travel Health Advice Centre run by our expedition health partners Interhealth. This gives you access to free and professional advice from the travel health experts. This includes all the information you need about vaccinations and medicines and best of all you can call a travel health professional at Interhealth to discuss your personal needs.
At Madventurer your security is our top priority and we’re justifiably proud of our clean safety record. All Projects, Placements and Adventures have to meet strict safety criteria and satisfy ongoing risk assessments.
Our Crew are always on hand to deal with any eventualities and are trained in first aid and our Crisis Management procedures.
All of our Projects, Placements and Adventures are located within reach of good medical facilities and our staff can be contacted 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year in case of emergencies.
Everyone at Madventurer is COMMITTED to the development ethos and that the projects will forever be picked for the intention to assist communities with their development goals. Madventurers are neither missionaries nor tourists, rather they are ambassadors for their country seeking to gain knowledge through a unique experience whilst contributing to the development of communities with much less opportunity than themselves.
All of Madventurer’s Projects are selected for their long-term benefits to the host community. Our focus on youth development incorporates health, education and sports development projects and our Community Building and Teaching Projects build basic infrastructure that will benefit whole communities rather than individuals.
The Projects are always owned and led by the village, community or local partner organisation to ensure the long-term support and involvement of the local community. This ensures the sustainability, staffing and maintenance of the project.
Madventurer Crew and our Regional Managers research each project to ensure it meets our strict development criteria. We always work in close partnerships with village chiefs, village development committees and NGOs as well as local, national and international charities to ensure that we gain as much local knowledge, expertise and support as possible.
We also work together with local government and charities to create income generation and capacity building projects that can aid the economic development of local communities.
All of our volunteer projects are away from the big cities, and are in towns and RURAL COMMUNITIES, where the villagers have large visions for their future; some kids want to be footballers, some pop stars; others accountants, doctors, lawyers, business men. They value education and a chance at a better life and just need a stepping stone to get there. The Volunteers and villagers will work with each other towards a common goal. It’s a two way interaction.
We ensure that volunteers do not take the place of local staff.
Tourism is a vital industry in many developing countries; Madventurer are committed to the ethos of responsible tourism and all of our projects and adventurers aim to reduce the negative and increase the positive impact of travel to developing countries.
We employ local staff to work alongside Crew on all of our projects and we source all materials, food and supplies from local sources to contribute as much as possible to the local economy.
Water is a precious resource in many developing countries and volunteers are encouraged to use it sparingly.
Madventurer has small groups to ensure that volunteers are welcomed into each community.
We ensure that all volunteers are given accurate pre-departure information to increase their awareness of cultural differences.
Madventurer HQ is becoming more environmentally friendly every day through recycling, energy conservation and by becoming a paperless office.
Our Responsible Travel approach is and always has been our commitment to operating and travelling in a way that is socio-culturally, environmentally, and economically responsible. Madventurer’s carbon reduction strategy has a three-pronged approach of endeavouring to:
reduce our carbon emissions wherever possible;
educate our crew, volunteers and partners on ways they can proactively reduce emissions and their environmental impacts; and
offset the balance of emissions through investment into sound carbon offset schemes. We are conducting detailed assessments on our trips to calculate the emissions from these trips. Our volunteers are now able to select these Carbon Offset trips and have their footprint on that trip neutralised.
Travelling in small groups, with an average of 10 volunteers means that we minimise both our environmental and socio-cultural impacts. We use small locally owned accommodation and local transport where possible, thereby minimising our demand for purpose built air-conditioned large hotels and chartered transport, reducing fuel consumption and possible negative impacts of large developments.
Our brochure is made with paper from sustainable sources and can also be downloaded from http://www.madventurer.info/
From the moment you land, our Madventurer Crew are there to make your whole experience as enjoyable as possible. Experienced travellers and often former volunteers themselves, our Crew are trained in all of our operational procedures and first aid; they will ensure your safety and provide support and advice on how to get the most out of your time.
They are chosen because of their experiences in the field and because they have a good sense of what to do and how to react to situations. Their main role is to drive the development goals and facilitate the needs and cohesion of the group and they are integral to good projects and the organisation.
