Why not make a big difference to a big animal?

It’s difficult to imagine a more exciting conservation opportunity in a more beautiful location. Set near the small town of Kegalle, amongst beautiful, lush green countryside our partner project on the paradise island of Sri Lanka helps to care for these gentle giants because even animals the size of buses need a little tender loving care once in a while. The project looks after injured or ageing elephants whose owners could no longer afford to care for them, and without the support of international volunteers and charitable donations efforts would flounder, so bring a lot of energy (but no mice).

On the elephant project over the festive season? Enjoy making decorations to decorate an elephant and have a special get together with food to celebrate!

Trip Highlights:

Itinerary & Details

Day 1 (Sunday) – Arrive in to Colombo Bandaranaike (airport code CMB)

Welcome to Sri Lanka! Today you will be met at the airport and taken directly to the hotel which will be your home for the first night of your stay in Sri Lanka. You will have the rest of the day to rest and recover from your journey. If you are feeling adventurous you can head out and start exploring your surroundings!

If you arrive in time then one of our team members will be available for an informal orientation at the hotel from 6:30pm until 8:30pm, and dinner is included.

If you aren’t able to arrange a flight to get you into Colombo on the specified arrival date we’d recommend you fly in a day early. We can arrange an early airport pick-up for you including one night’s accommodation, please call us for more information.

Day 2 (Monday) – Orientation and transfer to project

Today is orientation day. Orientation will take place at 8:30am in the hotel where you’re staying in Colombo. All new arrivals will have their orientation together, and this will cover important information such as what it’s going to be like at your project, dos and don’ts, fun things to do in Sri Lanka, a language lesson and how to stay safe on your trip. This is your prime opportunity to ask any burning questions that you haven’t yet had answered and to meet your fellow volunteers!

In the afternoon the team will arrange for you to transfer to your permanent accommodation for the remainder of your trip. The journey will take around 3 to 4 hours and you’ll have the rest of the day to relax and settle into your new home. 

Day 3 – 6 (Tuesday to Friday) – First day at your project

Tuesday will be the first day that you will start work! From here on you will spend your time with the project and the project staff and in-country team are there if you need them.

You will usually be working between 7.30am and 12.00pm and 2pm to 5.00pm five days a week. You will normally spend a maximum of 1-2 hours a day working directly with the elephants, and the rest of the day will be spent working on different areas of the project.

You are entitled to two days off per week which are usually taken over the weekend, giving you time to relax and see more of Sri Lanka!

Please note that Sri Lankan work schedules do tend to be quite flexible, so it is possible that you may not work the same number of hours every day. It’s best to have a laid back approach to your schedule and work it out with the team when you get there.

In the evenings there will be the option to use the internet and check your e-mails, as well as watch TV, or go shopping for souvenirs. Kegalle is about 7 kilometers away and can be reached by tuk tuk which is always great fun. There is the opportunity to do one trip per week for purchasing any water, snacks and beer that you desire.

Days 7 and 8 (Saturday to Sunday) – Free time!

The weekend will be your free time – hurrah! You can use it to relax, write a journal or get to know Sri Lanka a little bit more. There are opportunities of weekend trips to visit the tourist areas and stunning ancient cities such as Kandy, Polonnaruwa and Anuradapura. Further up North you can visit Nuwara Eiya and down south the beautiful beaches of Sri Lanka.

Following weeks

By now you’ll have settled into a new routine and however long you are here for; be reassured that you are making a difference so it’s just a matter of getting stuck in and helping out wherever you are needed at the time!

Your Last Day (Sunday) – Where are you going from here?

How is it all over already? Your time on the elephant project has come to an end and whilst we’re sure you’re terribly sad to be leaving, you’ll have so many memories and photos to take with you!

The return airport transfer is not included in the fee, but our team will be on standby to help you get to where you need to be. The transfer to Colombo by bus will take around 3 hours and will cost around US$25 so please budget for this.

Project

What does the project do?

During your time in Sri Lanka, you will be working at a well-respected elephant foundation in Kegalle, which was established in 1999. The aim of the foundation is to improve the treatment and protection of elephants in Sri Lanka and it has cared for over 100 elephants since its inception. Currently, the foundation houses several elephants, who have come there to receive medical treatment or for a period of rest.

The foundation also operates a mobile veterinary unit which travels around Sri Lanka treating elephants in need. Other initiatives currently run by the foundation include ecological farming and English teaching to members of the local community.

What’s the project like?

Conservation volunteers will be hands-on people who love the outdoors. You must be prepared for some physical work and you should be flexible, as this project involves a variety of activities. IT skills, research skills and English teaching skills may also be utilized during your conservation placement, there is also an eco farm that you will get involved in on a daily basis. This placement would suit a volunteer with a lot of initiative who is prepared to work hard individually and in a team.

