THE LOMBOK PROJECT: ADVENTURE TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY TRIP WITH JACKSON GROVES

Tragedy struck last year on August 5th on the tropical island of Lombok, which is just a short ferry ride away from mainland Bali in Indonesia. A magnitude 7 earthquake flattened thousands of homes and buildings, killing more than 430 people and displacing 350,000 locals on Lombok. More than 400 schools were destroyed in the earthquake leaving the children of Lombok nowhere to continue their education.

I traveled to Lombok in 2017 and it was one of the most beautiful islands of Indonesia. It relied heavily on the tourism industry with the popular Mt. Rinjani Volcano hike, South Kuta surf beaches and several incredible waterfalls topping the list of the most popular attractions on Lombok. Hiking up Mt. Rinjani is a memory I still cherish. The tourism industry has come to an abrupt halt with many facilities being re-built and tourists avoiding Lombok. This has been a secondary economic blow to the tour operators and communities in Lombok.

This trip is our chance to come together to make a positive impact on the Lombok community.

 

THE LOMBOK PROJECT: An Adventure Travel Photography Trip with an Impact

8 days Adventure Travel & Photography Trip of Lombok: 7 days of adventure & 1 day opening the school that we will be 100% responsible for the funding of the Pop Up School.

Cost per person: $1,500 USD

Amount donated (100% of Proceeds) to Lombok Community to build the Pop Up School: $15,000 USD

On April 22-April 30, 10 people have the opportunity to join me and Josh Lynott on an adventure tour of Lombok, Indonesia. We will visit, Tiu Kelep, undoubtedly one of the best waterfalls in Indonesia. Our team will hike up Mt Rinjani (the back way, the front way is closed) with an official guide and camp on the ridge! We will visit Benang Stokel where we will find five unbelievable waterfalls along a jungle trek. Another highlight for our group will be enjoying the beautiful beaches and surf along the south coast. The adventure trip will run for 7 days. Here is a look at the blog post I wrote about my last adventure trip to Lombok: 16 AWESOME THINGS TO DO IN LOMBOK

I truly believe this trip will be a life-changing experience. Not only will we be exploring some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Indonesia with other like-minded travelers, but we will also be delivering a Pop Up School in the SDN 7 JENGGALA community, bringing education back for almost 100 students. It’s an opportunity for us to make a powerful impact for the people of Lombok.

**There will be a photography focus on the trip and I will offer advice, assistance, and guidance to any photographers but it is not necessary to be a photographer to join this trip.  The photography will just be a part of the adventure. I will be able to share individualized workshops about social media, blogging, and photography throughout the trip. This is a great opportunity for up and coming bloggers to get 1-on-1 access to my knowledge about how I’ve grown my blog and online business to become one of the worlds leading travel blogs.

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF PROJECT LOMBOK

I’m organizing this trip with two goals in mind. The first goal is to give 10 people, the adventurous trip of a lifetime to an off-beat travel location. The second goal is to raise $15,000 USD for the Classroom of Hope charity so we can re-open an entire school for the SDN 7 JENGGALA community in the North of Lombok, which will mean almost 100 students regain access to education.

On the 8th day, our team will drive through the jungle, on motorbike accessible roads only, to visit the SDN 7 JENGGALA community. On this day our team will open the school with a ceremony and a day of activities and celebrations with the community and children of SDN 7 JENGGALA. Our adventure tour of Lombok is going to be directly responsible for funding the entire school. Without our trip, the school will be left waiting for funding as the children wait for their school to reopen.

100% TRANSPARENCY

I want to be 100% transparent with you: Every single cent will be going to rebuilding the school. I am not taking a cut of a single dollar. Classroom of Hope isn’t taking a cut of a single dollar from our trip. Organizing this project has taken me many hours to this point and I will be volunteering my time and expertise of adventure travel in Lombok to make sure you have an awesome adventure and together we can re-build the school for the SDN 7 JENGGALA community.

 

WHO ARE CLASSROOM OF HOPE

Classroom of Hope is a non-profit organization, which builds schools and sets up much-needed education programs for those in need around the world in developing nations. I met Duncan, the co-founder of Classroom of Hope, in Bali where he lives. He told me that when the earthquake happened in Lombok and he saw the devastation to the communities and the schools he was compelled to help. In collaboration with their implementing partner Pelita Foundation Lombok, Duncan and the Classroom of Hope non-profit organization pledged to make sure every child on Lombok got back into school as soon as possible.

