Volunteering Details

Volunteering at the Colobus Trust is a wonderful experience - professionally and personally.  Whether you are a primatology or ecology researcher, student, or just someone interested in the Trust's work in Diani - volunteering is a great way to get involved, take a break and support the Trust!  You can download the volunteer application form here or email us: info@colobustrust.org

Volunteer Activities
Volunteering Conditions
How to Get Here
Climate, Clothing and Equipment
Medical Considerations

There are a variety of projects underway at the Colobus Trust at any one time. Volunteers will be allocated specific duties dependent upon their relative experience and current openings at the Trust, however all volunteers should be willing to help out with any aspect of the Trust's work when required and to change focus if the need arises.

Previous Volunteer Projects
As a colobologist, you will choose a specific project to complete during your time at the Trust.
The projects are based on our needs at the time, so it is difficult to say now what will be happening when you arrive.

Census of Diani primate populations
Survey of remaining local forest patches
Updating the colobustrust.org website and blog
"Monkey pest" assessments in the local hotels
Conducting a base line survey on the wood carving industry in Diani
Developing the ‘Colobus Update’ newsletter
Helping to organize a fundraising event
Observing a new colobridge for primate crossings

As you can see, projects are quite varied. In addition, caring for the monkeys we have in rehabilitation, feeding, cleaning cages, helping in the vet clinic, and conducting tours for visitors are also regularly done as required.

As a volunteer, you will get involved in many aspects of the Trust's work by lending a hand to the staff as they carry out their daily tasks. Group conservation activities are carried out as a team effort. Daily tasks include:

Searching local forests for snares and removing them                                                                  
Planting trees in sacred Kaya forests
Maintaining and hanging Colobridges
Performing the annual census
Trimming tree branches back from power lines to prevent primate electrocution
Helping with education workshops

Both colobologists and eco-volunteers get involved in our primate rescue and rehabilitation cases. The level of involvement depends on experience, ability and interest. Primate rescue and rehabilitation can include anything from taking care of infants to cleaning wounds of injured monkeys to releasing healed animals. Unfortunately, we are not a sanctuary, so please be aware that we do have an euthanasia policy for individuals who cannot be released back into the wild.

NOTE: There is scope for people with conservation background but also for people with private sector experience in areas such as marketing, building/maintenance, teaching, display making, web site design, graphic design, etc. People with special skills may be taken as a colobologist for shorter periods of time than the stated three months.
 

Project Location
Diani is 33 km south of Mombasa on Kenya ’s coast. The Colobus Cottage is located in a beautiful tree-filled plot, right next to one of the most beautiful beaches in Kenya. The area is developed for the tourism industry with hotels, restaurants, bars, grocery shops, chemists, fruit & vegetable stalls, banks, hospitals, a dentist, a post office, etc., all within a few kilometers distance. Most things can be bought here however, being a tourist area, prices are slightly higher than in say, Mombasa. For maps and location information, see the Contact Us section. E-mail & internet is available on site for a small fee.
 

Trust Accommodation
The Colobus Cottage is clean and comfortable but fairly basic. You will be sharing one room and bathroom with up to three other volunteers. We have up to ten volunteers here at any one time.

Facilities include: electricity (though not always reliable especially during the rains), cooking gas, showers, fans, laundry service, cleaner/house man, drinking water delivery. The house is in a secure area and has a security service as well as a night-time guard who patrols the house grounds.

Our cook prepares a simple, good quality lunch and dinner. The meals are a mix of African and European dishes and are generally vegetarian with an occasional fish and meat dish. Food for breakfast is also provided though you will need to prepare this yourself. Our cook doesn’t work on Sundays and holidays but will leave raw ingredients for you to prepare.

Safari Beach Hotel is a twenty minutes walk away down the beach. There you can relax, have a drink or a pizza, take a swim in the pool or play table tennis or billiards. There are several gyms on the Diani strip that are available for volunteers to use and yoga classes are also available nearby.

The cost of the meals provided is included in the cost of your stay.

Office Hours
8am - 5pm Monday-Saturday

Working times should be considered flexible depending on the project and research needs. Normally colobologists and eco-volunteers work Monday to Friday and take it in turns to share animal care duties on Sundays. However, if emergencies come up, work hours will change as required.

Volunteers who would like a few days off to go on safari are encouraged to do so.

Colobologists Required
The Trust requires many different types of talents and skills from languages, education skills, journalism, and photography to business, marketing and publicity, as well as research, primatology, veterinary and other typical 'academic' training. This list is not inclusive of the skills we require, and our needs change regularly. Be clear on your application the skills you have that could be used to help the Trust as well as provide you with a more fulfilling volunteering experience.

Length of Stay
The Colobus Trust asks for colobologists to stay for three months as time is required for training and for sufficient experience to be gained by the colobologist. Exceptions to this can be made under certain circumstances. People with specific skills will be considered for shorter periods.

Eco-volunteer length of stays are usually three weeks. Contact the specific partner for details.

