Magical India is a land of striking contrasts. Monsoon forests and elephants; the Himalayas and the Taj Mahal; the temples of Tamil Nadu and the palaces of Rajasthan. Our placements are based in the far South of India, in the dry and dusty Tamil Nadu, and lush green Kerala.

The two regions are separated by the Western Ghat mountains, home to numerous birds, mammals, and local tea and cardamom growers.

The Model Farm project is run by Projects Abroad, and is a Development project based near our office in Sivakasi. Environmental awareness has been taught by the Hindu faith for three thousand years, so our Green Village Project in the southern state of Tamil Nadu is well in tune with local belief.

At the heart of the project is the one and a half acre Model Farm that has been set up with the enthusiastic help of our volunteers working with villagers.

Work now includes helping with the tree nursery and planting programmes and interacting closely with local communities with the aim of turning the desire for a greener environment into reality. Volunteers on this programme spend a couple of weeks at the beginning of their placement learning about medicinal plants and organic agricultural techniques. You will then take this knowledge back to the farm, and apply it practically.

This project has already had a major impact on the local area, with a major reforestation programme in the villages, and the increased awareness of medicinal plants in illness prevention.

All volunteers are allocated a supervisor within their placement, and also have the backup of our staff in the local office in Sivakasi and the UK.

Volunteers usually stay with a local family, though occasionally accommodation may be provided at the placement. Females tend to stay with families, whilst males are often housed together in hostel accommodation for cultural reasons.

During your spare time, there are great opportunities here for travelling around India. Tamil Nadu itself contains the Ghat mountains and many spiritual centres. There are wonderful temples, excellent national parks, cool mountain resorts and empty sandy beaches. Almost every village is connected to the rest of the country by bus or train. Both are a wonderful way to explore the rest of India.

"Possibly the best thing about Model Farm was the people there. On the day before I left, Durai took us to a well that was about 20 feet across, 30 feet down a set of spiralling granite stairs to the water, and at least another 20 feet deep under the water. Jumping from half-way up the stairs into the water was a fitting end to the great time I had in Ullar" - Brock Phillips.

"We spent a day planting trees in a tiny, tiny village. I really felt as if I was helping these people - and I think conservation should be more about that" - Katherine Anderson.

0845 344 7562

Help, Learn, Explore. You can do all of these with Projects Abroad. We organise flexible volunteering programmes in the developing world. We have sent 20,000 volunteers away to 23 different countries since 1992. We offer projects such as Teaching, Care, Conservation, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Journalism, Business, Law and Human Rights amongst others.