Classroom of Hope and Pelita Foundation has been building ‘Pop up Schools’ in the north of Lombok. The Pop Up School is an intermediate solution to fill the void (which is estimated to be anywhere between 2-3 years or more) before the government officially rebuilds the schools. The rebuild process is much different than in a western country with approval and funding expected to take a very long time. Essentially, many of the children on Lombok are currently without a proper school for an indefinite period of time but likely several years.

The Pop Up schools are constructed in 1-2 weeks by locals and produced by a local company. The schools can be dismantled and repurposed to the next community and/or stored for future disasters in Lombok or neighboring regions. They are a simple but basic solution to keeping kids in schools during tragic events like the Earthquake on Lombok.

If you want to research further about Classroom of Hope charity you can check out their website: Classroom of Hope

If you want to research further about Pelita Foundation Lombok you can check out their website: Pelita Foundation Lombok

This short video explains how the Classroom of Hope is helping Lombok rebuild their schools.

 

DETAILS ABOUT THE LOMBOK PROJECT: An Adventure Travel Photography Trip with an Impact

As I mentioned earlier in the blog post, the fee for the trip will be $1500 USD. So what is exactly included in that and I will continue with the transparency about how the accommodation etc. will be covered if 100% of your fee is going towards the school rebuilding project. I will be reaching out to local tour operators who want to be featured on my social media and blog in exchange for supporting Project Lombok.

If there are any sectors I cannot find sponsors for, I am happy to cover those costs personally as I truly want 100% of your fee to be a donation to Classroom of Hope and directly to building the Pop Up School in the SDN 7 JENGGALA community. I will, of course, be paying for all of my own flights and expenses throughout the trip.

What is included: 

• All of your hotel, homestay, one night of camping is included in your fee  (You will always have a private bed but may share a private room with another team member)
• All breakfasts are included in your fee (Some lunches may be included but most will not. A lunch/dinner will be anywhere from $4-$10)
• One night of trekking and camping up Mt. Rinjani is included in your fee
• All transport on Lombok is included (We will have private vans for the majority of the trip)

What is not included:

• Transport to and from Lombok (Flight or ferry from Bali)
• Flights to and from Bali
• Travel Insurance (I use World Nomads)
• Lunches and dinners (Breakfasts included) (Some Lunches may be included)
• Some entrance fees to waterfalls or beaches (usually just $2-5 maximum)
• Additional personal expenses such as laundry etc.

 

THE LOMBOK PROJECT TRIP ITINERARY

• Day 1: Arrivals & Travel to North Lombok
• Day 2: Sendang Gile and Tiu Kelep
• Day 3: Hike Mount Rinjani (Aik Berik Route)
• Day 4: Hike down Mount Rinjani
• Day 5: Bukit Selong Rice Fields and Benang Stokel
• Day 6: Seger Beach, Tanjung Aan, Bukit Merese
• Day 7: Semeti, Mawi
• Day 8: School Opening in the SDN 7 JENGGALA community
• Day 9: Departure to Bali

REQUIREMENTS

• Physically you need to be able to walk for several hours a day. There will be one or two hikes on the trip but there will be no fast pace and most people in decent shape will be good to go. Be ready for full days but we will also have ample time to recover at night.
• Mentally all I ask is that you can bring positive vibes for seven days. There may be obstacles, changes in itinerary or moments of discomfort that come with adventure travel, foreign countries, and new projects. I will do everything in my power to make this the best possible experience for you. All I ask is that you join expecting an adventure and can roll with the ups and downs of a travel tour in what is essentially a developing country. Indonesia is a very beautiful country but sometimes logistics are not quite the same as in Australia or abroad.
• Safety: I will require all team members to have their own travel insurance. You can organize which insurance that is but it’s necessary to have that backing up your travels and your health, which is always the main priority.

Other than that I genuinely am looking for 10 people with a positive outlook and a desire to make a difference. I’m crossing my fingers that I find 10 awesome individuals who want to explore Lombok and give back to Lombok in a big way at the same time.

SDN 7 JENGGALA

These photos below are of the current school in SDN 7 JENGGALA. The village is in a rural area in the mountains and only accessible by motorbike. On the last day of our trip, we will be traveling up to this village to officially open the school that we have all funded. Classroom of Hope will oversee the program, fundraising and implementation while their partner, Pelita Foundation is responsible for construction. All of the builders and supplies come from Lombok and Classroom of Hope are experts in coordinating the Pop Up School rebuilds.