The Turtle Foundation was founded in 2000 in Germany. It is a non-profit organization, funded primarily through private donations, foundations and grants. The Turtle Foundation started with a nesting ground protection program for Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Indonesia. Our project is located in the Derawan islands, Berau regency, off the coast of East Kalimantan. Today, we are protecting two uninhabited islands with a total number of nests of approximately 3,500 per year. The nesting activity of sea turtles in the Derawan islands is distributed all year round and we employ local Indonesians to run the program. Turtle Foundation’s Cabo Verdean project on the island of Boa Vista was initiated in 2008 in response to large-scale slaughter of nesting female Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). On Boa Vista, we are working with both Cabo Verdean rangers as well as national and international volunteers. Each year, throughout the nesting season from mid June until the end of October, volunteers are working hand in hand with our local employees to protect the nesting sea turtles. The volunteers play an extremely important role in our project, and without their dedication and hard work, the project wouldn’t exist. The Turtle Foundation highly appreciates their contribution to the protection of sea turtles and is very grateful to all former, present and future volunteers and team members.

Requirements:

• Minimum of 18 years old
• Fluent in English or Portuguese
• Able to commit to at least 2 weeks between July 1st - October 15th
• Good level of fitness
• Ability to adapt to varied work schedule and to live in basic conditions