from 979€

Perfect 4.6rating (24)

Agriculture & Conservation Assistant

location
2 - 12 weeks  ·  Age 18 - 50+

rating  Perfect 4.6  · 
  Verified by Volunteer World
  Good response rate

Especially suitable

Age 18+
Singles
Couples

About the program

Help a small community in Uganda's Mabira Rainforest to farm efficiently in order to achieve food security. Live in the rainforest and explore Uganda.

Chronic underdevelopment in Uganda is a problem not easily solved. Remote rural living, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a subsistence economy, loss of hope, and lack of services helps to keep many families dependent upon hand-outs, malnourished, and uneducated. Currently, there are few real ways to generate ...

About the program

Chronic underdevelopment in Uganda is a problem not easily solved. Remote rural living, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a subsistence economy, loss of hope, and lack of services helps to keep many families dependent upon hand-outs, malnourished, and uneducated. Currently, there are few real ways to generate funds at the village level to support anything other than subsistence living. Therefore, The Real Uganda has developed relationships with local communities to help provide start-up funds, knowledge, and motivation all necessary to solve their respective problems in a sustainable way.

About the Program

Do you like working outdoors and getting your hands dirty? Interested in seeing the impact of climate change in the tropics? Come volunteer at a local farm and help a community achieve food security and environmental sustainability.

Volunteers work along side Ugandans digging and maintaining demonstration gardens to promote better nutrition, efficient use of land, natural pest control, soil conservation, and income generation. Depending on the season, volunteers prepare soil, plant, weed, chase pests, or harvest crops. Volunteers are given basic training and appropriate tools upon arrival, but bring gloves, a hat, and rubber boots if you wish. This project requires working in the sun.

Volunteers are given a private room and meals in the family home of the host organization’s director. Electricity is intermittent and there is no running water. The farm is walking distance from home.

The farm produces food to feed the students of it's small primary school. Volunteers are invited to teach about environmental conservation or farming practices there. Volunteers may also just want to relax and have some fun with the kids. Sport, arts and crafts, and cultural exchange activities are highly encouraged.  

Activities

Volunteers in the Agriculture & Conservation Assistant program join in on the work of their host organization.

Volunteer activities may include a combination of the following seasonal activities:

  • land clearing and soil preparation;
  • planting maize, beans, fruit trees, and vegetables;
  • weeding gardens;
  • chasing pests; and
  • harvesting crops.

Volunteers are given basic training and appropriate tools upon arrival.


Typical day

Volunteers take part in a flexible schedule, which includes some or all activities offered by the program. Other activities such as primary school teaching, and art and sport programs are also happening. Volunteers are encouraged to dig in and try everything. The exchange of ideas, experiences, and ...

Typical day

Volunteers take part in a flexible schedule, which includes some or all activities offered by the program. Other activities such as primary school teaching, and art and sport programs are also happening. Volunteers are encouraged to dig in and try everything. The exchange of ideas, experiences, and culture is highly encouraged.

Typically, volunteers work in the gardens in the mornings and do random fun stuff at school in the afternoons.



Free-time activities

Uganda is a beautiful, peaceful, fun and very welcoming country. Volunteers can easily meet up on weekends to travel. Popular tourist activities in Uganda include wildlife safari, white water rafting and bungee jumping on the River Nile, chimpanzee and gorilla tracking, nature walks and forest ...

Free-time activities

Uganda is a beautiful, peaceful, fun and very welcoming country. Volunteers can easily meet up on weekends to travel. Popular tourist activities in Uganda include wildlife safari, white water rafting and bungee jumping on the River Nile, chimpanzee and gorilla tracking, nature walks and forest hikes. Volunteers are encouraged to see as much of the country as possible. Volunteers are provided with assistance in setting up tourist activities either before or after arrival.
The Real Uganda also encourages volunteers to visit each other at their respective program placements. We find volunteers learn more about grassroots development, locally led initiatives and themselves, the more they see and do while in Uganda. All volunteers are provided with contact information for each other before and after arrival.


Requirements

Requirements

Minimum Age: 18 years

In order to join the program you need to be at least 18 years old on the program start date. There might be exemptions if you can provide the permission of your legal guardian(s) or if your are accompanied by your parents.

