Volunteer with Elephants

What to do with 40 kilograms of elephant poop? And more to the point, what to do when it arrives, day after day, on a per-beast basis?

On a new elephant conservation project in Kenya, volunteers get to be part of the solution: turning the poop into paper! It's not nearly as unpleasant as it sounds - and the up-side includes camping within the elephant sanctuary amidst the animals and going on game drives.

The Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary was established to help resolve the conflict between local farmers and the wild elephants which trampled their crops. Now, instead of destroying the elephants and their habitat, the villagers derive an income from tourism within the sanctuary - and from manufacturing pachyderm poop parchment.

On a week-long project, volunteers spend two days paper making and working with the villagers from around the conservation area.

The sanctuary is also home to many other species of wildlife, and volunteers undertake game drives within some of Kenya's least-developed reserves. They have the opportunity to visit a traditional cattle market and to spend a day at a local school. The cost of participating in the Conservation Work with Elephants project near Mombasa, Kenya is $1140, inclusive of shared accommodation, all meals, airport pick up, in-country orientation and all on-ground support from the i-to-i team. The project operates year-round, except in July.

Everyone needs a little pampering
If you're an elephant lover, but not into poop paper-making, there is another new project, enabling volunteers to work with elephants in Jaipur, India - which involves becoming an elephant masseur.

The project is based in the village of Amber, home to the elephants which work daily at the nearby Amber Fort. A major tourist attraction at the Fort is the royal elephant ride: riding in a howdah up the steep ramp to the fort entrance.

It's hard work for the elephants and by day's end, they're in need of a bit of pampering themselves. Volunteers are given the task of helping the tuskers relax: they're particularly partial to a massage!

Volunteers can spend up to four weeks working with the elephants in Jaipur, however the minimum time commitment for this project is two weeks. The cost is $1045 per person, with additional weeks costing $230. This includes accommodation in a shared volunteer homestay, all meals, airport pickup on arrival, in country orientation and all on-ground support from the i-to-i team. There are new volunteer intakes monthly.

It's a small price to pay for being able to list 'Elephant Masseuse' on your CV.