Borneo Wildlife Safari & Volunteering Experience

Experience the goodness of living amidst nature and get closer to the wildlife in Borneo!

Volunteering Solutions has curated an amazing & affordable Wildlife Volunteering Program in Borneo, Malaysia, which will enable you to experience the goodness of local living, apart from contributing meaningfully towards the conservation of the flora & fauna.

As a volunteer, you’ll get to live amidst the mysterious Borneo Rainforests and work at the region located along the Lower Kinabatangan River. This wildlife sanctuary is home to singing gibbons, orangutans, proboscis monkeys, sun bears, hornbills and the pygmy elephant as well as a host of other rarely seen wildlife.

The main part of the project will be in Sukau village and you will live among the gentle Orang Sungai or ‘People of the River’ learning their ways of life and joining them in their homes for meals. You will contribute significantly towards habitat restoration work by planting trees and maintaining planting sites important for orangutans and pygmy elephants.

A perfect program for wildlife and nature enthusiasts, one can have a meaningful learning experience as well. It’ll be an opportunity for you to get closer to nature, and observe the little things that tourists often tend to miss out.

Want to see other ways to make an impact? Check out our Volunteer in Asia programs.

Volunteer Roles & Responsibilities

In a span of 12 days, this project will let you have an insight into the lives of the people as well as observe the animals closely. As a part of this program, you’ll get to play a significant role in the following areas:

Wildlife Population Observation – This entails cruising along the river to observe the endangered wildlife roaming the forest along the river banks. A lot of time is spent observing wildlife and their habitat. This will be done from a boat cruising along the main river and its tributaries within the wildlife sanctuary.

Habitat Restoration – The most crucial activity in ensuring the survival of wildlife. You will take part in tree-planting, nursery care, and seedling generation, sapling maintenance, mulching, composting, clearing invasive species and tree growth data recording.

Community Development – This involves the development of a continuous project with the community of a local village. You will learn some skills required for their daily livelihood upgradation and maybe assist them as well.

Jungle Trekking – As an introduction to the flora and fauna of the rainforest, you will go for a trek to understand what the rainforest traditionally offers the inhabitants in terms of medication, food & survival.

Cultural & Community Interaction – Contributing back to the community is a big part of this project. Most lunch and dinners will be in the private homes of individual villagers. You may get to hear about their daily lives, chat with the children, learn their family structure and see how the Orang Sungai have been living off the rivers and jungles for centuries.

Note: Not all activities will be included on your itinerary. Changes to the activities will occur subject to weather conditions, school calendar, community and project requirements.

Requirements & eligibility

Volunteers must be 18 years or older at the time of joining the project. You need to have an open mind and a flexible attitude for working in a new and different environment. The volunteer should bring energy and enthusiasm to make a difference. Participants must be fit and healthy at the time of joining the program.