This project offers you the chance to work on enrichment with captive orangutans and sun bears at the world renowned Samboja Lestari rescue centre.
Samboja Lestari is an area of restored tropical rainforest near the city of Balikipapan in East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. Established by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS), the 2,000-hectare orangutan sanctuary here was created with the aim of providing a safe haven for rehabilitated orangutans, whilst at the same time providing a source of income for local people.
Since 2001, the surrounding area has been planted with more than a million trees covering more than 1000 different species. With the growth of the forest, the density and diversity of wildlife returned. So far 137 bird species and nine primate species have been recorded.
Several Forest Schools built here provide natural, educational playgrounds for the orangutans in which to learn forest skills before hopefully being able to be released into the wild. Many orangutan islands have been created to accommodate orangutans suffering from disabilities which prevent them from ever being released into the wild, and some are also used to prepare suitable orangutans for release! What's more, there is an area designated solely to house a population of over 50 sun bears and volunteers spend time working with the bears too.
Your work as a volunteer on this project will be to help rehabilitate these orangutans and sun bears and assist with enrichment, husbandry and general sanctuary upkeep. Each year since 2012 orangutans have been able to be released by the foundation and your work as a volunteer will help ensure more orangutans can continue to be released back into their natural forest home.
Your main activities whilst volunteering with orangutans at Samboja include husbandry, enrichment, forest plantation, maintenance and construction work for both the orangutans and the sun bears resident here. You will be treated as pseudo-staff whilst on the project, meaning full participation in all of the centre's work.
Please note your itinerary will depend on the requirements of the project and is subject to last minute changes due to weather or ground conditions.
Below is a sample typical two-week itinerary, however, if you are joining the project for a one week duration, please click here to view an example of a 7-night itinerary.
To secure a place on this project a deposit of £195 is required at the time of booking, with the remaining balance due any time up to 60 days prior to your start date.
Select a duration below to see the available start dates. All dates shown are currently available for you to join this project but please be aware the project only runs between March and October.
At the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Sanctuary, one of Indonesia's most prestigious and renowned orangutan rehabilitation and rescue centres, and one of the main focal points of BOS F ('The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation'), the emphasis is on the rehabilitation and release of orangutans, many of whom were rescued from atrocious situations. The overriding goal is to reintroduce orangutans back to secure natural habitats in order to establish new viable long-term populations to bolster the conservation of the species in the wild. A number of orangutans have been already been successfully released by BOS F so please keep an eye on our blog for any further release stories. Every year since 2012 the team at the sanctuary have been able to release orangutans back into the wild, and the help that volunteers provide in helping the sanctuary to run is crucial to this process.
Sadly, some of the orangutan residents here cannot ever be released back into the wild because of injury or illness. For these orangutans, the sanctuary provides them with a safe haven where they can live out the rest of their lives away from the threat of deforestation and human destruction.
The sanctuary also includes a large area put aside for the 50 + sun bears living here. These bears have all been rescued from the illegal pet trade or from areas of major deforestation.
We have a wonderful weekend update for you today - the team at Samboja Lestari are happy to announce the opening of their brand-new sun bear enrichment area! See how the team (and our volunteers!) worked to create this exciting new area for the sanctuary's adorable animals by checking out today's blog post.
Remember Josh the orphaned baby Orangutan from last year? We have an update on how he has been getting on!
We have received updates from the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Project in Borneo about what the volunteers have helped achieve whilst out there. Take a look!
Accommodation during your time at Samboja will be within twin-share rooms at the Samboja Ecolodge where all of the interior and exterior walls are built out of recycled materials! Each room comes equipped with fully working air conditioning, mosquito nets and an en-suite bathroom with cold water and a western-style toilet. Please don’t worry about being too cold in the shower - as it is very hot and humid here all year round, you will most likely welcome the respite!
You will have three meals per day provided for you whilst on this project. Breakfast is a variety of cereals, eggs and rice/noodle dishes alongside fruit and fresh fruit juice. Lunches and dinners typically consist of noodles or rice with chicken, seafood, mutton or beef and vegetables. Tofu and Soy bean dishes are also provided for vegetarians. Each meal is a buffet.
