Volunteer in Sri Lanka 2026

Immerse yourself in Sri Lanka’s history and Buddhist traditions while discovering how people here live, celebrate and connect. You will visit landmarks such as the Temple of the Tooth, learn about mythology and religion, and gain a clearer sense of the country’s past and present. Practical language sessions and insider tips help you feel confident navigating markets, buses and daily life in Kandy.

You will also experience Sri Lanka through the senses: food tastings, a cooking class, local markets, a traditional Ayurvedic massage and a Kandyan dance lesson all bring the culture to life. Creative sessions such as handicrafts, lantern making and Batik design let you make something personal to take home. Throughout the week, you will explore Kandy’s viewpoints, lakeside paths and quiet corners that most short-term visitors never see.

Schedule

Monday Document collection, welcome talk and a relaxed introduction to the week, the local area and essential cultural tips. Visit a spice garden for a guided walk and lunch, then unwind with an Ayurvedic massage and a stop at a nearby tea factory for a tour and tastings.

Tuesday Explore the local market and discover everyday Sri Lankan ingredients before joining a hands- on cooking lesson. Learn more about history and culture in an afternoon session, craft your own colorful lantern and end the day with a visit to a nearby temple.

Wednesday Get an introduction to Buddhism followed by a guided meditation session. Taste a variety of local snacks and dishes, then start a Sri Lankan handicraft workshop where you begin work on your own handmade pieces.

Thursday Visit the Temple of the Tooth and walk around Kandy Lake while hearing stories about the city and its past. Continue with a short city tour, enjoy lunch at the house and round off the day with a lively Sri Lankan dancing lesson.

Friday Finish your handicraft projects and share lunch at the house. Visit the White Buddha and Kandy viewpoint for sweeping views and close the week with a final wander through Kandy’s local markets.

The Hospital Kandy has a long history and now functions as a key training center for local medical students and postgraduates. As an observer, you will move through selected departments, watching consultations, ward rounds and procedures while learning about common conditions, hospital routines and treatment approaches. The focus is on gaining a realistic picture of how doctors and nurses manage both everyday cases and more complex challenges.

You will also get a deeper sense of how public healthcare operates in Sri Lanka, including resource limitations and creative solutions. Staff may invite you to discuss what you have seen, compare systems and ask questions about specific cases or techniques. Outside hospital hours, you can explore Kandy and the surrounding highlands, which adds a cultural and scenic dimension to your medical experience.

Schedule
Monday to Friday You normally spend your mornings at the hospital, from around 08:00 until early

afternoon. During this time you observe patient care, treatments and department routines, moving

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between units as arranged by your coordinator. Working hours may vary slightly depending on the department, but the goal is to give you exposure to different specialties and a clear overview of the hospital’s day-to-day operations.

This placement focuses on childcare in a daycare center for underprivileged families, where you assist staff with feeding, playtime and basic hygiene. Another is a home for children and people with disabilities, run in partnership with the Mother Teresa Foundation and local authorities. Here you will support residents of different ages with activities, gentle care and companionship.

You will quickly see how important consistent help is in these settings, especially when resources and staff are stretched. Your presence eases the workload, supports better hygiene and brings extra attention to people who truly appreciate it. In return, you gain insight into Sri Lankan family life, resilience and community values.

Schedule

Monday to Friday After breakfast you travel directly to your placement and spend several hours on site. In childcare, you may help clean beds, change nappies and bed linen, keep play areas hygienic, prepare simple meals and interact with children through games and informal learning. In the home for children and people with disabilities, your day often includes cleaning communal areas, supporting staff with basic tasks, feeding residents and joining in simple recreational activities that bring comfort and connection.

Ethimale Village is woven into the routes elephants have followed for generations, moving between protected areas long before farms existed. Life here is shaped by that reality. Fields are raided. Harvests shrink. Nights stretch long as farmers keep watch. The work happening in this village responds to those pressures in grounded, practical ways, led by the community itself.

