Volunteering abroad: what is it, why should you do it and where is the best place to go?

What is working with animals abroad?

• Working with animals abroad means that you actively work for the protection or care of one or more animal species.
• The work can be divided into working with animals in their natural environment and working with animals in shelters. In addition, there are often activities to be done in the field of communication, education or, for example, fundraising.
• What is protecting animals in the natural environment of the animal?
• Protecting animals abroad in the natural environment (habitat) of the animal means that you do activities that relate to improving the living environment. Or that you help with research such as measurements, counts or behavioral observations.
• What is caring for animals in shelters and zoos?
• Caring for animals abroad in shelters means that you do activities that relate to providing food, carrying out fence checks, cleaning cages and monitoring their health.

Why would you protect and care for animals abroad?

• Helpfulness: whether you help another person or an animal in need: you get more back for the rewarding work than you put into it.
• Involvement: it strengthens your sense of involvement in the protection of nature and the animal world and also with other animal lovers.
• Experience: the chance that you will experience something you have never done before, that you will be pulled out of your comfort zone and that you will have an unforgettable experience is considerable.
• Stability and stress reduction: animals can have a strong influence on you when it comes to stress reduction; well-known examples are horses and dolphins. Other animals can be a good indicator of the extent to which you are already stress-resistant.
• Freedom: especially when you are working in the middle of nature, you will notice the difference with the life you sometimes lead at home.

What do you need or can you learn if you are going to protect and care for animals abroad?

• Being environmentally aware: for example by taking your environment into account, carefully storing your waste, leaving animals alone in their own habitat. Analytical skills: you will often have to analyse the behaviour of animals well. Sometimes to prevent danger, and sometimes because it is part of your work. In this way, you often also strengthen your own analytical skills.
• Being aware of the organisation: animal and nature protection organisations, and animal shelters, are often run by a special breed of very committed people. In addition, these are organisations that often have few resources and have to fight against local bureaucracy.
• Empathy: being aware of these circumstances is sometimes half the battle if you want to understand the behaviour of the employees of a project, or your direct co-helpers.

To what extent are you insured for the risks?

• All over the world there are reserves, animal shelters and zoos where you can roll up your sleeves as an intern or volunteer.
• In addition to 'cute' or 'impressive', 'unpredictable' is also a word that you can attribute to (wild) animals.
• Working with wildlife (and with animals in general) is therefore not without its risks. If a cute monkey suddenly turns out to be able to bite viciously, this can cause nasty injuries and even illnesses.
• Because many insurers exclude working with animals from coverage, it is important to handle this carefully.
• Read more: Travel insurances and insurances for long term abroad - Theme
• Read more: Werken met dieren in het buitenland verzekeren (NL)

Protecting animals abroad: what is the best place to go?

• Australia: marsupials, horses, koalas
• China: giant pandas, dogs and cats
• Costa Rica: monkeys, turtles
• Curaçao: dolphins, birds, dogs, cats
• Ecuador: felines, capuchin monkeys and kink-tailed bears
• Egypt: donkeys, horses, dogs and cats
• Philippines: monkeys
• Greece: sea turtles, dogs
• India: dogs and cats
• Indonesia: orangutans, gibbons, street dogs, birds of prey
• Cameroon: chimpanzees
• Malta: birds
• Madagascar: lemurs, fish
• Mexico: sea turtles.
• Mongolia: wild mountain sheep, Prezewalski horses
• Namibia: cheetahs, horses, wild cats
• New Zealand: kiwis (the birds)
• Uganda: rhinos
• Portugal: Iberian wolves
• Spain: stray dogs
• Sri Lanka: elephants, sea turtles
• Suriname: dogs
• Thailand: gibbons, elephants
• United States: wolves, horses
• Zambia: chimpanzees, lions
• Zimbabwe: lions, wild dogs
• South Africa: monkeys, white sharks, lions, rhinos, penguins

How does the preparation for working with animals abroad work in short?

• Accommodation: In many nature reserves you can sleep in ranger accommodations, mountain huts, etc., but bringing your own tent often provides a lot more privacy (but keep an eye on the animals). If you work at an animal shelter, for example, your accommodation will often be less primitive.
• Visas and permits: For some areas you need a special permit. Check this well in advance.
• Currency: Take extra precautions if you are going to remote areas.
• Safety & Troubleshooting: safety obviously differs per area you go to, so check the situation carefully with regard to possible rebels, weather and seasonal conditions, routes, presence of wild animals, etc. When working with animals in their natural environment, the environment often offers more risk than the animals you are examining. If you are going to work with animals in a form of captivity, the species you are working with determines the risks to a certain extent.
• Vaccinations & Health: If you are going into nature or working with animals, make sure you get specialized advice from a travel doctor or the Travel Clinic. Also check the information about the rabies and tick encephalitis vaccination.
• Insurance & Emergency Centers: when working with animals, an insurance that has taken into account the risks and local circumstances is actually the only luxury that is recommended.

