Volunteering is a challenging but rewarding experience.

What are the requirements to be a volunteer?

No animal-related qualifications or experience are necessary, although we welcome anyone from relevant fields. Full training and guidance will be given.  Volunteers should be compassionate about animal welfare and nature conservation, be old enough to take responsibility for themselves, be fit enough to work in a tropical climate and have up-to-date vaccinations against tetanus, TB, and hepatitis A/B.

When can I volunteer?

The animals require care 365 days a year; you can stay from two weeks to two months or longer if desired. Please tell us when you are available and we will try to find space for you to participate.  For the other programmes, a specific number of teams will run throughout the year for which dates will be published two-three months in advance.

How do I apply?

By filling out the following application form

Applicants from Indonesia are asked to apply via our Education Department: edu@tasikoki.org

Welcome at Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue and Education Centre

Upon arrival, volunteers will be welcomed at the Volunteer house by the Volunteer house coordinator or a member of staff at Tasikoki. General regulations about the stay and use of domestic items (e.g. toilets, showers, drinking water, meals, laundry, etc.) will be explained, and room and bed will be assigned. The Volunteer house coordinator will introduce The Volunteer Guidebook to all new arrivals: sections regarding Hands off policy, code of conduct, safety regulations will be pointed out. Tasikoki will request to fill out and sign an indemnity and medical form after reading and agreeing on what explained these sections.

During the tour a presentation of the Rescue Centre will be given as well as a description of the daily work routine. Instructions on health and safety around the animals will be furthermore explained.

The day of arrival is planned for relaxing, orientation and acclimatising, although, if desired, volunteers have the opportunity to join in with the work straight away after the presentation.

Volunteers: number and origin

There are typically between 6-10 volunteers, although there is capacity for about 20.

Tasikoki volunteers arrive from various countries and various backgrounds.

Ages range from 18-50+, gap-year students, animal/conservation related science students, career-breakers and retirees.

A multicultural environment where mutual respect and support are valued and encouraged!

Volunteer house: accommodation

Volunteers stay in male/female dorms with 8-12 beds (4-6 bunks) per room.  The accommodation is a communal volunteer house with kitchen, dining area and recreational area with TV.

Volunteer house: meals

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner will be provided for by the project, as well as access to fresh fruit and drinking water.

For environmentally sustainable and animal welfare ethical reasons, the project intends to only serve vegetarian food.

There may be fish on occasion, sustainably harvested, locally.

Weekly trips to supermarkets in neighbour towns are regularly organised for volunteers that wish to buy any extra food/items.

Volunteer house: shared duties

Domestic duties in the communal living areas are shared by all the volunteers on a rota basis.

Volunteer programme: wildlife care duties

Volunteers on wildlife care will spend a significant amount of time providing environmental and behavioral enrichment:

Building, enhancing, maintaining cages to create environments that offer the animals the possibility to express natural behavior as much as possible. Presentation of daily feeding through different methods to encourage animals to think and work for their food as they would in the wild.

Performance of basic keeper tasks such as provision of fresh drinking water and cleaning of some of the enclosures will also be part of the daily routine programme.

Veterinarians and nurses will have duties assigned that revolve around routine or by-case treatments and will be involved in upgrading the veterinary clinic and its operating procedures.

The types and variety of duties depend largely on the duration of stay of each volunteer and number and skills of volunteers participating.

Some of the work is seasonal and dependent upon available resources.

Volunteer programme: working schedule

the Volunteer programme operates a 5 ½ -day working week: one full day per person and one communal afternoon off a week.  The communal afternoon is typically for organizing group excursions.

The volunteers are divided into three teams that are scheduled in advance by the volunteer coordinators. Each team has a predefined set of tasks to perform during the day.

The general daily work routine is as follows:

Volunteer activities: after working hours

Time after working hours can be filled as desired:

Working days end at 16:00, enough time i.e. to head to the beach for a swim before sunset.

Relaxing, reading, observing the animals, exploring the area, socialising with other volunteers, learning Indonesian…  a variety of DVD’s and games is also available.

Another possibility is to take a taxi to Manado which has many restaurants, bars, shopping malls, approximately 60 minutes from the rescue centre.

Volunteer activities: day off

A variety of day excursions is available for volunteers that wish to explore the beautiful island of Sulawesi:

A day tour of Manado and surroundings, or Tomohon market and mount Mahawu are only a few examples of possible excursions.

Different establishments such as diving centres and spa resorts offer corporate rates to Tasikoki volunteers, giving the opportunity to enjoy a relaxing day snorkeling or diving.

Special offers are available for volunteers that wish to follow a PADI certification course.

Another alternative is to spend a night and day at one of the many hotels in the local city of Manado: shopping, sight-seeing, dancing, or getting a well-earned massage.

Volunteer activities: group excursions

All volunteers have a free afternoon on Wednesday: a group excursion is planned, and all volunteers are invited.

More info? send a mail to volunteer@tasikoki.org