Winter Fairytale

Project dates: March 20 – 30, 2010

Project duration: Eleven days

Languages: Russian and English  

Project Location: Baikalskiy National Natural Reserve, south of Lake Baikal, in the Khamar-Daban Mountain Range region. The project will take place in Tankhoi Village (1,300 mainly Russian and Buryat residents), Republic of Buryatia, Russia.

Setting: Winter on Baikal is a fairytale world in the enchanting story of Baikal’s wonders.  The frozen winter months reveal a new chapter to the beauty and mystery of the lake; jagged mountain ridges of ice, sandy beaches frozen solid, rocks wrapped tight in a thick sheet of ice, endless rolling hills and fields turned white by a deep blanket of snow.  If Baikal is smiling upon you, you may be lucky enough to find a patch of clear, pure ice through which you can see the unfrozen waters deep below.   

Even though it may be March on the calendar, all around Baikal spring brings with it only more sunshine while driving away the bitter wind.  In Siberia , March is truly still winter, albeit with a softer, whiter and friendlier smile on its face.  The daytime temperature is still a perky -10 to -15°C while during the night it is not unknown for it to reach a nippy -30°C.   

The Baikalskiy National Nature Reserve is situated in the southern part of Lake Baikal . Its northern border runs along the lake, separated from the water only by the steel rails of the Trans-Siberian railway. In 1986, Baikalskiy gained the status of a Biosphere Reserve and was recognized by UNESCO as part of the international network of biosphere reserves which represent the most important types of the world’s ecosystems. The Reserve is especially important as a conservation area for water fowl. Its rare species include black storks, white-tailed sea eagles, and the rare Daur storks. Among the many mammals living in the Reserve are moose, brown bears, sable, deer, foxes, badgers, mink, weasels, and bats.

The Khamar-Daban mountain range, which passes through the territory of the Reserve to the south and south-east of Baikal, is one of the most beautiful and fascinating mountain ranges of the Baikal region. The gently sloping mountains of the Khamar-Daban range arch alongside Baikal for 350 kilometers , reaching an average of 1500- 1800 meters in height. The highest peak, Khan-Ula, is 2,371 meters above sea level. The Khamar-Daban range is a unique and rare place even by Baikal standards. The vegetation here truly reminds one of a lush Amazon wilderness – hence the project name. Because of the humid climate in the area, enormous relict trees predating the Ice Age, and ferns taller than man, flourish throughout the Khamar-Daban.

  Long-term Goal: To make Baikal a popular winter holiday destination spot as well as to demonstrate that volunteer projects can take place in winter as well as summer. The volunteers can help the nature reserve by translating information in museums into English and by producing brochures about the trail in two or three languages as well as develop volunteer movement in the town through working with local children.   

Project Work: The volunteers will hold two classes with school children about volunteering in different countries. They will also translate the information at the museums into English (and into German, if possible) and will produce brochures about the trail “In the jungle of Khamar-Daban” in two or three languages. In addition, the volunteers will make signs for the trail.  

Work Schedule: Volunteers will work for seven days: four hours in the morning with a snack break, followed by a two hour lunch break, and then three more hours of work in the afternoon.   You will receive a more detailed schedule several weeks before the project starts.

Meals and Accommodations: Volunteers will stay in homestay accomodation in the village, although do bear in mind that the toilet facilities are basic and situated outside. Alternatively, volunteers can choose to stay in the visitor centre, which has inside toilets.  

Entertainment and Relaxation: There will be a skiing trip to Kolbina glade and a hike using snowboots to the first waterfall (depending on conditions). Volunteers will also visit the museum of natural history, try out a Russian banya (a steam suana), go on walks round Baikal and go ice skating. Lastly, there will be a Maslenitsa celebration (Russian pancake week).  

Contribution Fee: 15,000 rubles per person (approximately $420 US or 330 EURO; please check the current exchange rate at http://www.cbr.ru/eng/currency_base/daily.asp). The contribution fee covers: a visa invitation from the GBT organization; meeting you at the airport or train station in Irkutsk; helping to arrange your accommodation in Irkutsk; visa registration with the Russian authorities; transportation within the project; all meals on the project; services of a crew leader and interpreter during the project; all administrative expenses; project entertainment costs including the week-end excursion; tools and other equipment; accommodation. 100% of the project fee goes for direct project expenses.  

The project fee is higher than on our regular projects since we will be living in houses not tents and enjoy home-made meals instead of more simple camp-fare.

Required Experience: None  

Age Range: 18+ years  

Additional Requirements: None

Equipment to bring:

·         The Essentials – a good hiking rucksack, a warm sleeping bag, a sleeping mat and a bowl, cup and spoon.  Every volunteer should have these with them on the project.

·         You should also bring a good supply of warm clothes.

·         Language dictionaries (Russian – English/French/German) come in very handy for those talks over the dinner table.

·         It would be fantastic if you could bring a few things about yourself and your country to show to the other volunteers.  These could be photos of your family and hobbies, postcards, flags or other souvenirs.  If you know a folk song or can play a tune from you country; they are also great for entertaining the group.  Food is always a big winner too, if it is easy to pack bring along some interesting or famous food from your country.   

Transportation and Meeting Location:

Volunteers travel independently to Irkutsk. Once in Irkutsk, you will travel as a group by minibus or train to Tankhoi. In general, it takes 4-5 hours to get from Irkutsk to Tankhoi and costs between 300 and 600 rubles (about $12 – 24 US or 9 – 18 EURO) one way. If you have questions regarding transportation, contact our volunteer coordinator.   

To Irkutsk by air:   Moscow – Irkutsk (5.5 hours)

To Irkutsk by train: Moscow – Irkutsk (3.5 days)

Please note that your contribution fee does not include any expenses incurred while getting to the starting point of the project, the village of Tankhoi.  

Important Visa Information:

 1. The Great Baikal Trail is registered in the Federal Migration Service as an organization with the permission to obtain invitations to foreign visitors. This process takes between 4 and 6 weeks. So please, send your data not later than February the 1^st. After February the 1st you will still be able to obtain an official invitation through specialized agencies like Get Russian   www.getrussian.com/order/forms.php?a_aid=BaikalInfo and Red Star at www.waytorussia.com . 

2. Every foreigner traveling through Russia has to comply with the obligatory visa registration process in any location where you stay for more than three business days. Since this process takes at least a day, project participants should arrive in Irkutsk no later than March 19^th.

Contact Yulia Misevich, international volunteer coordinator, at gbt.volunteers@gmail.com, with any questions.

If you are interested in participating, please fill out the GBT volunteer application form

Note:  In the past we have had a few instances of technical difficulties where some information sent to us through the website was lost in transition.  If you do not receive a response within a week of writing us please email us at these addresses: gbt.volunteers@gmail.com and yulia@greatbaikaltrail.org.

Project Personnel

Project Manager: Anna Aleksandrovna Belova. She has been a crew leader and translator in several projects and is also the leader of the GBT club.

Crew Leader: TBA

Assistant Crew Leader: TBA.

Responsibilities: The Assistant Crew Leader will help the crew leader in the management of the project. 

Translator: TBA

Responsibilities: The translator is responsible for translating for the crew leader (who does not speak much English) and helping with communication between Russian and English speaking crew members. The translator also plans and conducts the social activities of the group.

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