Uthai Forest Volunteer Information and Guidelines Thank you for your interest in volunteering with us. These guidelines help us to ensure a mutually respectful and supportive environment for all, and enables individuals and the group to maintain our own personal health, safety, and security. Please read them thoroughly before committing to a volunteer camp and contact us if you have any questions. General Information

• Uthai Forest is not purely a tree-planting project; we aim to restore a degraded ecosystem holistically and ultimately make it a space that can sustain human needs with small-scale food production, water, and shelter. Activities will vary depending on season and the needs of the camp. Volunteers should maintain a flexible and open-minded spirit towards the ecosystem restoration activities conducted, and are welcome to contribute ideas to the evolution of the space.

• Please ensure that you are healthy and fit enough to undertake a volunteer camp of this nature. Not all activities are physically demanding or conducted outdoors, but it is in everyone’s best interest that volunteers can look after their own health. Please inform us if you have any health concerns that we should be aware of as we will ask the community to look out for each other.

Community Guidelines

• Volunteers should not use drugs, smoke, or drink alcohol inside Uthai Forest during their entire stay.

• All volunteers are expected to contribute to housekeeping and chores such as cooking, washing dishes, cleaning common areas, etc.

• We practice an eco-friendly way of life as far as possible; this includes minimizing single-use plastics, purchasing local and organic foods, composting, repurposing our waste, solar energy, etc. Please participate in this fully and encourage the rest of the community, including organizers and locals, to do so also.

Meals and Accommodation Meals: We cook most of our meals on site, or buy food from local eateries for everyone to share. These are largely plant-based, and can accommodate a range of dietary requirements. We usually have snacks on site and encourage volunteers to bring their own to share. On occasion, we will bring volunteers to the nearby towns to enjoy the local night market or restaurants. Uthai Forest is a non-profit ecological project that does not generate any income; therefore we cannot afford to provide free food. We share the cost of our meals equally. The total cost of meals is 250 Baht a day. This also helps to cover the cost of volunteers’ transport in Uthai Thani. Accommodation: Conditions at Uthai Forest are very basic. We will be camping out in tents under a shelter, and cooking over portable stoves. Volunteers may be asked to share tents depending on space availability. Budget Volunteers often ask how much money they should prepare for a trip like this. Our suggestion: Besides the 250 Baht per day to cover costs at Uthai Forest, volunteers should at least budget for the minivan ride to and from Bangkok (200 Baht per leg), and eating at the night market (min. 200 Baht each time). Other expenses may include buying snacks

and souvenirs; daily necessities; accommodation in town or in Bangkok, depending on the individual. Getting to Uthai Thani Uthai Thani is a three-hour drive from Bangkok and easily accessible via Thai public transport. We suggest that volunteers fly or travel into Bangkok and take the public minivan or public bus from Bangkok’s Mo Chit Minivan Station to Uthai Thani. We will pick volunteers up from the minivan station in Uthai Thani. Detailed directions can be found here. For those driving to Uthai Forest directly, the address can be found on our website or Google Maps. Arrival and Schedule We welcome volunteers during any day of the camp and will coordinate pickup at the Uthai Thani minivan station up to twice a day (late morning and afternoon). The exact timing usually depends on the date and time of volunteers’ arrival in Bangkok. We will coordinate the pickup over a Whatsapp chat after the group has been confirmed.

Time Activity

5:00 - 6:00 Wake up, meditation, stretching and breakfast preparation

6:00 - 6:30 Light breakfast and hydrate before starting work

6:30 - 8:00 Work

8:00 - 8:30 Breakfast

8:30 - 12:00 Continue work - either indoors or outdoors depending on weather

12:00 - 14:00 Lunch

14:00 - 18:00 Continue work - maybe indoors or outdoors depending on the weather

18:00 - 20:00 Dinner (Eat in/head out)

20:00 - 22:00 Chill, group discussions and icebreakers (optional), etc.

After 22:00 Lights out

Packing List Please refer closely to this packing list for what to bring. Much of our work will be done outdoors and proper attire, footwear, and hydration is a must.

Item Remarks

FOR WORKING:

• Long-sleeved shirts OR T-shirts and long-sleeved outer shirts OR T-shirts and detachable sleeves

• Long pants

• Covered shoes, ideally waterproof (e.g. rubber boots, hiking boots); we may get wet and muddy

• Socks

• Wide-brimmed hat or hat with neck flap (caps are fine but not preferred)

Gardening gloves Bring your own if you prefer as what we have on site is of lower quality

Sunblock

Tent or mosquito net Volunteers are strongly advised to bring their own tent. If you are unable to, please inform us beforehand.

Sleeping bag, inflatable mattress, etc.

Water bottle

Raincoat or waterproof jacket

Not necessary

Slippers

Reusables kit (Tupperware, cutlery, bag)

At the night market, very few stores serve food with biodegradable wares. To minimize our ecological impact, please bring your own eating wares, and bring any single-use packaging back to Uthai Forest to be reused.

Mosquito repellent or coil Natural mosquito repellent is advised as it is the most effective and environmentally-friendly