VMF Volunteer Guide
Did you know that by volunteering directly 100% of your contribution will go straight in to our operating budget helping us build new enclosures, purchase medicines and do more for the monkeys in our care.
Volunteering Information
You will sleep in the volunteer village, work with monkeys, or on projects such as building or painting to benefit the monkeys & have time off to visit local waterfalls, rivers, or other sites of interest.
At the VMF, you will get to participate in a variety of tasks depending on the time of year to help the monkeys from feeding orphaned babies to constructing new enclosures. This is an ideal project for anyone who has ever dreamed of working with primates.
The duties that you will have to undertake are varied and change during the year and all volunteers are tasked to do a variety of chores, such as, collecting & cleaning baby bottles, and making baby formula, cleaning and preparing bowls of fruit & vegetables for the monkeys, washing monkey blankets, monitoring monkeys in enclosures, working in our sickbay area, occasional cooking, washing food bowls and collecting seed pods for monkeys.
In addition, volunteers will also help with the building of new enclosures for monkeys. Construction involves building, painting, sanding, welding, fence-building, knot-tying, firebreaks & invader species eradication. Sometimes you might be asked to cut grass & prepare thatch bundles for construction, or to letter & paint signs for enclosures. Work can be hard under the African sun but very rewarding.
Your evenings will either be spent quietly at the village or up at the cottage where volunteers can socialize and get to know one another. You will eat vegan meals and be able to use the internet for a small donation.
Other areas you may help with are driving, fundraising, office work, or data input. We are often looking for qualified Vets and Vet nurses to volunteer and help us, please inquire within.
A great opportunity to volunteer with wildlife in South Africa.
Volunteering with primates is a unique experience.
Click here to listen to our interview with the Voluntary Traveler for more details on volunteer life. Save it as a file, then open in i-tunes or similar to listen to the interview.
- Help integrate rehabilitated monkeys back into viable troops
- Feed and prepare foods, milk and pro-nutra porridge for the monkeys
- Hands-on experience with orphaned babies, ex-pet, injured and abused monkeys
- Explore waterfalls, Kruger NP and even ancient cycad forests here in the Limpopo Province, South Africas so called “Eden”
- Interested in gaining fundraising experience? Join our enthusiastic team here at the Foundation and help support vervet monkeys
Volunteer Village
Volunteer Village life involves sharing a wooden cabin with twin beds with one other person. Alternatively, we have an individual private cabin with double bed for an extra fee. We have a natural, electricity-free environment at the Volunteer Village, though, you may take your electronics for recharging up to the cottage on occasions. You may wish to bring a small camping lantern for your cabin and definitely a head torch / torch.
This is home sweet home; The potential creature sightings are colorful lizards, snakes and birds. The village houses 4 showers, 2 eco-toilets, and a campfire; which is great for an evening under the stars or a braai (South African BBQ)!
The shower is on the whole able to provide hot water, but be aware cold showers are a possibility (refreshing on a blazing hot day)! Water in the area is scarce.
The eco-toilet is a bush toilet with worms that do the composting. You don’t have to flush here!
We have recently added the addition of two private cabins outside of the village suitable for a couple or those who prefer a little privacy – please inquire within for fee. There is also a larger private cabin by the dam available.
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