• Life On Land

Wild animal rescue centre

location
2 - 10 weeks  ·  Age 17 - 50+
rating  Outstanding 4.9  · 
  Verified by Volunteer World
  Good response rate

Highlights

  • Learn how to care for wild animals !
  • A community based and exciting project !
  • Live life in the mayan tropical rainforest !
  • A visit to the local Tikal Mayan ruins included
  • Share unforgettable moments with our international volunteers

Especially good for

Age 17+
Singles
Couples
Groups
50+

About the program

Our refuge for wild animals receives sick and injured wild animals often victims of poaching or deforestation in Guatemala. Help us protect them and look after them.

Care for wild animals in the mayan rain forest. Care for their well-being, feed them and help with their rehabilitation and reintroduction into the wild. Our refuge is home to mistreated animals who were victims of poaching and aimed to be sold in the black market or suffered from deforestation and ...

About the program

Care for wild animals in the mayan rain forest. Care for their well-being, feed them and help with their rehabilitation and reintroduction into the wild. Our refuge is home to mistreated animals who were victims of poaching and aimed to be sold in the black market or suffered from deforestation and growing tourism.

During this project, volunteers have the opportunity to take care of wild and exotic species. Scarlet macaws, starchy parrots, kinkajous, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, peccaries, coatis, margays, jaguars, etc. In the wild animal refuge volunteers are in charge of feeding the animals, caring for them and making they environment and cages as fun and natural as possible (by building perches, repairing cages or putting up ropes etc). You will also have to clean their cages and the equipment used. 

In addition to the daily food and animal care, you may be participating in other activities. It could the implementation of educational activities for the local community or tourists or if your lucky the release of the wild animals back into the wild. 

Volunteers must adapt their schedules and their behaviours to meet the needs of the refuge and the animals.

Typical day

6am was up call to prepare animal food 

6h30 feed the animals and clean cages

9am breakfast

10am cage maintenance and animal husbandry

12 - 15pm Lunch, naps and free time (there is a lake near by for swimming and hammocks for napping) 

15 - 18 pm  feeding, cleaning and animal husbandry

19pm dinner ...

Typical day

6am was up call to prepare animal food 

6h30 feed the animals and clean cages

9am breakfast

10am cage maintenance and animal husbandry

12 - 15pm Lunch, naps and free time (there is a lake near by for swimming and hammocks for napping) 

15 - 18 pm  feeding, cleaning and animal husbandry

19pm dinner time

Free-time activities

Swimming in the near by lake, canoeing though the mangroves, visiting the local town of Flores, visiting the Tikal pyramids on a two day trip included in the price of your project

Free-time activities

Swimming in the near by lake, canoeing though the mangroves, visiting the local town of Flores, visiting the Tikal pyramids on a two day trip included in the price of your project

Requirements

Requirements

Minimum Age: 17 years

In order to join the program you need to be at least 17 years old on the program start date.

Language Skills

You need to speak English (basic level) or Spanish (basic level)

Nationality Restrictions

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

Time Commitment

Your helping hand will be required on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 06:00 - 19:00

What's Included

What's Included

Services by LifeTime Projects

Your contribution includes the following costs:

  • Your LifeTime Projects membership (mandatory);
  • A personalized and quality project;
  • Personalized preparations for the departure;
  • Organization and supervision of your project 24/7;
  • Transfer from the airport of Flores to your accommodation;
  • Accomodation in volunteer lodge;
  • Food (three meals a day);
  • Medical and liability insurance;
  • A trip to the Tikal Mayan ruins (hotel, bilingual guide and two meals included)

Flights to Flores and entrance to the Tikal ruins (around 30 dollars) not included

Airport Pickup at Santa Elena Airport

We pick you up from Flores airport on weekdays (at the time of your arrival whether that be morning or evening). If you arrive on a weekend a taxi  service will pick you up at the airport and bring you to the refuge. 

Accommodation

Dorm rooms are basic and shared accommodation. You will be sharing with 4 to 6 volunteers on bunk beds. Mosquito nets are included. Electricity and running water are always available. 

Food & Beverages

Three meals a day

Please note the Guatemalans tend to eat less and sometimes volunteers feel there is not enough food to go round. Please bring snack and cereal bars with you in case meals are not wholesome enough for you. 

Internet Access

Limited access at the project site

What's NOT included?

What's NOT included?

Flight Tickets

The nearest airport is Santa Elena Airport (FRS) in Flores. We assist you to find cheap flights to Guatemala. 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 Guatemala provides security and is a plus to have. GET A QUOTE

Vaccines

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

Details on arrival

You can arrive at any time or day but preferably on a week day when our team is on call to pick you up from the airport. If you arrive at the weekend we will arrange for a taxi to pick you up. We organise your transfer from Flores Airport to our project about 40 min away by land and boat. 

