Clouddog is a committed twelve month programme assisting students from inner city backgrounds to develop self-esteem, focus and direction through targeted exposure to multicultural, environmental and ecological experiences.

The programme includes a three week trip to Southern Africa.  Each group is comprised of fifty percent UK and fifty percent southern African students.  Both UK and SA students complete local community projects before undertaking the three week expedition.

Whilst in southern Africa activities include:

• One week in a Game Reserve working behind the scenes with vets, ecologists and accredited guides, completing hands on conservation work, tracking and identifying animals, game counts, botany & vegetation impacts, field guiding and conservation ethics.
• One week in an authentic Zulu rural village where their main focus will be to complete a series of local community projects at Mklatuhluzana School.  The group are currently working on the building of classrooms and sanitary facilities.   Students are exposed to daily Zulu life in a genuine village. Partaking in educational forest walks with a medicine Doctor and a visit to a Sangoma as well as the opportunity to attend privileged cultural events such as a Zulu wedding or coming of age ceremony.
• One week spent on a Wilderness Trail in the Umfolozi Game Reserve. Based on total simplicity and carrying all life’s necessities on your back beneficiaries will sleep under the stars, escorted by skilled and qualified trail guides experienced in working with young people.  Participants use their time on the trail for self-reflection and personal growth. The solitude provides the opportunity to embark on a journey of self-discovery and connection with the earth.

The Wilderness Foundation UK is delighted to have been a part of Clouddog since its inception some five years ago.  We continue to work with the Clouddog team and provide both the Zululand Residential and Wilderness Trail parts of this programme, as well as acting in a supporting and advisory role before the UK students depart for South Africa.

For more information on Clouddog please visit: http://www.clouddog.org

If you are a student that has been selected to participate in the Clouddog South Africa expedition and have any questions, comments or concerns about where you will be going and what you will be doing, don’t hesitate to get in touch.