Have you ever dreamed of getting involved in a real conservation project to save orangutans? Well, the Great Orangutan Project is your chance to do just that. As part of a long-term rehabilitation and release project in Borneo, you will get the amazing opportunity to work with orangutan, and other animals such as sunbears and primates - looking after them and enriching their lives in the centre and during the rehabilitation process.

The work is physical and rewarding, educative and fun. This is a true conservation project and it is all funded by your contributions. Orangutans have a good quality of life and are being released thanks to your time, money and dedication. Read the Testimonials page to see what former volunteers have said.

Preparing food enrichment for the orangutans. The orangutans have to use mental and physical skills to obtain the food inside, keeping them occupied and teaching them useful behaviours for eventual release.

In this 2 or 4 week project you will be involved in building infrastructure, feeding, enriching, and rehabilitating orangutans so that eventually new populations can be formed throughout the area. On this placement, you will spend your time working physically hard in a wildlife centre that needs your help to make a difference whilst learning more about the realities of wildlife conservation and getting up close to orangutans and other animals as well such as sunbears, bearcats, crocodiles, deer, and other primates. You make a difference, because the enrichment programme helps rehabilitated orangutans move one step closer to living an independent life in the wild. The work you do is very important for the rehabilitation.

You get a well-rounded experience of conservation as there is also a lot of work with other animal species that arrive at the centre. This is because you will work at the only rescue centre for the State of Sarawak, an area the size of England! You make a difference, because you care enough to make a difference for orangutan.

Please note that you will not get to touch orangutans because of diseases that can pass between man and ape, and because we want to release them back into the wild - human contact makes a successful release much more difficult. As beautiful and cuddly as orangutans seem on TV, they should be free to roam wild in the forests and you can help them the most by participating in their rehabilitation and release. Have a look at our Reality Check page to understand the project better.

You can expect some physical work such as carrying wood into the rainforest to build bridges, ranger stations and feeding platforms for the rehabilitant orangutans.

Many people really like working beside tribal communities in the centre and living the rainforest lifestyle. Everyday you wake up surronded by beautiful rainforest with all the noises you would expect from living in a community in the jungle. Your money helps to maintain all this and give local people employment.

This project is a partnership between conservationists, local tribal communities, Malaysian zoos, and rehabilitation and release centres (run by Sarawak Forestry) in Borneo, that allows members of the public the unique opportunity to work closely (but not touching) as volunteers with orangutans. Money raised from the project goes towards releasing orangutans into the wild or semi-wild, and improving their lives wherever possible.

A responsible travel and conservation company, called WOX, firstly administers the booking, logistics and customer service to take the stress of travelling to the project away from you, so that you can concentrate your time and efforts on helping the animals and our team. Secondly, WOX provides facilitators to each of its project that helps supervise volunteers to work as a team on the ground in conservation projects. All our conservation team and facilitators are fully employed by WOX. And you will find WOX is both a UK based and Malaysian based company.

With experts forecasting the total extinction of wild populations within the next 20-30 years, it is extremely important to establish new safe populations and safeguard the future of existing ones. Borneo is an island that is divided between 3 countries; Indonesia with 4/5th of the land surface, Malaysia with approximately a fifth and Brunei with a small fraction. Indonesia is facing major environmental meltdown which makes conservation an uphill battle, but Malaysia is relatively well protected and large area, with a genuinely good prospect for the survival of the orangutan. This is why the Great Orangutan Project is working here with the authorities and local communities, and it is here that you will be able to volunteer.

Aman surveying his kingdom - thanks to volunteers.

Welcome to the Great Orangutan Project where...You make a difference.

Volunteer experience in a nutshell:

• Spend either 2 or 4 weeks assisting primate experts and conservationists in enrichment and rehabilitation of the resident orangutans at our wildlife centre and leave a legacy to the continued survival of this magnificent great ape.
• Get up close and personal with orangutans, sunbears, bearcats, primates, and other species going behind the scenes for a hands-off discovery. Understand the science behind the conservation effort and contribute to it. Learn about orangutan conservation, understand their behaviour and forge bonds with these great apes. See directly where your money is spent, keeping the wildlife centre open for orangutans and other animals to be rehabilitated from captivity. Please note that direct contact with orangutans is not permitted as they are being rehabilitated for release and humanisation is counter-productive.
• Excellent travel service is provided, you'll be safe and secure with volunteer coordinators at easy reach at each step of the way. We take care of all travelling from start date of programme so you spend your attention on the work at hand.
• Safety is paramount. We make all efforts to ensure your placement is a safe haven for you with volunteer coordinators provided at each stage of your journey. Also included is private and escorted transportation, safe and clean accommodation, health and safety checks, reliable operators and staff, 24 hour telephone help line, and emergency procedures in place.
• Experience a deep involvement in the local surrounding, a new way of life in Sarawak Malaysian Borneo’s jungle rainforest and river towns, some of us have made Sarawak our second home.
• Join an international community of past volunteers who have shared a memorable life changing experience while working to improve the quality of life of orangutans in Sarawak.
• Have fun working with a team of like-minded people from all walks of life deep in the heart of the Borneo jungle. Volunteers find they make life long friends on our programmes. It’s a journey of self exploration. This time you travel, you’re going home different.