Language Skills

You need to speak English (basic level)

Criminal Background Check

required

Nationality Restrictions

No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.

Other Skills

We require volunteers to be flexible, patient and able to work in the sun. We accept volunteers with a positive attitude and open mind toward cultural exchange.

Time Commitment

Your helping hand will be required on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 07:30 - 16:00

What's Included

What's Included

Services by The Real Uganda

Besides the Volunteer World commission, Our fees cover:

  • online support from me, while you prepare for Uganda
  • pickup at Entebbe International Airport
  • first night hotel stay
  • in-country orientation, again - with me
  • transportation to your placement
  • three meals of Ugandan food each day
  • secure accommodation
  • weekend volunteer guesthouse use
  • 24 hour supervision, and
  • a donation to the organization with which you are placed.

The fees do not cover airline tickets, travel insurance, tourist visa, vaccinations, drinking water, leisure activities, or medical services. But we're happy to help you make those arrangements.

Besides covering your basic expenses listed above, the program fees help to ensure our partner programs are able to do the work they wish to do in their communities. They also allow The Real Uganda to monitor partner progress, guide and advise current volunteers, and continuously seek new (appropriate) international volunteers for work in Uganda.

As a result, The Real Uganda is able to partner with effective social and economic development programs. Our volunteers are also well supported to maximize their impact.

Airport Pickup at Entebbe International Airport

They should fly into Entebbe International Airport. We have procedures for all arrival times and flights. Our driver collects our volunteers and brings them to our Mukono Town headquarters for orientation and placement. Mukono is about 2 hours drive from Entebbe. 1 week before volunteers leave home, they are given an email detailing their arrival and first few days in Uganda.

Accommodation

Volunteers are given a private, lockable room (often shared with another international volunteer) in the home of your host organization's director. Most homes have electricity, western toilets, and running water, although frequent outages do occur. Once a volunteer commits to join us, and a particular host program is selected, full details about location and accommodation are then provided. Bed linens and mosquito nets are provided, but bring a pillow as they're not commonly used in Uganda.

Food & Beverages

Volunteers receive 3 meals of local Ugandan food each day. Meals consist of matooke (mashed steamed banana), posho (corn meal), potatoes, and rice. They are generally served with peas, beans, groundnut sauce and (occasionally) beef or fish. Tea and bread is the usual for breakfast. Vegetarians and are welcome! Dairy products are rare. Volunteers can supplement their diets with locally bought fresh fruits and veg if they wish.


What's NOT included?

What's NOT included?

Internet Access

Sorry, no access at the project site

Flight Tickets

The nearest airport is Entebbe International Airport (EBB) in Entebbe. We assist you to find cheap flights to Uganda. FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS

Travel Insurance

Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - a travel insurance for Uganda provides security and is a plus to have. GET A QUOTE

Vaccines

If you are intending to volunteer in Uganda you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Uganda. VACCINE CHECKER

Details on arrival

Volunteers must arrive around the 1st or 15th of the month they start volunteering. 

Availability
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Program fees

2 weeks (min. stay) 979€
4 weeks 1,219€
6 weeks 1,579€
8 weeks 1,940€
10 weeks 2,301€
12 weeks (max. stay) 2,662€
Average fees 355€/week

Program fees

355€ per week 2 - 12 weeks Age 18 - 50+

Payment methods

Visa Master Card Maestro American Express PayPal

NO CREDIT CARD FEES


Duration

2 - 12 weeks

Deposit

The deposit is simply to reserve your volunteer placement. Payments are handled by PayPal, our trusted global payment provider. If you don't have a PayPal account, you can also pay using a credit card.


Final Payment

Your final payment will be agreed with The Real Uganda during the application process. Common solutions are either via bank transfer or a cash payment at the project site.


Meet your organization

The Real Uganda

Perfect 4.6 rating (24 reviews)

Non-profit - founded in 2005

Verified by Volunteer World

  Good response rate

Coordinated by

Leslie

About the project

The Real Uganda doesn't want to save Uganda, it wants to share Uganda with the world. We support Ugandan innovation and motivation.

