The Bukit Lawang Trust is a Non Government Organisation based in Bukit Lawang, North Sumatra. The Trust building is a community centre which provides free education to people of all ages from both the local community and farther afield in Sumatra. As a volunteer on the Conservation programme you will be directly involved in the establishment of new and exciting youth led sustainable enterprises in the local community, helping to provide an alternative occupation for young people to Palm Oil plantation work.
After a three day volunteer Induction, you will volunteer for 4 - 6 hours on weekdays, however this is highly variable depending on the number of volunteers on your cycle and the amount of planning and preparation required for your sessions. On the Conservation Programme you will be largely free in the mornings with the exception of the Morning meeting at 0900 with all programme teams. Thursdays and Fridays however you may be asked to take the lead on the Youth Ranger classes in the mornings. If you are doing these, you will likely not be delivering the afternoon Youth-Led Sustainable Enterprise (YSE) classes on the same day as we try our best to distribute sessions amongst the volunteer facilitators.
Regardless of your working day you will be finished by 1800 on weekdays, after which you are completely free (unless its your turn to cook! we have a cooking rota for evening meals which means we only pay for one evening meal every few weeks and we only have to cook once every few weeks! plus we get to try different foods from all over the world!).
Lunches are provided by our Increadible Chef Fitri, and all meals are vegitarian, however there is a restuarant directly oposite the school where you can get non veggie meals at very good prices!
During the day you may be asked to help with houshold jobs such as painting, maintaining, making signs, gardening, or working on personal jobs.
Afternoon YSE classes are 3 hours every week day. Volunteers have quite a free reign over classroom style and approach, however the core content of the curriculum must be delivered. You will always be supported in the classroom by local teachers who will assist you in both the planning and the delivery of your sessions, you will also have a course curriculum and handbook designed by our very own head of conservation to guide you through the process.
You can go trekking from Bukit Lawang to Gunung Leuser National Park and see the famous Sumatran Orangutan. Most volunteers do a two day one night trek and usually are fortunate enough to see Orangutans.
At the weekend there are innumerable places located nearby that are a must see!
Batu Katak - A quiet place on the river and near waterfalls.
Tangkahan - Has an elephant camp where visitors can bathe elephants in the river. We support bathing them, and the projects but we do not support riding the elephants and hope you will share that belief with us.
Batu Rongring - Beautiful for trekking.
Berestagi - For long weekends or traveling before or after volunteers can visit this lovely town in the mountains and go trekking. It is a bit colder here and that makes it a popular place among locals and tourists!
Lake Toba - A beautiful island (Samosir) in the middle of the lake is home to waterfalls, hot springs, beaches, and more.
The Cycle dates for 2021 are as follows:
Tiger Cycle: 9th July - 7th September 2021 (60days)
Elephant Cycle: 5th September - 4th November (60days)
Rhino Cycle: 2nd November - 17th December (45days)
Volunteers are able to apply for any cycle throughout the year. We want to work together with you to find the right placement for both you and the trust. we are closed during Ramadan, however we sometimes have volunteers in for refurbishment work, so look out for our 'Ramadan Refurbers' advertisements if you are interested!
The start and end dates are fixed. This is because of visa restrictions, however if you wish to continue travelling after your placement that is absolutely fine! just let us know when you apply :).
*** Please be aware that we are no longer accepting applications for placements prior to the Tiger cycle on the 9th of July due to COVID-19 Restrictions***
Conservation Plan Developer
Help guide the youth in Bukit Lawang from idea generation all the way to establishing their own sustainable businesses whilst training the next generation of Rangers!
$100/week
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