Tourism For Conservation
Join us for a day of Reef RestorationGo beneath the surface — help restore and protect coral reefs together with local community members.
What is this experience?
This is not a day trip or dive tour.
When you join our team, you take part in a day of purpose-driven, community-led reef restoration. It is your opportunity to go beyond observation and recreational diving, and contribute to the protection of the reefs you’ve travelled so far to see.
You’ll spend the day with our Papuan reef restoration team, restoring coral, learning about conservation in action, and directly supporting local livelihoods through a donation-based model.
If you’re ready to help restore and protect the world’s most biodiverse reefs — alongside the local community working to safeguard them — we’d love to have you with us.
Why it Matters
Raja Ampat is the most marine biodiverse location on Earth — and one of the last remaining places where coral reefs still thrive at scale.
If you’re on this page, it means you’ve travelled (or are planning to travel) a long way to witness this wonder. But like coral reefs everywhere, Raja Ampat’s reefs are under growing pressure — from climate change, localised degradation, and the unintended impacts of tourism itself.
At The SEA People, we believe that one of the greatest positive influences on the state of Raja Ampat’s marine environment can — and should — be the tourism industry. But this requires more than simply choosing a responsible operator or avoiding plastic. It requires a conscious commitment from visitors and tourism operators alike to move beyond low-impact thinking — and toward restoration, stewardship, and equity.
When visiting a place as extraordinary as Raja Ampat, it’s worth asking;
How can I travel in a way that keeps it worth the journey?
How can I give something impactful back – or at least, leave something better behind?
What is Yaf Keru?
Yaf Keru means “Coral Garden” in a local Papuan dialect. It is both a growing network of restored reef sites and one of Indonesia’s largest community-based reef restoration initiatives.
The program has:
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Restored over 2.7 hectares of degraded reef
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Transplanted 85,000+ coral fragments
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Created long-term livelihoods through training, certification, and reef stewardship
- Read more here | See our impact here
By joining our team for a day of reef restoration, your donation directly supports this ongoing work — and offers a rare opportunity to experience conservation in action.
What to Expect
This is a hands-on, field-based conservation experience, not a recreational dive trip. You’ll work alongside local restoration technicians, marine ecologists and dive instructors, contributing to real impact.
A typical day includes:
• Briefing & presentations – Learn about reef threats, restoration strategy, and your role
• Two guided restoration dives – Help stabilize rubble, outplant coral fragments, or assist with monitoring
• Debrief & reflection – Review the day’s data and understand your contribution
• Community connection – Spend time with the local restoration team leading the work
• Lunch, tea/coffee, water
Whether you’re an experienced diver or new to conservation, you’ll leave with deeper knowledge, lasting memories, and a direct role in reef recovery.
Please note: These purpose-driven days are designed to complement — not disrupt — the restoration work. Spaces are limited and available only on select days due to the operational needs of the restoration program. For this reason, we host only a small number of participants at a time. Keeping groups small ensures a more meaningful experience for you, and allows our team to maintain the quality and integrity of the restoration work.
What your donation supports
This experience is made possible through your donation in support of coral reef restoration. It is not a tourism product — and should not be compared with the cost of recreational or for‑profit dive services.
This day is less about what you receive, and more about what you contribute — it’s about what you give to the reefs you’ve travelled to see, and the communities working to protect them.
Your contribution reflects the real cost of running a hands‑on, community‑led restoration program in a remote marine environment. It directly funds coral restoration work, supports local community livelihoods, and helps safeguard one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth.
Donation Amount
3.8 million IDR per person (full dive gear included, excl. dive computer)
✅ Includes dive logistics, restoration equipment, briefings, lunch, tea/coffee/water
✅ 100% of your donation goes directly to the reef restoration program
No commercial services are offered. This is not a recreational dive centre operation.
By participating, you’re not just visiting Raja Ampat’s reefs — you’re helping protect them, alongside the people who call them home.
Want to Go Deeper?
One day not enough?
If you’d like to increase your impact, deepen your knowledge, and spend more time working alongside our team — let us know.
We occasionally offer extended opportunities for:
• Multi‑day reef restoration participation
• Ecological monitoring dives
• Reef restoration courses
• Custom group conservation expeditions or impact programs
• Conservation programs for dive clubs, groups, and academic programs
Dive deeper. Learn more. Create lasting impact.
If you’re interested, tell us when you get in touch — and we’ll explore what’s possible.