Meet your organization

About The Real Uganda

The Real Uganda is an organization that sources funding and skills for selected locally led initiatives in south central and western Uganda. We respectfully support Ugandan innovation and motivation. We are a legally registered non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO), operating totally in Uganda, since January 2005. We place about 70 volunteers each year.

What we do

The Real Uganda recruits and places international volunteers with a number of schools and community based organizations around Uganda. Through our volunteer placement program, we aim to build the capacities of local organizations and raise awareness around the world about the successes and challenges of life in Uganda.

Many local organizations lack the money and skills to grow themselves. With our program in place, our partner organizations are overcoming some of the more serious challenges they face. These include: lack of money for operations (wages, office space, transport, training courses), lack of business skills (book keeping, marketing, strategy, grant writing), and lack of up to date knowledge (Counseling/mentoring skills, English language, HIV/AIDS and life skills information).

Many travelers wish to visit sub-Saharan Africa to find out what’s really happening on the ground. We offer a safe and family-like environment in which to come to Uganda, give your time, and experience some real culture. 

We offer pre-arrival support by answering your questions about Uganda and by finding an organization that best fits your skill and interest. We connect you to former and current volunteers working with us. We collect you from the airport, get you to your placement, and unravel some of the more complicated cultural issues you face when entering Uganda for the first time. It is not easy to come to a completely foreign culture on your own. We want to be there to give you encouragement, advice, and support in order for you to be the most effective while you are here.

Why we do it

While working with The Real Uganda, volunteers learn about the real situation at the grassroots level in Uganda. Life in Uganda is tough for everyone, not just HIV/AIDS patients, orphans and refugees. Wages are low, corruption is rampant, education is not universal. In spite of this, Ugandans are some of the most welcoming, friendly, and open people in Africa. Get prepared to experience Uganda in a deep and meaningful way. Volunteers become part of the family, learning about the local culture: how to cook, how to speak the language, how to sit peacefully with their neighbors and talk about life in general. We hope that volunteers take that knowledge home with them, spreading the word about Ugandan development issues and culture around the world.

Why choose The Real Uganda?

We’re local – Our offices, staff, and projects are located in Uganda. We are on the ground with encouragement and support to ensure your success.

We're experienced – Our volunteer coordinator is a Canadian, living in Uganda full-time, since 2004. We've hosted over 800 volunteers from all over the world.

We’re relevant – Our partner organizations are Ugandan run and engage in Ugandan led activities. Activities that help and develop real people and communities, on their terms.

We're specialized – We focus on Uganda and know it intimately. Our volunteers work at schools, in public health, on farms, and with women's empowerment groups.

24 reviews · rating4.6

Elena Motschilnig rating5

2023 at Agriculture & Conservation Assistant

My goal was to really see Uganda and not through the eyes of a tourist. I wanted to get to know people, see how they live, what their culture is like and help people. I was able to experience all these things as part of my volunteerwork. I am very grateful for that. I was allowed to work in ...
My first time traveling EVER was to volunteer with the real Uganda in Uganda and let me say how happy am i to have had this opportunity, at the age of 25 I was a bit nervous but ever so happy to just get out and see the world & different cultures and it's because of Leslie that my experience went so ...
Brittania Darrington rating4.6

2015 at Agriculture & Conservation Assistant

For about 2 years, I had been searching for a program that was sustainable and enveloped the culture itself - not a program that was built and modeled after western ideals. This was the program. As I focused on my sphere of influence, I was able to see the small impacts I was making by teaching ...
Nighttrain rating4.6

2013 at Agriculture & Conservation Assistant

I signed up for the “Agriculture and Conservation Project” but my volunteering was not as straightforward as picking up a shovel and being shown what to do. I was given time with another volunteer to brainstorm on things we could improve at our designated school. We formed dozens of ideas for ...
We worked in the Organic Farming project. We dug and maintained demonstration gardens that were used to feed the children and staff (and us!) at the school. It was awesome to see how big the beans we planted in the first few days were by the time we left – our first day there, there were only ...
Joana Brümmer rating5

2022 at Public Health Educator

I volunteered with The Real Uganda for 12 weeks in 2 different projects, in a public health project and in an agriculture project. I gained a lot of different experiences for myself. I lived in each project with a ugandan family. Both of them were so lovely and welcomed me warmly. The organization ...

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