What is reforestation and tree planting abroad and why is it done?

• Reforestation involves planting trees and shrubs in places where they have previously disappeared due to logging, flooding or forest fires.
• In many areas, planting trees helps to absorb or reduce the effects of climate change.
• In coastal areas, mangrove forests are planted to break waves, prevent land from being washed away and provide fish with a place to read.
• In dry areas, new trees provide shade, prevent erosion and desertification of the landscape.
• In reforestation projects and activities, attention is often also paid to restoring biodiversity by using various local tree species, which benefits local animal species.
• Many projects have their own nursery where small trees are grown from seeds.

What does working in a reforestation project involve?

• You can help care for the young trees (seedlings) at the nursery.
• You plant the small trees at selected locations.
• You care for the trees after they have been planted, for example by weeding, watering or placing protection against cattle and other grazers.
• You teach local communities about biodiversity, the benefits of reforestation for the local economy, for example.
• If you have a background in horticulture, forestry or water management, you can help train local employees or, for example, carry out a research internship on the results of the project.

• Being environmentally aware: for example, by taking your surroundings into account, carefully storing your waste, minimizing water use and understanding the complex relationship between soil, plants and people.
• Being organizationally aware: environmental clubs and nature conservation organizations are often run by a special breed of very committed people. In addition, these are organizations that often have few resources and have to fight against local bureaucracy.
• Empathy: being aware of those circumstances is sometimes half the battle if you want to understand the behavior of the employees of a project, or your direct fellow helpers.

What are the best places to go to slow or reverse desertification?

• Spain
• Egypt 
• Morocco
• Kenya

What are the best places to go to restore mangrove forests?

• Bonaire
• Sri Lanka
• Madagascar

What are the best places to go to restore rainforests?

• Brazil
• Ecuador
• Panama
• Indonesia

What does working on a farm abroad involve?

• Working on a farm means that you work temporarily as a seasonal or summer worker for an agricultural company. This can range from working as a fruit picker in France to herding cattle in Australia and from milking organic goats in Chile to working together within a permaculture community in the tropics.
• Employment: There is always a chance of work if you knock on a farmer's door. Many farms, especially in Europe, but certainly also in Australia and New Zealand, are usually looking for assistance, especially during the busy seasons. Small-scale farms often have work for unskilled (or non-agriculturally trained) people and will also be more open to a construction with room and board.
• Activities: There is a huge variety of seasonal jobs within agriculture and livestock farming. It can help to have experience with driving a tractor, horse riding or other work on a farm, or to have at least some feeling for working with machinery or farm animals.

Why should you work on a farm abroad?

• To stimulate your sense of involvement: sometimes you work very intensively with the same people on a farm for a long time, you often also sleep in a room with them: you have to like that, but you also make friends for life.
• To make the world around you more sustainable: by looking for work in organic farming, permaculture, or for example in the production of goat cheese, you can nicely combine your work and interests.
• To be profitable in a creative way: Some small farmers will not be able to pay you a wage, but offer a place to sleep and food in exchange for work.
• To gain new experiences: During your stay on a farm and when you go to work, you experience much more than if you were to travel around alone.
• To increase your self-awareness: further away from your familiar environment, you discover more quickly what you can actually do and what you actually want. By going to work, you encounter yourself more often, you get to know yourself better and accept who you are and want to be. To test your environmental awareness: living and working in rural areas allows you to experience a foreign culture in a completely different and more authentic way than, for example, working in tourism.

Where is the best place to go for farm work abroad?

• Australia: working holiday, agricultural work, fruit picking
• Canada: working holiday, agricultural work
• Chile: fruit picking, livestock farming
• France: agricultural work, fruit picking, grape picking
• Italy: agricultural work, fruit picking
• Ecuador: tropical agriculture, coffee, cocoa and permaculture
• New Zealand: working holiday, fruit picking, agricultural work
• Spain: olive picking, viticulture
• South Africa: ecolodges, ranches

What do you need if you want to work on a farm?

• Professionalism: you often have to work hard and hard, which is why the average slacker usually doesn't last long on a farm. Flexibility weather conditions, animal behaviour and plant growth do not always go according to plan, which means that your flexibility will often be called upon.
• Collaborative skills: being able to learn to work together with a group of seasonal workers or with the farm family will always be necessary.

To what extent are you insured for the risks of working on a farm or in livestock farming

• There may be several reasons why you need separate insurance for (paid) farm work and agricultural work abroad.
• During work, internship or volunteer work abroad your local health insurance normally lapses. You then need special insurance to remain insured against illness and accidents.
• Local employers generally do not offer any, or limited, additional insurance.
• The chance of accidents is somewhat greater on farms than with other types of work. A number of specialized insurances offer opportunities to do (temporary) paid work abroad where you run a bit more risk, such as working on a farm.
• Read more: Travel insurances and insurances for long term abroad - Theme
• Read more: Risicovol werk in het buitenland verzekeren: van sportinstructeur tot boerderijmedewerker (NL)