During your free time, you will work alongside our gardener growing many fruits, vegetables and medicinal herbs that will be used in elephant care and in the restaurant. You may also set up informal after school clubs attended by children and adults of all ages, for a few hours a week volunteers can help these children improve their English skills. Teaching qualifications are not 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 Travel arranges volunteer meals, accommodations and strong field support for the duration of projects. During the project, you will stay in a hostel setup specifically for volunteers. Most bedrooms are shared facilities with en-suite bathrooms. There is a basic kitchen area with sink, kettle and fridge freezer, a washing machine and a lounge area with a library. Clean linen and towels are provided. Your volunteer placement fee includes three meals a day. The food will be fresh, nutritious and delicious- some of them you will be helping to grow in project’s farm.

Rustic offers unparalleled field support to volunteers to ensure a safe and rewarding experience. Once in Sri Lanka, there are many layers of support for you. The most important support comes from our country coordinator/field staff. The secondary support comes from the host project staff and members of host families. Volunteers will have access to our country coordinator's mobile number and they are available 24/7. Throughout the volunteer project, our local staff stays in contact with volunteers either with face-to-face visits or via email/telephone. Our field staff will visit regularly (every 2-4 weeks) to make sure things are going well and as planned. However, if placement is far from our local offices, staff members will stay in touch via email/ phone. Volunteers are also welcome to stop in the offices at any time.

Specific details regarding accommodations, food and contact details for our local coordinator will be provided in personalized volunteer placement documentation prior to arrival.

Elephant Orphanage project is located in Randeniya, Hiriwadunna, Kegalle, in central Sri Lanka. It is situated in 15 acre area of sanctuary. Since the beginning, the sanctuary has provided care to over 60 elephants.

While in Sri Lanka, you can organize excursions during and after the project. There is a tourist infrastructure already in place the volunteer can use during weekends. For example volunteers can visit ancient cities Anuradhapua and Polonnaruwa and explore ancient ruins and hike Sigira Rock. Sri Lanka is also famous for pristine beaches.