To help you pursue a second career or your heart’s desire while immersing yourself in the rich educational environment, we expect all volunteers to have a love for the outdoors, independence, a capacity to focus, leadership skills, and dedication to a cause.

We aim to preserve all aspects of the African Heritage whose values, which stem from the symbolic place where all humanity began, can contribute immensely to the survival of our planet and the cultural aspects and traditional arts of its people.

GMF VOLUNTEER POLICY AND REQUIREMENTS

Please click here to download Volunteer Application Form

All volunteers are required to fill in the Volunteer Application Form and send email it to education@gallmannkenya.co.ke. We will also require a resumé of all your past education, work and volunteer experience. Please be sure to mention all your talents, skills and hobbies.

Additionally, we will require at least two references, one preferably from an academic work point of view and the other on a more informal. It is very important to be clear and concise.

Please send a cover letter with details of why you wish to volunteer on Ol Ari Nyiro. Please be clear about your field of interest and your aspirations for your volunteer period on the estate. Please mention the period you are interested in visiting and for how long.

All volunteers that visit the estate are expected to be fully self-contained in every aspect of their stay on the estate. We, therefore, recommend finding independent financing or grant support before you plan a visit.

We have sponsorship programs for Kenyan citizens only. All other applicants will be held responsible for their own funding. Transportation should also be included in the above planning. Hire of vehicles on a short term or long term basis is easy to organize. We can help with this information if necessary.

RESERVATIONS AND PAYMENT

Reservations can be made through our office in Laikipia, Kenya, which will provide you with banking details, available dates and a quotation.

Please contact the Education Officer at:
Email: education@gallmannkenya.co.ke
Web: www.gallmannkenya.org
Tel: +254 352 493 or +254 733 536 324

Settlement is due one month, 30 days, before arrival. Please contact our reservations office for payment details and any other enquiries. Cancellation: Cancellation fees are 20% up to 30 days and 100% after 30 days before arrival.

About Volunteering at GMF

LOCATION:

As a volunteer you will be staying in a unique refuge situated on Ol Ari Nyiro, (Place of Dark Waters in Maasai) a 100,000 acre private wildlife reserve and nature conservancy that overlooks the spectacular Great Rift Valley on the extreme west of Kenya’s Laikipia region.

Transportation to the conservancy can either by plane tour private airstrip or by car. The distance from Nairobi is 300km or about an hour in the air. Costs vary so inquiry at booking.

Laikipia Nature Conservancy is surrounded by different tribal people, Pokot, Tugen, Njemps, Samburu, Turkana and Kikuyu. We are actively involved in supporting these communities through providing healthcare facilities, building schools, bursaries, sponsorship to bright needy students, providing free environmental education to our to local schools, providing rainwater harvesting systems to schools and communities among others. Working/teaching at our kids nursery and local schools and participation in other local projects is organised for volunteers.

In our busy volunteer time (June - August) we define activities in which volunteer groups can make a significant contribution, these activities are sometimes more ‘manual’ than ‘skilled’ in nature. Please do understand that as a working conservancy, urgent and unforeseen issues sometimes emerge which require our immediate attention and priority.

Some of our On-Going Projects

1. Community Projects

Laikipia Nature Conservancy is surrounded by different tribal communities, Pokot, Tugen, Njemps, Samburu, Turkana and Kikuyu. We are actively involved in supporting these communities through providing healthcare facilities, building schools, bursaries, sponsorship, providing free environmental education to our to local schools, providing rainwater harvesting systems to schools and communities.

• 1.1: Teaching opportunities include teaching at the local primary or nursery school, teaching on the women’s literacy program for the Pokot community, conducting a drama or art project in a local school, participating in our environmental education program.


• 1.2 Healthcare opportunities include assisting at our women’s clinic or volunteering with the local mission clinic. If your visit coincides with one of our surgenon’s visits you will be able to assist with these missions. If you are a trained healthcare professional and would like to conduct a specific project, please do let us know.


• 1.3 Income generation activities- we try to provide alternative income generation activities where possible for communities. Please enquire at time of application about current activities such as bee-keeping, crafts or eco-charcoal or essential oil making. If you have a micro-finance or craft idea for which you have a budget and plan, please do inform us and we will see if we can help you undertake it.

2. Biodiversity Projects

Depending on time/ season of volunteering, we may have a biodiversity study on-going. This could include identifying and cataloguing birds, bats, insects, or becoming involved in one of our ethno-botany projects.

3. Forestry

We have a reforestation project which includes community involvement and outgrowers schemes. Please inquire at time of application if you would like to be involved in this project.

4. The Great Rift Valley Earth Festival

See gallmannkenya.org/earth for updates.

The Great Rift Valley Trust aims to creatively heal the divisions between cultures and between people and nature by bringing together exceptional artists from all continents and cultures to humanity’s common cradle, the Great Rift Valley.

In its quest to nurture cross-cultural and cross-generational inspiration based on the ancient elements of earth, water, air and fire, the Trust continues to highlight and promote humanity’s link with nature and our obligation to the environment for sustainable progress.

In conjunction with the Gallmann Memorial Foundation, through the annual production of the ‘Great Rift Valley Earth Festival Event’ in February each year, we continue to advocate for decisive action in promoting and influencing policies and activities that will protect, conserve and manage the environment and natural resources, in a sustainable manner, while at the same time curbing climate change, improving living standards and promoting peace and tolerance among communities.

Planning such a major and magnificent event requires a lot of support and here we welcome both local and international volunteers to help and be part of the process. Many different types of expertees are sought for this.

5. The Laikipia Highlands Games (Sports for peace)

A new annual sporting initiative has been founded by the Gallmann Memorial Foundation. The initiative aims to use the fundamental values of sport and play in fostering goodwill among communities, build relations, bridge divisions and contribute to improving the living conditions of youth across the tribal divide, by harnessing the natural competitive spirit of youth and the recognized high potential of the Kenyan highland athletes.

Volunteers help and support is required for organizing this event. The event gives opportunity to overseas community to interact with and be part of the true and real African culture.

These are but some of the projects. Check with us on anything going on at the time of your planned visit and the date for the beginning of our Summer course.

We do of course welcome independent ideas, however these have to be funded externally to the Conservancy. We hope to be able to have you working with us to protect the magical environment of this part of Africa.