Why does the project need volunteers?

Elephants are respected revered in Sri Lankan culture and historically, the killing of an elephant was considered a crime. However, in colonial times, the elephant began to be viewed as an object and a pest, rather than as an animal and consequently the elephant population sadly began to diminish.

In the last 50 years, government initiatives to clear large areas of land for agriculture have led to the destruction of the elephants’ habitat and brought humans and elephants into conflict. Without the support of international volunteers and charitable donations, the foundation would not be able to continue its work to look after some of Sri Lanka’s most respected inhabitants.

Activities and schedule

This project offers a mixture of hands-on animal care and office-based research or administration tasks. At the elephant foundation, you will assist with the daily care of the elephants, as well as helping to develop public information and raise awareness of the foundation. You may be involved with writing the foundation’s newsletter or creating information displays for visitors. You will also get involved in the eco farm on a daily basis so be prepared to get your hands dirty! The local community also needs help with teaching English so you will be able to help the local children at an informal after hours school club whisch usually runs about three times a week.

In general, you will be involved in elephant conservation, where every volunteer will be allocated an elephant and will help the Mahout (carer) look after it, including daily bathing and grooming. You’ll also be participating in the mobile veterinary unit's field trips as and when possible.

Your help is also needed in various tasks such as updating reports, newsletters and maintaining membership database. You can help to assist the staff in various activities that help to keep the charitable foundation afloat. In order to raise funds for the foundation the centre is open to tourists and provides elephant rides and elephant baths, it is possible that you may get involved in showing the tourists around the information part of the foundation.

Although elephants are amazing creatures they are also very powerful and strong so do not be surprised as the elephants will be chained for safety. 

You will also get involved in the foundation’s eco-farm where the project is to develop an environmentally friendly onsite farm, which is an ongoing and evolving project that aims to be entirely self-sustainable in producing medicinal herbs and vitamin rich plants to supplement the elephant's diet as well as vegetables for human consumption. Be prepared to get your hands dirty as you will working on the farm for a short time each day!

Lastly, there is also a chance to help in teaching English to the mahouts and their families. Whilst many Sri Lankan people can speak English in the local towns; in more remote villages, English is not used for daily communication. English is an expensive commodity limited to rich people. Low income groups cannot afford to pay for special tuition. An inability to speak in English hugely affects their chances of finding jobs.

What exactly do i-to-i provide?

It may seem like a strange concept to pay for your volunteer experience. You'd be right if you think you shouldn't and the truth is you actually don't! Your placement is free; it's the benefits around it that you pay for. It's important to note that i-to-i is a travel company and not a charity. We provide a professional travel service. We are responsible for finding and assessing worthwhile projects across the world, preparing you fora the volunteering experience and supporting you whilst you're there.

Here’s some more information about what your placement fee covers….

Project sourcing and assessment

We work with hundreds of locally run partner projects around the world and are constantly sourcing new opportunities. We visit all projects to check that they are worthwhile and legitimate and we also conduct a thorough safety assessment before we'll send volunteers there. More

Expert help-desk

Almost everyone who works for i-to-i has traveled extensively or worked overseas. This means we're a goldmine of information; we're always available to offer support and guidance before, during and after your trip.

Thorough project briefing materials

Once you book on to a project you'll receive a Welcome Pack that contains loads of general information about volunteering, about your chosen country and how to have fun and stay safe. We'll also give you advice on visas and inoculations.

Airport pickup

It can be pretty daunting arriving in a different country for the first time - especially after a long flight! If you arrive on your project start date, there'll be a welcoming face at the airport to pick you up and take you to your accommodation.

Arrival orientation

Soon after you arrive you will attend a thorough orientation with our in-country team. This is to cover important safety and security information. You'll also get some tips about sight-seeing options for your time off and maybe even learn some of the local lingo!

Accommodation and meals

Accommodation is included with all projects and meals are even included with some. We only use locally-owned and operated accommodation so that part of your placement fee is filtering back into the local economy. Most projects offer homestay, guesthouse or shared volunteer houses as standard accommodation, but some offer the chance to upgrade to a more comfortable living standard. More

Local in-country coordinators

Your in-country team will arrange a pick-up for you at the airport and will conduct your orientation upon arrival. All coordination teams are English speaking and are locals of your destination country. They won't be at your project every day, but will be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week if you need them. More

24/7 emergency support

Aside from the local support from your in-country team you'll be given access to a 24/7 emergency phone line manned by our response team in case any problem should arise while you're overseas. We also hire crisis management professionals to be on hand in case of a situation that requires additional expert support. More

Ongoing training

The safety and security of our volunteers is paramount. For this reason we provide ongoing crisis management and emergency response training to our local teams around the world. We also fly in our in-country coordinators to the UK regularly for thorough training to help them offer the best safety to the thousands of volunteers they support each year. More

Supporting our projects

We don't fund our projects directly from the project fee that you pay us. Instead we choose to support a number of projects every year through a grant scheme for tangible long-term initiatives. In the last 3 years we have distributed over US$250,000 to our most needy projects to help them in the great work they do. 

