Aide
Primate Conservation at our Monkey Sanctuary in Kenya
Do you want
to help preserve the future of an endangered species? Now you have a chance to
contribute to primate conservation efforts while working with monkeys in Kenya.
Worldwide
Experience offers the opportunity to volunteer in Kenya's Colobus Trust monkey
sanctuary at the Colobus Cottage, where the monkey sanctuary team studies and
cares for Colobus monkeys. The Colobus Cottage is set in a coastal forest region
in Kenya where volunteers can see the endangered Colobus monkey and species such
as baboons, vervets and Sykes' monkeys, and learn the characteristics and behaviour
of each species.
As a conservation volunteer in Kenya you will help and
assist the primate conservation teams in their efforts to conserve the beautiful
Colobus monkey. Working with more experienced primate conservationists, you will
become actively involved in some of the rehabilitation of primates at the monkey
sanctuary and help in the ongoing protection of their habitats.
As well
as working with monkeys, you will also help to educate the local communities on
primate conservation and ethics issues.
Worldwide Experience are specialists
in offering gap year projects and conservation placements for volunteers in Kenya
and South Africa. We can help you make a difference during your gap year or career
break, working with monkeys and other animals whose future in the wild is not
assured.
A
Colobus Trust Volunteer in Kenya may have the opportunity to experience: - Working
with monkey populations, conducting census or other research on baboons, Sykes'
monkeys, vervets, and Colobus monkeys.
- Repairing or installing 'colobridges'
(monkey-crossing bridges over Diani Beach road)
- Removing vegetation
from power lines to stop Colobus monkeys from being electrocuted
-
Build fences to protect the environment around the monkey sanctuary
-
Assisting with school education workshops on primate conservation
-
Assisting with maintenance and repair work around the monkey sanctuary such as
painting cages and building new infrastructure
- Working with monkey
habitats, conducting forest surveys to determine resource extraction (poles and
timber)
- Clearing invasive shrubs, planting trees and other practical
conservation work in sacred 'kaya' forests
- Conservation volunteers
in Kenya may also assist with office-based work like preparing Colobus Trust newsletters
and helping with the membership programme
|
MORE
INFORMATION ON PRIMATE CONSERVATION...
There are a variety of projects
underway at the Colobus Trust in Kenya. Volunteers will be allocated specific
duties, working alongside staff experienced in primate conservation. Duties will
depend upon an individual's relative experience and upon present openings at the
Trust.
These are 'hands on' placements, so all volunteers in Kenya should
be willing to help out with any aspect of the Trust's work when required. Animal
rescue and veterinary rehabilitation is conducted by the trained staff of the
Colobus Trust monkey sanctuary; however, volunteers are welcome to observe and
learn.
 | Location
The
focus of our primate conservation effort is just an hour south of Mombasa in Kenya,
hidden away amongst almost twenty hectares of coastal forest. The Colobus Cottage
is an office, research base, information centre, monkey sanctuary and rescue facility,
and home for the Colobus Trust staff and volunteers since August 1997.
The
grounds of the Colobus Cottage are also home to a habituated troop of Colobus
monkeys, which reside almost entirely within the boundary of our plot. This makes
the site ideal for working with this monkey species as well as the troops of baboons,
vervets, and Sykes' monkeys that pass through on their daily search for food. | It
is a great location for ecological and behavioural studies relating to primate
conservation - or to just come and watch the monkeys!
The Colobus Trust
is situated in Diani, South Coast Kenya, approximately 30 kilometres south of
the Likoni Ferry (Mombasa). Volunteers in Kenya can find the Colobus Cottage between
a "Kim 4 Love" sign and the Jadini / Africana Hotels along the Diani
beach road. This is where a team of volunteers and conservationists are working
with monkeys to assure this primate's conservation and survival. The surrounding
forest is home to the endangered black and white Angolan Colobus monkey and the
forests here echo with their song-like call.
Click
here to read more about Kenya |
Accommodation at
the Monkey Sanctuary
Accommodation is simple. You will be sharing a room
and bathroom with other volunteers. Facilities include electricity, gas, showers
(cold), overhead fans, mosquito net, cleaning and laundry service. The cook will
prepare good quality African meals. The house is in a secure area and has a night
guard who patrols the house and garden area.
The house and office is a
beachfront property nestled in the forest, overlooking the Indian Ocean and the
white sand beach. Camels often rest in front of the stone fence. Also on the property
are the rehabilitation cages for monkeys, and the veterinary clinic.
Time
Off from working with monkeys
Those volunteering in Kenya will have a general
working week of Monday to Friday, 0900 to 1700. You won't be working with monkeys
during the weekends or evenings; this is leisure time. This is when you'll want
to enjoy the area surrounding the monkey sanctuary, either by relaxing by the
pool at the next door hotel or travelling further afield to see the elephants
and other game animals at the amazing national parks of Kenya. Volunteers can
cool off with a swim in the Indian Ocean, and there are also opportunities here
for scuba diving, snorkelling, and windsurfing. You might choose to take trips
(at own cost) to the sacred forests, the historic town of Mombasa or the mangrove
swamps. |
Project
Duration and Rates
| 2
weeks | 3
weeks | 4
weeks | 6
weeks | 8
weeks | 12
weeks | | | £660 | £880 | | | £1,785 |
More
about The Colobus Trust
Established in January 1997, the Trust has a
unique niche in the primate world by developing innovative primate conservation
solutions that make an immediate impact.The Colobus Trust works hard to conserve
the highly endangered Colobus monkey, and is also working with other monkey species
found in the area. Over the six years of the Trust's existence it has carried
out many research projects that aim to reduce the impact of human development.
The visions of the trust are:
- To conserve and protect the Angolan
Colobus monkey and its habitat in Kenya;
- To inspire interest and
participation from the volunteers in Kenya and the wider community in matters
of environmental and primate conservation;
- To promote the welfare
of primates and to reduce the impact of human development on the environment in
Diani and Kenya;
- To work with monkeys to further understanding of
the species and their conservation;
- To be able to respond and deliver
a high quality primate rescue and rehabilitation service at the monkey sanctuary;
- To become a role model for other conservation-based charities in
Kenya to follow and emulate.
- To be a considerate employer through
training and fair wage structure, to be self-funding, producing high quality valuable
work, and to be transparent.
Since the Trust was established
in 1997 a number of special projects have been undertaken and completed, these
include: - Diani Sykes and Vevet Census - The size of the Sykes and Vervet
population in Diani is been largely unknown. The Colobus trust is planning research
to identify the troops and demography.
- Crop Raiding Primates Solutions
- A project addressing crop raiding primates on farmers' fields began in the middle
of the 2004. The primates are affecting local farmers significantly, and we are
looking for innovative solutions to address this issue.
- Survey of
Diani Forest - The surveys will work with local land owners to make sustainable
activities to preserving the remaining patches of forest for primate conservation.
- Primate Pest Behaviour - Continuing our work on primate pest behaviour,
we will work towards a number of solutions trying to solve the hotel pest problem
humanely. This includes monitoring the baboon vasectomy programme.
-
Good Woods - Promoting the use of sustainable tree species in the tourist wood
carving industry rather than forest hard woods.
* Many thanks to
Katie Madden for submitting her photographs for use in this website |