The construction work undertaken on this project will involve physical labour, often in humid conditions, and so this requires a moderate level of fitness. The other tasks however are not particularly physically strenuous, but a fair level of fitness is advised. No specific skills or experience are required, just a commitment to the project and its aims, a passion for wildlife conservation, an ability to work as a team and an upbeat, positive attitude.
To volunteer here you must have Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B Vaccinations, as well as an HIV and HCV test (to check for Hepatitis C) before arrival. A chest x-ray or skin test will need to be provided to prove that you do not have TB. Alternatively, if you have previously had a BCG injection and can provide proof of this, that will also suffice. Please can you either email a scanned copy of your vaccinations card and test results to info@thegreatprojects.com or upload them to your project account as soon as they have been completed.
This is ESSENTIAL, as without the above you will not be granted access to the volunteer areas on sites.
We are often asked whether or not volunteers will have the chance to touch or play with the orangutans whilst on this project. Our answer to this question is, and will always be no, and this is for good reason.
Orangutans are highly susceptible to human diseases and something as minor as the common cold can prove fatal to these Great Apes. Also an environment of constant change, with new volunteers going to the project every two or four weeks and being in contact with the orangutans would be very detrimental to the Orangutans wellbeing. With no consistency in their lives behavioural problems arise. They also have a tendency to begin to trust humans which is damaging should they be released back into the wild, as they will become easy targets for poachers. Finally, an orangutan is around 7 times stronger than an adult male human so a no contact policy is just as crucial for your wellbeing as orangutan welfare.
That is not to say that as a volunteer you will have no interaction with the orangutans, it simply means that you will have no direct contact with them. You will still observe them on a daily basis and see how your contribution to their husbandry and enrichment makes a real difference in these great apes’ lives. For more information please view our article on hands on contact with orangutans here
The project runs between March and October, avoiding the rainy season and as this project is based at a rehabilitation sanctuary there are orangutans and sun bears here year round, so there is no real preferred time to volunteer.
You need to fly into Balikpapan on the project start date between 9am - 5pm. Most volunteers travelling to the project will need to stop and change via Jakarta international airport (Soekarno-Hatta International Airport). There are numerous daily flights departing Jakarta for Balikpapan (Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport). Once in Balikpapan, you will be met by a project representative who will then transfer you to Samboja. This drive takes approximately one hour.
Please note that if you arrive a day early, you will need to stay at a hotel in Balikpapan. Please let us know if you would like any suggestions.
If you would like help booking your flights, please visit our flights page and fill out the form. A member of our team will get back in touch as soon as possible with a suitable quote.
Your passport must be valid for a minimum period of six months from the date of entry into Indonesia. Entry to Indonesia will be refused and airlines may not carry passengers holding passports with less than six months validity. You are required to retain your arrival card for presentation to Immigration upon your departure.
In order to join this project, you will need a tourist visa. You will be able to get one of these on arrival into Indonesia, but please note you may have to pay for this on arrival. The cost is currently $35 for a 30-day visa.
If you plan to stay longer than 30 days in Indonesia, you will need to either get the 30 visa on arrival and then visit an embassy in Indonesia before your 30 days are up to extend it for a further 30 days, or arrange a 60 day social/cultural visa in advance(you will need documents from the project to support your application for this option). The cost for the 60-day visa can vary depending on which Indonesian embassy you are applying through.
We do advise that volunteers should check here to see if there are any specific requirements for their country of residence.
The currency of Indonesia is the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). As of January 2018, the exchange rate was roughly £1 to IDR 17,500. Please note that this is likely to fluctuate, so it is best to check XE's website for the most up to date exchange rates.
We never expected to be so close to the animals, so regularly. Every time I looked into an orangutan's eyes, it melted my heart. The experience was out of this world - even greater than we ever imagined!
Deborah Griffiths, 2018
My recent visit to Samboja Lestari was my second time to this amazing project. For me personally, spending time with the Orangutans is something that can’t be explained, it needs to be experienced. From start to finish Kate, Wik and Sam make sure your days are full of varying activities and make you feel so welcome. All their support staff both at the lodge and at work are so friendly and helpful. There is a special magic at Samboja that keeps you going back for more. It’s like a home away from home. I can’t recommend this trip highly enough. I’m already looking to go back for a third time!!!
