VMF Volunteer Guide
Did you know that by volunteering directly 100% of your contribution will go straight in to our operating budget helping us build new enclosures, purchase medicines and do more for the monkeys in our care.
Volunteering Information
You will sleep in the volunteer village, work with monkeys, or on projects such as building or painting to benefit the monkeys & have time off to visit local waterfalls, rivers, or other sites of interest.
At the VMF, you will get to participate in a variety of tasks depending on the time of year to help the monkeys from feeding orphaned babies to constructing new enclosures. This is an ideal project for anyone who has ever dreamed of working with primates.
The duties that you will have to undertake are varied and change during the year and all volunteers are tasked to do a variety of chores, such as, collecting & cleaning baby bottles, and making baby formula, cleaning and preparing bowls of fruit & vegetables for the monkeys, washing monkey blankets, monitoring monkeys in enclosures, working in our sickbay area, occasional cooking, washing food bowls and collecting seed pods for monkeys.
In addition, volunteers will also help with the building of new enclosures for monkeys. Construction involves building, painting, sanding, welding, fence-building, knot-tying, firebreaks & invader species eradication. Sometimes you might be asked to cut grass & prepare thatch bundles for construction, or to letter & paint signs for enclosures. Work can be hard under the African sun but very rewarding.
Your evenings will either be spent quietly at the village or up at the cottage where volunteers can socialize and get to know one another. You will eat vegan meals and have access to the internet throughout the sanctuary.
Touring can be arranged through us on arrival. We can organize trips with a local qualified tour guide to places such as Kruger and Graskop.
Other areas you may help with are driving, fundraising, office work, or data input. We are often looking for qualified Vets and Vet nurses to volunteer and help us, please inquire within.
A great opportunity to volunteer with wildlife in South Africa.
Volunteering with primates is a unique experience.
Click here to listen to our interview with the Voluntary Traveler for more details on volunteer life. Save it as a file, then open in i-tunes or similar to listen to the interview.
- Help integrate rehabilitated monkeys back into viable troops
- Feed and prepare foods, milk and porridge for the monkeys
- Hands-on experience with orphaned babies, ex-pet, injured and abused monkeys
- Explore waterfalls, Kruger NP and even ancient cycad forests here in the Limpopo Province, South Africas so called “Eden”
- Interested in gaining fundraising experience? Join our enthusiastic team here at the Foundation and help support vervet monkeys
Family Volunteering
You would like to volunteer, but you have children to care for and can’t leave them alone? Your child loves animals and being out in nature? Bring them with you! With our new family volunteering, even the little ones can enjoy the monkeys. 
Depending on the children’s age, they can participate in some or all tasks. Younger children can collect forage, make little enrichment parcels and orphan care (only under direct supervision when aligns with orphan’s needs). Older children might be able to help with husbandry work, simple maintenance, milk delivery and more.
For families, COTH cabin is the ideal accommodation. It’s a large wooden cabin with a double bed, two single beds, a ceiling fan, and a kitchenette area with fridge, electrical kettle, and a couple of mugs and cutlery for morning tea or coffee. The cabin is private, close to the toilet and shower combo, and has plenty of storage area for clothing, toys and equipment.
You can also choose to stay in wooden cabins at the volunteer village (when possible, we will book cabins close together for you). The volunteer village cabins are more basic, smaller and you are sharing the village with other volunteers and staff members. For older children, it is a great alternative.
Toddler crib and waterproof mattress protectors are available on request.
For children to help out with monkey work, they need to
- listen and follow safety instructions
- talk in normal conservation volume (no screaming or yelling)
- walk on uneven ground (the sanctuary is not suitable for strollers)
- understand instructions in English
Please note: You are responsible for your children’s safety and supervision.
Volunteer Village
This is home sweet home; you will share your wooden cabin with one more person. Solar powered electricity, USB-plug and 3-round pin plug to charge your electronic devices is also available. The potential creature sightings are colorful lizards, snakes and birds. The village houses 4 showers, 2 eco-toilets, and a campfire; which is great for an evening under the stars or a braai (South African BBQ)!
The shower is on the whole able to provide hot water, but be aware cold showers are a possibility (refreshing on a blazing hot day)! Water in the area is scarce.
The eco-toilet is a bush toilet with worms that do the composting. You don’t have to flush here!
We have recently added the addition of two private cabins outside of the village suitable for a couple or those who prefer a little privacy – please inquire within for fee. There is also a larger private cabin suitable for groups or families!
Please find out more in our Private Cabin Brochure (Jan 26)
Charity
United States of America
Friends of the Vervet Monkey Foundation is a registered US charity (register number 86-2117021) to support the VMF’s work overseas, spreading the word and representing the VMF. Any donations to the Friends of the Vervet Monkey Foundation Charity are tax deductible in the US, including up to 60% of the volunteering fees. For more information, email Lana.
Great Britain
Our UK supporters and volunteers can also benefit from supporting our work through our registered UK charity (register number 1215564) – Vervet Monkey Foundation UK. If you are a UK taxpayer, you can choose to add Gift Aid to your donation or part of your volunteering fee, allowing us to claim an additional 25% from HMRC at no extra cost to you. This means your contribution goes even further in supporting our projects.
In addition, higher-rate taxpayers may be able to claim further personal tax relief on their donations through their self-assessment tax return.
If you would like more information about using Gift Aid to support us, please email Josie.
Companies to Know About
