Sri Lanka Sea Turtle and Community Volunteers

Your time in Kosgoda will be split between two projects – volunteering at the community work project and a sea turtle conservation centre. Kosgoda is a beautiful area with stunning beaches and several turtle hatcheries which used to attract a lot of tourists. However, it was badly affected by the tsunami in 2004 and is now much quieter. Some local families are still living in partially damaged houses, while others are rebuilding their homes with the limited funds they have received from the government.

The sea turtle conservation project has been operating for twenty three years. Its purpose is to monitor and conserve the turtle numbers in the Kosgoda area. The project has been operating well with a mix of volunteers and local staff, however when the tsunami hit, much of the infrastructure was destroyed and an important source of funding - the tourists - were lost. In the years since the tsunami, the project coordinator has been maintaining a database of turtle activity to allow definitive measurement of turtle behaviour in this area.

If eggs are likely to be in danger or they have been gathered from further away then they are brought to the project's hatchery. Once the baby turtles emerge they are then transported to the sea but any weak turtles, usually 10%, are taken care of for up to three days in holding tanks and then released when they are strong enough.

Tourist and local education is offered through the project's visitors' area where weak hatchlings and some more mature turtles are kept for monitoring and gathering statistics.  

English teachers are scarce in Kosgoda and your skills will be greatly valued by locals who are keen to learn! You will spend your afternoons interacting with the community teaching conversational English. There may also be the opportunity to work with local school children teaching English and a range of other subjects such as drawing, music, painting, singing and dancing.

You will have at least two days off a week depending on your workload, giving you ample opportunity to explore Sri Lanka's rich cultural heritage.

While on the project you’ll volunteer Monday to Friday, with a half day on Friday. Your shifts will vary as cover is needed at the turtle project 24 hours a day. You will be assigned 8 hour shifts with the rest of the team to manage this (don’t worry, you’ll get a lunch break!), and when at the turtle project should expect shifts at night as well as through the day, particularly during egg laying season.

Please be aware that the work pattern is different in Sri Lanka to most Western countries: the pace of work is often slower and more sporadic. You should not expect to work the same number of hours every day. Also, there may be some unscheduled breaks from your work due to the frequency of public holidays in Sri Lanka so you'll need to 'go with the flow” if this happens during your stay!

You’ll be getting involved in a wide variety of activities, which will include:

• Nightly patrols
• Helping with awareness and education programmes
• Statistic and data gathering, entry and analysis
• Building holding tanks
• Cleaning tanks, beaches and the general project area
• Feeding turtles
• Releasing hatchlings
• Providing tours for tourists
• Developing the information resources for tourists•
• Helping to run educational programmes for children in the community centre
• Helping with informal conversational English teaching to community members
• Organising sports and games
• Singing and dancing
• Drawing and painting
• Weaving with the women of the local community
• Beach clearing

If you’ve got a special skill or interest you’d like to introduce to the children and community members, or if you’d like to give any additional time to either project then it will be very welcome!