As well as looking out for your safety they’ll be the first to get stuck-in whether it’s work or play because unlike many other organisations, your Madventurer Crew will be there living and working alongside you on a daily basis on our Project sites.
10% of what you pay is a direct contribution to Project materials, supporting development projects worldwide. This is in addition to all other local costs such as food, accommodation, transport, Crew Leaders and UK support. We set our trip costs as low as possible and give you the freedom to raise any additional funds directly for the Projects that we support. For example, if you raise £1000 for a Project that costs £500 then this standard 10% (or £50) Project materials donation can then shoot up to become over 50% (or £550) of the trip cost.
This is used to buy and transport building materials and to hire local craftsmen as well as providing classroom and sports equipment for local schools and supporting local children’s centres. Over the years, Madventurer has contributed many hundreds of thousands of pounds to development projects.
The MAD Foundation (Reg. Charity No. 1111805) was established to help raise additional funds for development projects from volunteer donations, fundraising events and sponsors to help us further the scope of our much needed work in some of the poorest countries in the world.
Unlike many Volunteer Travel Providers we are transparent about where the money goes - here is where we allocated costs last year….
Includes Project materials or other local contributions, food, accommodation supplies, support vehicles and other transport, international and local communications, wages and salaries for managers, crew and local staff, International travel for staff and project crew, staff and crew training, rent for premises and utility bills including security. Other project equipment including First-aid kits and other services including consultancy fees (crisis management, health and safety, recruitment)….
Includes wages and Salaries, Employers NI, rent for premises (our HQ is wee!), office equipment expenses, equipment maintenance and hire, bank charges and international transfer fees, legal and accountancy support, insurances, recruitment, memberships, sponsorships. Website including hosting and maintenance, advertising and PR, promotional items, postage, telephone and other communications, stationery and printing of all marketing materials, vehicle and stand expenses for talks and school/travel fairs…..
These are TEAM PROJECTS, which means that you have the chance to be together with a group of enthusiastic, energetic volunteers in your village or town. It’s a good way to meet and have shared experiences!
You can do both a VOLUNTEER PROJECT + ADVENTURE for a unique experience. It means you can spend valued time volunteering in one village before doing further travel to experience more landscape, taste more food and explore the continent.
We believe that if you work hard you deserve to play hard too. Whether you’ve done a Project and want to travel & discover more or you just want to have the trip of a lifetime we can cater for all your exploration, relaxation & adrenaline needs. Check out our Adventure options or call 08451211996 for more information.
You will have the time of your life!
Ideas for Life
The experience can highlight what you want to do, provide another outlook on life at home, or maybe inspire ideas for the future.
Challenge and Self-Development
Both parts of the experience present new ways for you to tackle challenges, use skills you didn’t know you had, lets you see your strengths and definitely your weaknesses too. You will have the chance to meet people from very different backgrounds to you and learn about their outlook on life, which might bring some nice surprises. Heightening the senses and introducing you to millions of emotions.
See Another World
This is a chance to go somewhere totally new and different to places that you have been before. Taste the local food in Kenya, smell the rainforest in Ghana, hear tribal drumming in Uganda, touch the sky on Kilamanjaro or watch the sunset in Timbuktu.
Every volunteer automatically becomes a member of the Mad Tribe giving you a 10% tribal-discount off any future Projects or Placements. You’ll also receive newsletters updating you on the progress of our Projects and any opportunities to get involved in fundraising activities for the Mad Foundation.
The Mad World Ball is the highlight of the tribe’s calendar. Volunteers from all over the world come together for a reunion party of global proportions and to raise money for the Mad Foundation supporting our project partners overseas.
On all of our Projects you’ll be living and working with a group of enthusiastic and likeminded volunteers so whether you’re travelling with friends or going solo, you’re guaranteed to share incredible experiences and make lifelong Tribe friends!
Madventurer is proud to be the winner of the Shell Livewire UK AWARD for Sustainable Development and a The Prince’sTrust Best Business Award.
Email the Mad Team
Request a Mad brochure
Contact Madventurer HQ for more details on: 0845 121 1996