Volunteer in Sri Lanka with Projects Abroad

Age to Participate

18-30 (must be 18 on 1 Sep 2024) when applying

Places Available

12

When?

Approximate Dates 10 August – 24 August 2025 (flights are likely to be organised around this week in August - exact dates TBC depending on costs)

Duration

2 weeks

Cost to Member

£1,800 pp (does not include flights – guide price for flights as of September 2024 was £1,000)

Interviews

Saturday 30 November 2024 at the Quality Hotel, Coventry – for those wishing to apply please note you will need to attend the face to face interviews

Closing Date

1 November 2024

Community Farming in Sri Lanka

If you have a love of farming and would like to learn more about Sri Lankan culture then this could be the project for you. For the first half of your project, your group will be based in a care centre near Kulapitya. Your work here will be to create a community garden for the care centre, and your tasks could include:

• Planting seeds and crops
• Weeding and composting
• Harvesting produce
• Running lessons on sustainability and nutrition

As well as creating and maintaining the garden, your group will also get to spend time with the children at the centre. This role will vary from helping children to learn the alphabet, to organising arts and crafts, to playing sports and much more. Cricket is very popular in Sri Lanka so be prepared to be challenged to a match or two!

The group’s second week will be spent working alongside local farmers at a plot, helping to employ sustainable, organic methods on the land. You will be helping to produce some of Sri Lanka’s most delicious produce, with the opportunity to sample jackfruit curry and the sweetest mango juice you have ever tasted.

You will be involved in:

• Implementing organic farming processes
• Sustainable use of resources
• Caring for livestock
• Crop rotation
• Pest control

The group will stay together in a small hotel, with transport to and from your placement arranged for you each day.

Weekend Trip & Social Activities

At the weekend, your group will travel to Kandy to enjoy some of the stunning scenery Sri Lanka has to offer, and you will also get the chance to have a close encounter with elephants at an elephant sanctuary. You will be able to soak up some of the country’s rich culture and heritage with visits to ancient temples and bustling markets as well. You will get an opportunity to see the sights in Colombo as well as visiting some of the famous Sri Lankan beaches.

Sponsors

YFC Travel is generously supported by Young Farmers Ambassadors and NFU Mutual Charitable Trust.