Ethimale is a rural village in the Siyambalanduwa Division of Monaragala District, located in Sri Lanka’s Uva Province, about 270 kilometers east of Colombo and 60 kilometers from the district capital, Monaragala. The community of roughly 1,500 residents depends heavily on agriculture, cultivating paddy, sugarcane and banana crops nourished by the historic Ethimale Wewa reservoir. Sinhala is the main language spoken, and Buddhism is the dominant faith shaping cultural life, with temple gatherings and harvest festivals marking the seasons.

From week 2 you will stay in the village. You will be provided a shared, dormitory-style basis with up to six participants per room, arranged by gender.

Days are spent strengthening boundaries, restoring houses damaged by wandering elephants, and planting crops that animals instinctively avoid. Lemongrass. Citrus. Beehives placed with care. Alongside this, there is space for education, support for women, and farming methods that protect both land and livelihoods.

It is physical, shared work, paired with real cultural exchange. An honest look at rural resilience and the quiet effort required to live side by side with wildlife.

This is simple village life. No comforts designed for visitors. Expect basic conditions, changing plans, and days that depend on weather, seasons, and animal movement. Elephants are not a daily spectacle. Sometimes they stay hidden in the forest. Sometimes you only feel their presence through tracks, stories, or the tension of a guarded night.

What the program focuses on
• Tackling human–elephant conflict where it directly affects families
• Repairing homes, reinforcing fences, and building lookout huts
• Using natural deterrents and replanting buffer areas
• Supporting local schools and early education
• Working alongside women through skills-based initiatives
• Learning how coexistence works in practice, not theory
• Beginning with a cultural introduction in Kandy, including language basics, food, and local traditions

Schedule

The weekly schedule may vary depending on the season, community needs and the movement patterns of the elephants. As a result, each day and week can look different. The activities are planned based on current priorities and conditions.

Week 1: Cultural Orientation in Kandy
Settle into Sri Lanka with a week in Kandy. Learn Sinhala basics, take part in cooking demonstrations, visit cultural landmarks such as the Temple of the Tooth, receive safety and conservation briefings. This week prepares you for village life and gives important context about human-elephant coexistence and life in Sri Lanka.

Week 2: Field Work in Ethimale
A typical day in the village might look like this:
Morning 8 am - 9 am: Breakfast
Morning 9 am - 1.30pm Head into the fields to help reinforce fences, plant lemongrass or citrus as natural deterrents or support reforestation and eco-farming projects. On some days you may assist in building watch huts or repairing homes damaged by elephants.
Lunch Break 1:30 pm - 3 pm: Enjoy a simple home-cooked meal with your host family or the local team.
Afternoon 3 pm: Observation of elephant behavior or support school lessons, run English activities or help facilitate women’s empowerment workshops. At times, afternoons may involve cultural exchanges, awareness sessions or continuing renovation and farming projects.
Evening 5 pm: As elephant activity increases, evenings are spent indoors with host families, resting, sharing meals, or joining community storytelling and discussions. Some nights, you may even sleep in tree huts as part of learning how villagers protect their fields.
Evening 7.30 pm: Dinner

The program is hands-on and dynamic. Activities can change quickly depending on elephant movements, participants fitness level, weather conditions and village priorities. Flexibility, patience and adaptability are key to making the most of your time in Ethimale.

The project focuses on caring for injured turtles, many of which have been harmed by fishing gear, pollution or other human activity. You will help with daily feeding, cleaning tanks, monitoring the turtles and assisting with basic maintenance at the center. At a separate hatchery site, hundreds of eggs are incubated and baby turtles are released into the sea when they are strong enough.

A big part of the work is about keeping the environment hygienic and safe so the turtles can recover. You may also join beach clean ups and help raise awareness among local communities about conservation issues. Culture Week in Kandy is mandatory before you start, giving you context and time to adjust to Sri Lanka before moving to the coast.

Schedule

Monday to Friday Your days revolve around caring for the turtles and keeping their surroundings clean. Tasks typically include cleaning tanks and enclosures, gently washing the turtles, feeding them on allocated days, helping with beach cleaning and assisting during hatchling releases when conditions allow. Exact activities depend on weather, tides and the number of turtles at the center, but you can expect plenty of time close to these incredible animals.