Caroline Pasovsky, 2018
Putting up a hammock we had spent time making in the week for the baby house and then seeing a baby orangutan playing and laughing - very happy with their new hammock! I had an amazing time - again! I'll be going back again and again!
Holly Dibden, 2018
My favourite moment was going on the boat with the keepers to feed the orangutans on the island, it was incredible to see the orangutans so close. And also all the people I met on the project, I have such good memories just from the time spent with them!
Kate Mornard, 2018
Like for many other volunteers, my most quiet and moving moments came when I was watching Jonas the orangutan. When Jonas looks you in the eye, he puts life's 'Big Questions' to you!
Philip Mason, 2018
Watching the orangutans with the enrichment we made is always special. It was fantastic! This was my second trip and I will go again and again and again...
Cathy Page, 2018
Kate was brilliant. Her energy and enthusiasm brought our group of strangers together to make a real team and forge new friendships I will never forget. The structure of the programme is top notch with balance on hard work, orangutan time and rest time. Loved every minute... even the digging in the rain! Hope to make it back again in the next few years.
Tanya Petrovic, 2018
I did three volunteering projects between September-December 2017 and this was absolutely my favourite one! Everything about the project is fantastic! The coordinator, Kate, is great, as are the other members of staff - including Wik and Sam - and the staff at the lodge are so friendly. The project is really well organised with a perfect balance of hard graft and downtime. I honestly couldn't pick just one favourite moment; every close encounter with the orangutans and sun bears was incredible. The project work was really varied which was great and the other volunteers were fantastic.
Philippa Cole, 2018
This trip was amazing - on hearing the jungle sounds and the Orangutans for the first time, through to the last evening where we were all moved to tears watching project videos, seeing the passion and dedication of the staff, and feeling a real sense of achievement for the work we had been involved with.
Sarah Dugmore , 2018
The first time I look in the eyes of an orangutan it was a very emotional moment for me. I remember very well what was in my mind in that particular moment: orangutans are like us but pure. I was amazed by the people working there and the coordination of Kate together with Sam and Wik!
Sebastien Durelli, 2017
It was fantastic getting to see the individual personalities of all the orangutans. Loved every minute of it! We were also lucky enough to be there when 10 orangutans were heading off to a new forest school that would put them one step away from being released.
Kerry Gourley, 2017
I loved everything! I guess if I had to pick one moment it was being so close up to an orangutan for the first time, looking into his eyes and being overwhelmed by the wisdom he seemed to have. The project is one of the best things I've ever done in my life.
Sarah Gillett, 2017
Whatever task it was, I found myself being immersed by this tremendous urge to be involved with all my heart and soul. You can’t help that…. You hear the sounds of the orangs constantly calling out. You become part of this wondrous move to save the now critically endangered orangutan which I will always be involved with – I will go back again. I urge you to do the same. It’s life changing!
Sharon Lynne (Tevet), 2017
It is hard to choose just one favourite moment as the whole stay was just a wonderful and enriching experience. Being able to spend so much time observing the orang-utans and helping to make their life at Samboja as natural as possible in a group of like-minded people has been one of the best experiences ever. I would like to give a big thank you to everyone at the Great Projects from the staff here in the UK and particularly to Kate and her team on location. Kate is an incredible person and plays a big role in making this such an amazing experience.
Marion Franke, 2017
The memory that will stay with me forever is connecting with a 4-year-old orangutan named Choccie. She had been rescued following a machete attack the previous year.
Simone Harris, 2017
Probably seeing the orangutans on the islands from the small boat, but everything was excellent. Also, the boat trip down the black river was brilliant! Kate Sam and Wiwik were excellent. they work so hard, are so motivational and great fun, always smiling!
Katherine Spooner, 2017
The volunteer coordinator and all the others working on the project were amazing and do a fantastic job of making you feel welcome. Couldn't have asked for any more than they gave.
Kelly Pring, 2017
If you have any questions about this project or would like help finding the perfect project for you then please feel free to give us a call or send us through your enquiry and we will be happy to help.
Nikita & team.
