Animal Shelter Nea Kallikratia, Greece

3.5
(5 reviews)5

Help us in our non-profit animal sanctuary with rescued animals

Help a sustainable project
3 travelers confirmed that this host is actively contributing to a more sustainable future for everyone!
Connect with nature
4 travelers recommend this experience for reconnecting with nature
Immerse yourself in the local culture
3 travelers recommend this host for those looking for a local cultural immersion
Accepts couples and pairs of volunteers
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What you offer

25h

Hours per week
Help out and collaborate with your host only a few hours per week.
Animal Care
Help look after and take care of animals.
Building & Repairing
Help with a wide range of repairs or building.
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What you get

2

Days off per week
Have some time off for yourself, go explore the city or rest for a while.
Private Room
You will have a bed in a private room. In other words, a room just for you.
Breakfast
You are entitled to a free breakfast, every day of your stay.
Dinner
You are entitled to a free dinner, every day of your stay.
Fast Internet Access
High-speed internet for you to work remotely
Use our equipped kitchen
Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.
Free Laundry
You can use our laundry room freely.
Pick Up
We will pick you up when you arrive, and take you to our property.
Support
Get help from the Worldpackers support team in case you need it, at any point of your trip.
Verified Host
This host has been verified by our team before joining the community.
WP Safeguard
Did something not go as planned? Contact our team.
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Availability

Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Stay at least
3 weeks

The Experience

Help us take care of the animals, dogs, cats and farm animals in need.Experience in living in a house inside the shelter be surrounded by dogs and learn about animal welfare in Greece.This is an open shelter, there are no cages and the dogs are free to move around in designated areas according to their compatibility. You will be expected to help with the day to day cleaning , feeding, giving medication, looking out for signs of illness.

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Requirements

  • Intermediate English or Intermediate French
  • Between 20 and 60 years old
  • Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

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5 Reviews

3.5

Host & Team

3.5

Hours & Tasks

3.5

Animal Shelter

3.5

Learning & Fun

3.5

How this experience will transform you

  • 4 Get in touch with nature
  • 3 Developing social awareness
  • 3 Immersing in the local culture
  • 3 Meeting international travelers
  • 3 Meeting locals
  • 3 Creating true social impact

This host contributes to Sustainable Development Goals

  • 3 15. Life on land
  • 2 17. Partnerships for the goals

United Kingdom

2

This couple love what they do and invest all their money into the project. However: - 3 hour wait due to 'car being fixed' at the airport - facilities were incredibly basic if not very unhygienic (dog food in same room as food and mouldy fridge) - food not nutritious, fed ourselves - they wanted best value workers, not providing us with positive experiences. - no public transport connections, only taxi - far from town (it's not in nea kallikretia, it's in Lakoma, a village 20 minute taxi away) - bedroom was good Wouldn't recommend for single young women just as safety and being alone

19 days ago


Diamanto replied

Charlotte said that she had two dogs at home and that she had experience with animals in her studies. This turned out to be untrue. The dogs turned out to be her neighbours' dogs and she had no experience with dogs. From her first time at the shelter, she avoided all contact with dogs and animals like the plague. She wouldn't even let them touch her. If they approached her to greet her or even entered the area and accidentally touched her, she would push them away, avoid them and yell at them in anger and we found that she would threaten them with a stick when she thought we weren't looking and we were afraid she would hit them when we weren't looking. Gradually she began to get angry at the slightest thing. She would only wear our jackets and boots because she didn't want to get hers dirty. She wouldn't follow the safety instructions we gave her for the animals and would burst into tears afterwards. She resented having to go out and stand in the pasture and just look after the goats we have.
It's a lie that there is no public transport. While there are buses all day to both Kallikratia and Thessaloniki from 7.20am to 8pm, costing 1.70-3.50 euros a ticket, and all our volunteers use them regularly, she chose to use taxis for her commute.
While we cooked homemade food every day, traditional Mediterranean dishes with extra virgin olive oil, vegetables and legumes, and desserts, she left them mouldy in the fridge and bought snacks to eat.
Unfortunately, she did not clean the place where she lived, which is by no means unhygienic.
The area where the shelter is located has security cameras and security guards patrolling the whole area and no one has ever reported a safety problem, nor did she ever report a safety problem.
She told us she was leaving 3 weeks early, she said she was leaving because of family problems and that she was not happy. In general we found that she lacked basic animal care skills, that her personality was not adaptable to anything different and that she had bad intentions towards her hosts while expressing veiled hostility.

Brazil

2

This didn't work for me because the hosts don't really care about the volunteer's experience. I feel like the hosts want people to work for free and that's it. The schedule was 8 - 11 and 14 - 18 (5 days/week), which is more hours than what was agreed before. When I talked to the host about this, she said that I didn't need to do the afternoon shifts then (but in this case the other volunteer would have to work for both of us, which is unfair) and that I could do the job faster if I was more “muscular”. I left earlier but I wish all the best to the hosts, I know they really love the animals.

about 2 months ago

Italy

4

My experience was great! Diamanto and the shelter are two really kind and patient people who show you your part of work and patiently wait for you to learn it. In every moment of difficulty, even outside of work, Diamanto helped me and had a lot of patience with me for all the troubles I got into with the buses during my days off. The place is nice and during my entire stay I had the opportunity to have a strong contact with nature and animals that were lovely and friendly, especially the dogs! It is an excellent experience to have as first volunteer like I did and I highly recommend it.

about 2 months ago

United States

5

Amazing experience! Hosts were very welcoming and comforting to me especially when I was missing my family. All the animals are amazing and I will miss them so much. I love that I was able to play a part in helping all the animals live a happy life and be well cared for. That's all Diamanto and the shelter want is for their animals to be happy and healthy! Volunteering will help them so much in being able to achieve this goal even if you're just staying for a short time. Don't expect the work to be easy, but rather fulfilling. You will learn and grow so much through this experience as I did!

4 months ago

Czech Republic

4

I learned a lot during this trip. Diamanto is very welcoming and she took great care of us. Work is divided in two shifts - morning and evening. I have to say that it was really intense for me because I have never volunteered in a such big the shelter and I was not used to waking up this early. But Diamanto is really patient and she explained everything to me well. I also recommend bringing earplugs :)

8 months ago

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About the host

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Hosted by Diamanto

Response Rate
This host usually answers to 50% of the messages
Response Time
This host usually writes back in 10 days
1 published videos
This host has 1 published videos showing a little bit about their place

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