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Volunteer Near Sinharaja Rainforest | Tea Estate & Gem Mining🌏

The experience

Join us for a unique cultural exchange in Rakwana, Sri Lanka, near the breathtaking Sinharaja Rainforest, a UNESCO World Heritage site 🌿.

Our lodge offers a peaceful stay surrounded by lush tea fields, tropical hills, and a stunning seven-tiered waterfall view. Volunteers help with tea garden maintenance, light guest assistance, and daily tasks, while enjoying the relaxed pace of rural Sri Lankan life.

What you offer

25 hours of help per week

Farming: Plant crops, sow seeds and help in outside tasks.

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

Additional fee required

Amount: US$ 50 Per week

Fee pays for: Benefits for travelers, Materials for volunteer activities, and Donation to project

Description: We provide a bed, all three meals and snacks and a lot more. We also provide local assistant and loads of local sightseeing. Plus we give you loads of local experience in a beautiful rainforest area. These costs a lot but we just want you to assist in covering our costs only. You will think 50 USD for a week is way too small when you have the experience at our place.

What you get

2 days off per week

Shared Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other travelers.

Team Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other people.

Tent: You will sleep in a tent at a camping site.

Breakfast: You are entitled to a free breakfast, every day of your stay.

Lunch: You are entitled to a free lunch, every day of your stay.

Dinner: You are entitled to a free dinner, every day of your stay.

Discounts on Tours: Get discounts for tours and excursions around town.

Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.

Free Tours: We’ll take you on tours and rides around town. For free!

Free Hiking Tours: We’ll take you on excursions and hikes around town. For free!

Get free drinks or beverages.: Drink up! Get free and tasty drinks for yourself.

Yoga classes: Take free yoga classes at our place.

Holistic Therapies: You can take part in any of our therapeutic activities for free.

Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.

Certificate: Get a certificate of completion after you finish your experience.

Requirements

Beginner English

Between 18 and 60 years old

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

Nestled in the midst of Eastern Sinharaja, Sri Lanka's most pristine forest surrounded by lush green hills is our home like guest house which is located in a rustic old city that still preserves its magical beauty without much of a development which most other cities in Sri Lanka have become concrete jungles.

Rakwana is where Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslims live in equal percentages. So the diversity is maximum. Its also home to many tourist spots including waterfalls and cultural sites. From our hostel, you have a breathtaking view to the hill right in front of you from which you can see a beautiful 7 stages waterfall. Rest assured this is the most soothing view you will ever have all day from a hostel in Sri Lanka if you are a waterfall lover.

All around us are lush green tea fields. Plus a lot of Gems if you love the experience of precious gems from Sri Lanka. You will get some free if you are lucky as we take you to some of the mining areas and cave hunting.

Last but not least, local food options you have here are just fabulous. If you know Sri Lanka's food culture, expect the best at our place because its the most affordable also anywhere in Sri Lanka for you as a traveler,

Activities & Shift

🔴Immerse yourself in the daily life of the local estate Tamil community working in nearby tea plantations, learning about their culture, traditions, and contributions to Sri Lanka’s tea industry.

🔴Participate in tea estate activities such as plucking tea leaves or helping with small tasks, gaining hands-on experience of one of Sri Lanka’s most iconic industries.

🔴Discover the fascinating gem mining communities in the Rakwana region, learning about traditional gem mining practices and the importance of gemstones in local culture and economy.

🔴Explore the rich biodiversity of the Sinharaja rainforest on foot or by tuk-tuk, enjoying bird watching, village tours, and night safaris that connect you with nature.

🔴Experience living in a peaceful, rural area with minimal tourist impact, allowing genuine interaction with local people and their everyday lives.

🔴Meet and interact with a multi-ethnic population of Sinhalese, Tamils, and Muslims who follow Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Catholicism, fostering a rich cultural exchange.

🔴Visit local places of worship — Buddhist temples, Hindu kovils, Muslim mosques, and Catholic churches — to appreciate the spiritual diversity of the region.

🔴Share meals and socialize with local families, enjoying traditional Sri Lankan cooking methods, including dishes prepared over firewood stoves.

🔴Participate in traditional cooking sessions to learn recipes and food customs unique to the Rakwana and Sinharaja area.

🔴Engage in meaningful conversations with locals, building friendships and mutual understanding while immersing yourself in the customs and traditions of rural Sri Lanka.

In Short

◘taking care of guests
◘Keeping the place in order
◘Working in our tea field to remove weeds
◘Little bit of gardening

Rules

1) Keep your space clean
2) We do not separate people on gender/sexuality and expect to mix with everyone, sleep in shared dorms
3) If you want to explore the forest or surrounding areas, please inform and do so. No sudden disappearances and us having to trace you if you are lost ;)
4) We are a warm host community who loves hugs and kisses, if you don't like it, please declare it early so we could ask no-hugs no-handshakes and nothing.
5) Any issues with fellow volunteers, host community or guides, immediately report to host in charge at the time and not later or not discuss issues with fellow volunteers or elsewhere. If its not resolved, you are free to leave our place anytime. Do not wait unhappy until the end of your time only to say something bad about the place after pretending to be happy :) (We have had wonderful people as guests and volunteers before but some have been so negative and picky of every little thing. We are not perfect and our place is certainly not either. :) . Thank you for the understanding ! )