Age Limit
Colobologists must be at least 21 years. No upper age limit is set though one needs to bear in mind the physical demands of the work and the heat and humidity. Eco-volunteers must be at least 18 years of age

   Travel to the Trust   

Getting here
Fly to Moi International Airport in Mombasa. Most flights to Mombasa come via Nairobi, although you may be lucky and get a direct flight. If arriving in Nairobi (at Kenyatta International Airport ), upon disembarking you will have to go through customs so pick up your luggage there, go through customs and walk to the domestic departure terminal (just across the road).
Upon your arrival in Mombasa, we can arrange for one of the taxi drivers we work with to come and pick you up for the fee of          Ksh 3,000 , please notify us in advance if you wish so. If you would rather take a taxi on your own, you should not pay more than     Ksh 3,000 for a taxi to us. The trip should take around one hour and involves a short ferry crossing. You don't need to get out of the taxi for this. The taxi driver may try to charge you more, but you need to insist that this is how much you will pay BEFORE you get in the taxi and do not give the driver extra money for the ferry fees this is included in the Ksh 3,000. The driver will know Diani (a turn from the highway left at the Ukunda intersection). Once you go down to the main intersection from Ukunda onto the Diani Beach Road, the driver should turn RIGHT. We are signposted and about 10 minutes down the Diani Road, just after KFI supermarket. There are Colobus Trust signs on both sides of the road to alert you of our location. Tipping of taxi drivers is not expected.

Visas
You will be entering Kenya on a tourist visa. These can be obtained upon arrival at the airport or obtained in advance through the Kenyan Embassy in your own country. If you arrive at the airport and do not have a visa you will need to fill out a visa application, available next to the visa counter. You will need US$50 in exact change. Make sure to stand in the visa line for processing. If you go through the embassy, please allow enough time for the appropriate processing of paperwork. Check the embassy requirements and reports on the Internet. If you would like to travel after your stay at the Colobus Trust, you can obtain a second three month visa in Mombasa without any problems. After six months in the country, you must leave the East African region before being allowed back in. Ask your travel agent for details.

   Climate, clothing and equipment   

It is nearly always hot and humid here on the coast! There is a slight variation in temp throughout the year - it is hottest between December and March (25 to 30 degrees C) and coolest between June and October (22 to 27 degrees C)
Theoretically from March to mid June is the long rains, and from October to the end November is the short rains, although this patterns seems to have varied slightly over the last few years.

We therefore recommend cotton clothing as this is the coolest. For field work you will need long cotton trousers and long sleeved shirts (because of insects). In the office and around Diani shorts/skirts and t-shirts are the standard wear. In the evening you should either wear long sleeved shirts and trousers, or dose yourself with mosquito repellent. You should bring one set of warmer clothes (e.g. jeans and sweater) for cooler times during the rains, and for safaris. We also recommend bringing a waterproof jacket if you are coming during the rains, although some people prefer to just get wet (because of the heat and sheer amount of rain that can fall!). Mosquito nets are provided by the Trust and you will not need one for the duration of your stay.

You should be aware that this area of Kenya is predominately Muslim, so although you may see tourists wandering around Diani with only swimwear on, we encourage our female volunteers to be culturally sensitive and not to wear too short shorts or revealing tops during working hours. Particularly in Mombasa it is important that women do not reveal their legs or shoulders. ‘Going out’ clothes though are fine for the local restaurants and bars.

Walking boots
Flip flops (some people prefer strap-on sandals)
Camera (film and memory cards are available here but are expensive)
Torch and batteries
Alarm clock
Mosquito repellent (DEET is recommended)
Sunglasses
Binoculars
Personal music player
Hat for sun protection
Strong sunscreen as the sun is strong at all times of the year
Swimsuit
Day pack
Ear plugs (if you are a light sleeper!)

In addition, as some volunteers ask what resources they can bring to the Trust, we have compiled a list of things which are hard to find in Diani but which would be very helpful for our office and for our educational outreach programme. We would greatly appreciate if volunteers could bring some of these things if at all possible:

Pens and pencils for the office and for the children in educational outreach programmes
Colour pencils
Felt tip pens
Colour markers
Crayons
Whiteboard markers
Watercolour/paint kits and paintbrushes
Scissors
Children's scissors
Glue sticks
Notebooks
String or elastic to make masks
Dice (for games)
Super glue
Permanent markers
Glitter
Balloons
Colouring books
Small games and toys for chidren

Mobile phones can be used here - please check the local service providers (www.safaricom.co.ke or www.kencell.co.ke). If your mobile phone doesn't have a SIM lock, purchasing a pre-paid SIM card while here and using it in your phone (far cheaper) is quite easy. Laptops are useful as computer time is limited. We can lock up computers each evening, but this is not a guarantee of safety.

Lastly, we do have a television and a video and DVD player. If you have videos/ DVDs you would like to watch, please bring them.

   Medical Considerations   

Vaccinations
Polio, Typhoid, Tetanus, Yellow Fever, Meningitis and Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B are recommended. Please note, proof of yellow fever vaccination may be needed to enter the country. Please check with your local Kenyan embassy for yellow fever requirements. Volunteers should seek medical advice from their doctor regarding inoculations.
 

Rabies
You may choose to have the course of rabies vaccination injections before you come, and we would recommend it although it is expensive. However, if you are bitten by an animal whilst you are here, the nearby hospitals are stocked with the rabies vaccine and will be able to give you appropriate treatment.

Malaria
The coast is a malaria area, so all volunteers should come with impregnated mosquito nets (square/box type for single bed), insect repellent and anti-malarial drugs (see your doctor for advice).

First Aid Kits
The Trust has a first aid kit, however you should bring certain items that you may require of a personal nature, bearing in mind that you will be working in humid field conditions. There is a 24 hour pharmacy at the local hospital. Most topical treatments are available locally.

Medical Facilities
There are two small but very well-run private hospitals located approximately 7 kilometers down the road in Diani. Both hospitals also have an ambulance service. A dentist is also available in Diani.

Insurance
All volunteers must have medical / travel insurance. The Trust will require the insurance information upon your arrival.

   For more information about volunteering email   info@colobustrust.org