At the start of their visit all volunteers working on the Operation Wallacea research programme are based in the village of Labundo where they carry out their initial training. Accommodation is in picturesque local village houses, which are usually wooden or attap (dried coconut leaves) on stilts. You will be invited to village events and to eat with the local people. Each room has a mattress with mosquito net and there is a mandi (bathroom) in or near the house. Staying in Labundo is an ideal way to get to know local people and experience how they live. The Research Centre in Labundo, where scientists working at this site are based, has a computer room with statistical software, scanning and printing facilities. Meals, evening lectures and briefings take place in the village hall. There is a specially built clinic with a medic permanently on site.

Volunteers working on projects denoted IL are based at Labundo and work on study grids (one kilometre square areas with marked intersected trails at 100m intervals) in the nearby forests or stay overnight in tents at the Lapago node camp (a 1 hour walk into the forest) in order to work on the study grid there or the forests between Lapago and Labundo. These sites give excellent opportunities for season-long studies of the ecology of plant and animal communities.

Volunteers working on forest projects denoted IN join teams working at remote node camps across the forests. At each camp four 3km long transects have been marked and sampling sites established along each. Together these sampling sites give excellent geographical coverage across the forests and span habitats of differing disturbance levels. The node camps are set up with hammocks, tents and communal eating areas. Field toilets are built at each of the camps and shower systems are built into waterfalls on the rivers next to each of the camps. The experience of living and working at these remote forest camps is one that few people forget, and the skills that you will develop, both in terms of fieldwork and forest living, will be invaluable.

Volunteers joining the socio-economic projecton Buton (projects denoted IS) will work with the team that visits a sample of the villages around the edge of the Lambusango forest over the course of the season. Volunteers working with this team will be interacting with communities who are not accustomed to Westerners; this unique experience requires a high level of cultural sensitivity but is the best way to understand local cultures. Most volunteers and scientists return to Labundo at the end of the week for a debrief, to compare notes with colleagues, and relax in the peaceful surroundings of the village, though some of the remoter node camps may require two week stays in the field.

There are two main research bases and a live-aboard vessel from which Operation Wallacea undertakes all scientific research within the Wakatobi National Park. Marine biology research is based on the small, uninhabited island of Hoga whilst social science, fisheries and mangrove research activities are co-ordinated from the village of Ambuea on the nearby island of Kaledupa. In addition, a new purpose-built research vessel the MV. Bintang Sedang, has been commissioned by Operation Wallacea enabling surveys and studies to be undertaken more widely throughout the entire marine park.

All students involved in dive training and marine biology research (coded IH), will be based at the Hoga Island Marine Research Station, located on an idyllic tropical island surrounded by white sandy beaches and pristine coral reefs where much of the marine research is focussed. Traditionally built wooden houses serve as accommodation on the island and are complete with their own bathroom and private balcony from which you can enjoy cool evening breezes. The station's main building contains a large, open-air study area, a computer laboratory, email and extensive library facilities. Downstairs it also contains a restaurant area and shop from which refreshments are sold. Close to this main building is a lecture theatre where the Coral Reef Ecology course and regular scientific talks are presented as well as a dive centre where visitors to the research base can rent dive equipment. The base also supports a medical clinic stocking a full range of medical supplies and equipment.

All students involved in social science and fisheries research (coded IK), will be based in Ambuea village on Kaledupa whilst also having the opportunity to move out and work in other coastal communities. Ambuea is one of the most traditional of the villages on the main island of Kaledupa, and is located just a short boat ride from the research station on Hoga Island. Operation Wallacea works hard to maintain positive relations with the people of Ambuea and its surrounding communities providing students with a unique opportunity to both undertake intensive research and experience first hand the warm and generous nature of these local people. A large house located in the village has been converted into a research centre where computer facilities, study areas, and a small library are available. Students whilst based at Ambuea will live with local families located within a few minutes walk of the research centre. Being based on Kaledupa gives volunteers the opportunity to experience living in a remote Indonesian community and also enables easy access to other research locations. For example many of the social science researchers are based for part of their time in the Bajo or sea gipsy community in the floating village of Sampela.

Sampela

Sampela is a Bajo village just off the east coast of Kaledupa. The Bajo people tend to build their settlements over the reef flats away from dry land, and Sampela is no exception to this: The houses are built on stilts, and if you are based here (as are volunteers involved in social science or fisheries projects coded will be) you will get around either via wooden walkways or dug-out canoes. The Bajo community has a strong sense of cultural identity, and the experience of staying here will be quite unique.

The purpose built, live-aboard dive vessel, KM Bintang Sedang, was first commissioned in 2006 and is operated by Operation Wallacea for much of the research season. The vessel is essential to enabling important research to be undertaken across the many islands and atolls scattered throughout the Wakatobi National Park, Indonesia's second largest marine conservation area. The vessel supports 14 berths only meaning places are strictly limited. The 26-metre vessel has essential navigation and safety equipment including GPS, depth sounder, satellite telephone and liferaft, and is operated by a highly experienced crew. Time spent on the KM Bintang Sedang is a unique way to contribute towards important research being undertaken within the Wakatobi whilst seeing this unique archipelago that remains largely untouched by the outside world. Projects based on the Bintang Sedang are coded IB.