You’ll work in a shelter breeding elephants. You’ll be trained and work as an assistant to elephant handlers, known as Mahouts. You’re daily activities will include bathing the elephants twice, cleaning their enclosures in the morning, feeding them and performing maintenance work as and when required.

You do not require any skills or qualifications to volunteer in the project. You’ll however have to be passionate about working with the animals. If you’re open minded and flexible during the project, you’ll enjoy your stay and achieve more.

Rustic Volunteer and Travel manages room/food for volunteers. Volunteers live with the host family and you will be provided with a separate, clean and modest room as well as local meals three times a day. Staying with a host family will provide you with a wonderful opportunity for you to learn about the culture and lifestyle of Sri Lankan people. Volunteer will also have an access to our office in Sri Lanka and mobile phone number of our coordinators. Our staffs also visit volunteers in each 2-4 week interval as a part of the program. Details covering living accommodations provided prior to arrival.

Elephant Orphanage projects are available in Pinnawela (has the largest herd of elephants in captivity in the world), with shops, banks & internet cafes nearby. Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia, and has been a center of Buddhist religion and culture since ancient times. Famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, rubber and coconuts, Sri Lanka boasts natural beauty, tropical forests, beaches and landscapes, as well as its rich cultural heritage, making it a world famous tourist destination.

Volunteers can organize different possible excursions during and after the project to visit places of interest. There is a tourist infrastructure already in place the volunteer can use during weekends. For example: Buddhist festivals, parks, wildlife sanctuaries, bazaars, markets, restaurants, temples, museums, palaces, hotels, and many more.