Often we are approached by volunteers looking for voluntary work abroad.  The role below is a voluntary post, and as such tends to come up throughout the year.  Often past volunteers decide to stay on and help on the elephant conservation project, providing they have the right skills.  If you think you could be interested and understand it is a fully voluntary post then please do send your CV and a bit of information about yourself through to Rachel.

*    Role: Assistant Project Leader for the volunteer project

*    Start Date: A.S.A.P.

*    Duration: Minimum 3 Months

*    Location: EHRA base camp, Ugab River, Damaraland, Namibia

Description:

The project runs every 2 weeks, the first week entails construction of protection walls around community water points to prevent damage by the local elephants. During the second week volunteers are taken on elephant patrol where they help us with our research into elephant and herd movements. The conservation Project runs throughout the year with the exception of December and January. For more information see the volunteer project page.

You must look after our volunteers at all times and put their needs before your own. You will have to help construct walls, drive, teach volunteers how to cook, shop for supplies, maintain and fix vehicles, spend a lot of time with the local elephants and ensure volunteer safety.

You will be given on the job training into 4x wheel driving, elephant tracking and identification, as well as the chance to learn about the other local flora and fauna. You will need to be incredibly hard working, this job never stops! Past volunteers who have taken on this post have gone on to guide professionally and manage exclusive lodges within in Namibia, so the hard work will pay off!

Qualifications:

Must have completed some form of guiding/conservation experience, hold a current drivers license, be English and ideally Afrikaans speaking and some knowledge of local flora and fauna would be an advantage. The person must be good at manual work and be incredibly practical. Mechanical knowledge is a big advantage. You will constantly be around people and therefore an easy going manner and good sense of humour is essential!

Conditions:

Your home will be at either the EHRA base camp where accommodation is basic, either in the shared stone dome or on the tree platform, or will be at a mobile camp based at the project site. Compost toilets and showers are provided at base camp. Every other weekend you go to Swakopmund (a local resort town) to resupply, pick up and drop off volunteers and relax. During this weekend you stay in a local backpackers. Your accommodation in Swakopmund is paid for. All your accommodation and food is provided and a small allowance is given once a month.

Here is what Rob Conlon had to say about his experience working with EHRA:

"I started with EHRA as a volunteer for eight weeks and had an amazing time. Working and living so close to the elephants was better than I could have expected. After enjoying my time so much, I then stayed on to work for EHRA, helping the staff take volunteers on building and patrol weeks. This was a great experience too and very rewarding. It was also very interesting to see so many people coming out to help from all sorts of different backgrounds."  

Skills Sharing/Alternative Energy

The aim of EHRA's alternative energy projects is to create systems that local communities can make themselves using locally available materials. 

EHRA has developed various alternative energy products over the years with the help of long term volunteers who have come to EHRA specifically to develop their ideas.  This includes wind generation, composting toilets, solar power and even bio diesel.  If you have skills and knowledge in these areas and are practically minded please also drop us an email.  Once again we will offer accommodation in return for your skills, you would be here on a fully voluntary basis.  EHRA has a very well equipped workshop at the base camp.

Wind generator and solar panel at Base Camp, made by Oliver Weston, Ben Rushton, Johannes, Adolf and John.

Other people have given their time to teach valuable skills, for example Phil Colbert (Trek 2009 and volunteer project 12th- 23rd Oct 09) spent a week at base camp teaching David, Gerson, John and Adolf welding skills.