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

Program fees

2 weeks (min. stay) 1,096€
3 weeks 1,326€
4 weeks 1,551€
5 weeks 1,773€
9 weeks 2,616€
10 weeks (max. stay) 2,828€
Average fees 415€/week

Program fees

415€ per week 2 - 10 weeks Age 17 - 50+

Payment methods

Visa Master Card Maestro American Express PayPal

NO CREDIT CARD FEES

Duration

2 - 10 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 LifeTime Projects during the application process. Common solutions are either via bank transfer or a cash payment at the project site.

Meet your organization

LifeTime Projects

Outstanding 4.9 rating (9 reviews)

Non-profit - founded in 2014

Verified by Volunteer World

  Good response rate

Coordinated by

Laetitia

Spoken languages: English, French, Spanish

About the project

We believe that the best way to discover a new culture is through working on a social project with the local population and living their daily life with them.

Meet your organization

LifeTime Projects is a French based non profit organisation. 

We work in the following fields : 
 - Child protection
 - Women's rights
 - The protection of the environment and animal welfare 
 - Eco citizenship

In the following countries : 
- Bolivia
- Cameroun
- Colombia
- Guatemala
- England
- France 

We believe in : 

Living in total immersion in the country you visit 
By discovering the world with LifeTime Projects, you will experience unforgettable moments. Whether during your mission, with your host family or with the people you meet, you will discover the culture and traditions of a country directly. Thanks to this complete immersion in the life of the country, and having built a project with the locals, you will return with a real knowledge of the local culture.

Take part in concrete actions
Do you have difficulty measuring the impact of good deed ? The best way to measure the usefulness of your actions is to carry them out directly, in the field! That is why LifeTime Projects supports you in the design and organization of your humanitarian mission or gap year in total immersion.

Change your world view, make a difference
Our humanitarian and ecological missions are designed to have a maximum impact, not only locally but also on the volunteer who will return to his or her daily life enriched by a new perspective on the world.
We act where people need us most and where our presence is most wanted. You will come back with the feeling that you have made a difference and made your contribution to a more understanding world. We believe we all have a lot to learn fro each other and putting different cultures together is enriching and strengthening for all. 

Your footprint
We hope to leave our mark, that of sharing, love and mutual respect, in the hearts of the people we meet and work with (note that our organization is independent of any political party and religious organization).
Whether in Cameroon, Bolivia, Guatemala, Colombia, France or England, discovering the world allows a better understanding of its challenges. What seems distant from France takes a whole new dimension before, during and after the experience of a mission with LifeTime Projects.
Participating in an international development mission with LifeTime Projects also means contributing to sustainable development by helping people and changing their view of the world. 

9 reviews · rating4.9

Paula Zivić rating5

2023 at Eco citizenship

I spent 3,5 weeks in Rincon del mar with LifeTimeProjects. I got to experience so many different things and i am so grateful for that time. Not only did I feel unbelievable safe but Rincon is beautiful itself :) Manon, the project leader is super nice and helped me alot with understanding the ...
Matthew Grady rating3.8

2022 at Eco citizenship

This was my first time volunteering so I don’t have much to compare it to. I spent six weeks in Rincón del Mar and I would recommend it to anyone. It is possibly the safest I have ever felt anywhere in the world. I signed up for four weeks and ended up staying for an extra two (the more time you ...
Google Translator: I really enjoyed my experience with LifeTime Projects! I went to Yaoundé, Cameroon, for 3 months on the project Impuls'Her Projects. I gave entrepreneurship, literacy and computer lessons to young Cameroonian women in orphanages and reception centers. I was very well accompanied ...
Christine Horville rating5

2019 at Creative workshops and cultural exchange

Google Translator: This year I joined the LifeTime Projects Association to go to Cameroon and share my time and knowledge with orphans and women of the Impuls'Her project. LifeTime Projects invests in several orphanages in Cameroon, in the capital Yaoundé. They welcome children from birth to ...
Google Translator: I have participated in a current socio-cultural project in Rincon del Mar, a town located on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, through intensive action in workshops and activities related to art, culture and the environment. I had the opportunity to teach and / or share my ...
Christine Broad rating5

2018 at Creative workshops and cultural exchange

How to help Atta ‘s women improve their autonomy Six Atta women were trained in organic palm oil soap making, to produce and sell soap on markets and earn money to allow their daughters to go to school. The whole village ( women , school , Church ) was informed ( Phast méthod ) on how to ...

Location

Americas > Central America > Guatemala > Flores

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Volunteer Abroad  >  Animals  >  Wildlife Conservation in Guatemala
Contact Laetitia
  Good response rate
English, French, Spanish

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