Skilled Volunteers Needed in a Primate Sanctuary in South Africa

  • The Project

    Volunteers with a wide variety of skills are needed at this monkey sanctuary just outside Plettenburg Bay in South Africa. The sanctuary is open the public and the monkeys in the sanctuary roam freely as they would in the wild. The aim of the project is that visitors leave with a greater understanding of the primates of the world and the threats they are facing. One of the main goals is to educate the public about the adverse effects of keeping primates and birds as pets, in terms of both physical and psychological health. Also important is to teach visitors about the rapid decline of natural habitats due to logging, mining, agriculture and human settlements. Visitors are also encouraged to buy goods wisely, ranging from second-hand or antique wood-products, to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics that were not tested on animals.

    Around 450 apes, monkeys and lemurs live at the sanctuary, including gibbons, capuchin monkeys, squirrel monkeys, spider monkeys, miniature monkeys, vervets, saki monkeys, howler monkeys, two species of langurs and three species of lemur.

  • Why the project needs you

    With such a large sanctuary and a very small, dedicated staff base this project requires the support of a number of different skilled volunteers. Volunteers with skills in IT there is plenty of equipment that requires servicing. Those with experience in web design are also highly sought after as well as volunteers with an interest in Social Media.

    There are also positions for volunteers with skills in Journalism, PR and Marketing as the sanctuary depends on visitor interest to fund itself. Therefore, PR and marketing are extremely important for raising awareness about the projects being run from the sanctuary. From a journalism perspective, stories can be written about the primates from a myriad of different angles for a huge variety of readerships and publications. The project takes a very modern approach to publicity and tries hard to balance out entertainment and education to reach as many people as possible in the quest to educate the general public about the plight of primates and birds.

    Volunteer vets are also required as there is no on-site vet and the keepers and curators must often tackle medical issues themselves. Regular monitoring of the health of over 400 primates of 13 different species could be a full-time task. Since we advocate leaving the animals in their free-roaming environment as much as possible, medical intervention would only occasionally be necessary. Therefore, any applicant for this position must also be happy to fulfil other tasks such as guided tours.

    Volunteers with language skills in a number of different languages are in great demand. The project funds itself through revenues from tourists who take educational tours in the sanctuary which houses over 450 primates. The tours at the sanctuary are one hour long and must leave the tourists with general primate knowledge, information about each of the species that could be located in the sanctuary and an understanding that primates and birds do not make good pets but are happier in the trees with peers of their own species. German, Dutch, Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Hebrew, Portugese and Italian guides are particularly in demand, but any knowledgeable person who can use entertainment to further environmental awareness will be considered.

    Volunteers with skills in fundraising are needed as one of the centres future goals for the sanctuary is to include an education centre especially for children to learn about nature, recycling, gardening, pollution, conservation and of course primates. There are many projects to be done, but the main skill currently lacking is fundraising and grant proposal writing in order to generate the necessary funding.

    Finally, volunteer carpenters, gardeners, electricians, plumbers, and painters are always welcome as there is always plenty of work of this nature to be done!

    Project Location

    The project is located 16kms outside the popular tourist destination of Plettenburg Bay. Plettenburg Bay (or Plett as it is known by locals) is one of the major attractions on the Garden Route. Its location on the Indian Ocean coast is one of extreme natural beauty. Originally christened “Bahia Formosa” (beautiful bay) by early Portuguese explorers, Plettenberg Bay offers visitors miles of sweeping, unspoilt golden beaches, a dramatic rocky peninsula, intriguing lagoons and estuaries, towering indigenous forests and unpolluted rivers and sea.

  • Project Facts

    • Duration: 2-26 weeks
    • Cost: £430 ($753) for 2 weeks, £45 ($79) per additional week
    • Requirements: age 18+
    • Location: Plettenburg Bay, South Africa
    • Project activities: taking and editing photographs of all the primates in the centre
    • Working hours: Flexible working hours, volunteers tend to work for around 6 hours per day
    • Project Availability: Projects start every Monday of each month and run year-round

  • What is included

    • Accommodation: Single or shared room in a volunteer house on-site
    • Airport pick up and drop off
    • Training: Pre-departure information pack and onsite orientation provided
    • Support: 24 hour support

  • What is not included

    • Flights
    • Insurance
    • Visas
    • Food

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