Recruiting people like you

We make no secrets of the fact that part of your placement fee is reinvested in to recruiting volunteers just like you! The volunteers recruited in one week will typically deliver over 2000 man-days of service. The difference this makes to projects overseas is immeasurable. Many of our overseas projects rely on assistance from international volunteers, so it's necessary for us to put together brochures and websites to find the people who can support them. This recruitment process is vital to ensure programs have a constant stream of reliable volunteers.

The intangible benefits

Volunteering through a company like i-to-i has a lot of intangible benefits to developing overseas communities and the individual projects that we work with. To find out more about our placements. click here

Next Steps

What we will do after you've booked:

Orientation Information

We aim to provide you with a safe and soft landing into your destination by picking you up from the airport, giving you an orientation that helps to settle you into the country as quickly as possible. Its also the best time to ask any questions you have about your time in Sri Lanka. You will arrive on the Arrival date - Sunday and will be met at the airport on that day and will be taken to the Ranveli Beach Hotel (see contact details below) where you will have the first day/night to recover from your flight. One of our team will be there on hand to advise you about the area and show you around and to take you to the Mount Lavinia hotel, where our volunteers can rest by the pool. The member of the team is on hand for an informal orientation before dinner at the Ranveli Beach Hotel at 18.30 to 20.30 hours. If you're arriving early we can arrange a meet and greet for you. If you require this please contact us to arrange this service. If you wish to make your own way please arrange to be at the address below on the arrival date:

Ranveli Beach Resort
56/9 De Saram Road
Mount Lavinia
Telephone 0112 717385
Contact person Mr Susantha

Your orientation will take place the next morning, Monday, at 08.30 hrs and you will be taken to your projects and permanent accommodation at about 13.00 hrs after the orientation. Tuesday will be the first day that you meet your project and start working as a volunteer.

Flights & Insurance

Insurance

It's important that you get adequate travel insurance for your i-to-i experience and as many of you will be working this often means standard policies won’t work. The good news is that no matter where your coming from we have already found a policy to suit you.

The best time to get your insurance is when you book your project as this means you can get a fully tailored policy exclusive to i-to-i, just ask your consultant for further details at the time of booking.

EU Customers – find out more here >>

Australian customers - find out more here >>

All other customers - find out more here >>

Flights

As with insurance we advise you get these booked as early as possible to avoid high prices and to make sure you arrive on the right day. The i-to-i team is right up to date with the best deals no matter where you’re flying from; their insider knowledge could save you some time and money.

Early Airport Pick-up

If you are arriving before your designated arrival date, we can arrange for an extra meet and greet service for you. For an extra supplement we will be there to meet you at the airport and take you to your orientation accommodation. One additional night a

The cost of this Early Pick-up service is US$ 100.00

Accommodation

What type of accommodation will I be in?

During your time in Sri Lanka, you’ll be living locally with our other volunteers in a lovely bungalow style accommodation.

Accommodation facilities

Here’s some great news for you – your project and accommodation is in the same location. There is a bungalow style accommodation provided on site for volunteers and are based on shared rooms of up to 4 people. Apart from one bedroom, all have an en-suite bathroom with shower and western style toilet.

You will have a key to the main door of the bungalow but bringing a padlock to lock your own bag is advisable. The kitchenette and living area can also be found in the bungalow. The bungalows are in a great location and are surrounded by palm trees overlooking paddy fields.

A washing machine is available at the accommodation so you don’t need to bring lots of clothes! Clean bedding and towels are provided. Breakfast, as well as your dinner, is provided by the restaurant across the road from the accommodation. Meals will usually consist of delicious local ingredients of rice, curry, bread, milk rice, fruits, vegetables and other Sri Lankan dishes.

Lunch can be purchased in the same restaurant or you can buy your own food in the small store close-by and keep them in the fridge in the bungalow for to prepare your own lunch.

Things to bring from home

Bringing walking boots and clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty are advisable. Swimming costumes to wear for bathing the elephants and rubber gloves can also be very useful. The gloves can also be provided on-site if necessary.

Project resources and advice

Any gardening tools may help the project as well as any English teaching materials like flashcards can make teaching lessons easier for you.

Where is the accommodation?

The accommodation is located in Kegalle and it is on the same site as the elephant project. You’ll be living in a fairly rural location and amongst a warm hearted and friendly community. Leaving the peace and quiet will be difficult for you when you finish your project!

How far is it from my project?

Oh yes! It’s on site so it’s literally within spitting distance. Please don’t spit though, it’s rude!