Who you’ll work with
Your day will be guided by reef restoration technicians from Raja Ampat’s villages, along with any combination of our Co-Founders, marine scientists an committed volunteers — all of whom have been restoring Raja Ampat’s reefs for over 12 years.
Our team is small, but our impact is not, and we are proud that our team has grown Yaf Keru to be the largest reef restoration program within Indonesia.
Important info
Location: our conservation boat, the Galaxea, is moored at our large scale restoration site at Mansuar Island, near Yenbewkan Village
How to get to us: If you are staying within approximately 5–10 minutes by boat from our location, we may be able to arrange pick-up (please confirm with us first). Otherwise, transport should be arranged through your dive centre or accommodation provider.
Duration: ~08:30 – 16:00
Group Size: Minimum 2 pax, maximum 10pax (larger groups, please contact us first)
Languages: English, Bahasa Indonesia, French
Dive Requirements: Open Water certified, recent experience, good buoyancy is essential. Snorkelers welcome – please let us know!
What to Bring: Personal dive gear (if you prefer to use your own) , reef safe sunscreen, towel, water bottle (can be refilled on board the Galaxea), dry clothes to change into (if you wish)
Ready to Join?
Interested in joining or have a question?
We’d love to hear from you. Let us know your planned dates and we’ll follow up with availability.
Spaces are limited and offered on select days.
JOIN US FOR A DAY OF REEF RESTORATION
A Note on Values
At The SEA People, we believe that tourism in Raja Ampat — a region whose tourism economy is entirely dependent on the health of its coral reefs — should prioritise, above all else, the protection of those reefs and the support of the communities that steward them.
Too often, conservation activities that engage with tourism are shaped to fit the needs of tourism, limiting their impact and shifting the focus away from true ecological restoration. When conservation becomes secondary to visitor experience, both reefs and communities lose.
Our approach is different.
At The SEA People, conservation remains the priority — guided by the needs of the ecosystem and local communities, not the expectations of the tourism industry. While we welcome and encourage participation from tourism operators and visitors alike, our programs are not a “service for sale” offered for tourism. They are opportunities for tourism to meaningfully contribute to conservation.
By approaching this work with the right mindset, we can foster genuine, respectful collaboration — one that values long-term ecological and community wellbeing over short-term experience.
So when engaging in any of our community conservation programs, we kindly ask that this is done with the understanding that tourism is here to support conservation — not the other way around.
Thank you for your understanding. We welcome any visitor to Raja Ampat who shares this mindset, and we look forward to restoring the reef together.
100% of your donation goes to
the field.
If left unchecked, 90% of coral reefs will be threatened by 2030, with almost all reefs facing, high, very high, or critical threat levels by 2050.
If we don’t act now, future generations will not have the privilege of seeing a live coral reef, let alone receive the benefits that coral reefs provide, including food, coastal protection, livelihoods and medicine.
In Raja Ampat, Indonesia, the most biodiverse coral reefs on Earth are under threat; rapid and unsustainable development combined with climate change threaten the future of these reefs, along with the food security, heritage and livelihoods of many.
Your contribution today has a direct impact in enabling our team to work with local people to Restore, Protect and Conserve reefs in the world’s last remaining coral stronghold.
We cannot do it alone, but with your contribution we can do it together.
100% of your donation goes to
the field.
If left unchecked, 90% of coral reefs will be threatened by 2030, with almost all reefs facing, high, very high, or critical threat levels by 2050.
If we don’t act now, future generations will not have the privilege of seeing a live coral reef, let alone receive the benefits that coral reefs provide, including food, coastal protection, livelihoods and medicine.
In Raja Ampat, Indonesia, the most biodiverse coral reefs on Earth are under threat; rapid and unsustainable development combined with climate change threaten the future of these reefs, along with the food security, heritage and livelihoods of many.
Your contribution today has a direct impact in enabling our team to work with local people to Restore, Protect and Conserve reefs in the world’s last remaining coral stronghold.
We cannot do it alone, but with your contribution we can do it together.
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Yayasan Orang Laut Papua is a registered NGO under the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Republic of Indonesia. Number AHU-0016408. Year 2019. The SEA People is a registered Charitable Association under the Gouvernement de la République in France (Numero Identification Siren 853074300) and serves as an administrative and fundrasing base for supporting the fieldwork of Yaysan Orang Laut Papua. Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions