Volunteer Zimbabwe Working Holidays
Zimbabwe Working Holidays
A Roots And Boots Experience
Cawston offers you the chance to roll up your sleeves, dive into ranch life, and truly connect with Zimbabwe working holidays — with wildlife, wild spaces, and local communities.
Looking for a meaningful African adventure that goes beyond the usual safari? Our volunteer programs in Zimbabwe offer you the chance to experience life on a working African wildlife reserve.
No special skills needed — just a love of the outdoors, a “can do” attitude, and a willingness to get involved.
Get your boots on and come join us!
What You’ll Do – Our Volunteer Programs
Our volunteers take part in the real, everyday work that keeps the reserve thriving. Each day brings something different, and no two days are the same. We like our volunteers to be as hands-on as possible and involved in our actual day-to-day activities rather than participating as bystanders. We have three core programs to choose from.
Wildlife Conservation
Volunteers focus on all things wildlife. Key activities include:
- Assisting with wildlife research through trail camera set-up and data analysis. Cameras are set up for a variety of reasons such as carnivore assessment or checking on which animals are using a certain area.
- Where we want further information, you may track certain species such as leopard, to assess their movements.
- Learn to identify common animal spoor and alongside that learn some tracking techniques.
- Removing invasive plants and learning about ecological management.
- Assisting on pump runs and waterhole checks; boundary checks; and other ranch management activities.
- Experiencing our anti-poaching operations through assisting in activities such as snare sweeps, drone work, moving cameras, and collating data on poaching movements.
- Subject to availability – go on a relaxing horse ride!
Equine
- Helping care for and exercise our horses
- Practice natural horsemanship methods on schooling and everyday riding
- Cattle herding on horseback across the African landscape
- Enjoy safari rides!
- Volunteers with particular equine experience may get a ‘project’ horse to work with
- Participate in activities where available on the other programs
Livestock Management
This program is perfect for anyone wanting to go into veterinary or agricultural fields and wants to get a bit of experience in farm animal management from a farmer’s perspective, with limited access to vets! Attendees on this program also get to go horse-riding if they are interested in doing so, and if time and space permit, may also join in occasionally on the wildlife conservation program.
- Daily health checks of all our livestock – learn how to identify a healthy animal from a sick one. What to look for in sick animals and how to treat the most common issues we experience here.
- De-worming and dipping (control of internal & external parasites) at the required times.
- Learn about the breeding of livestock and the handling of young stock.
- From August to Nov/Dec, as the bush dries out, we provide supplementary mineral feeds for our animals. We make up some of our own and buy in others.
- Fixing fences, learning to drive a tractor, or from Feb-April learn to bale grass.
- Joining elephant care and enrichment routines
Why Volunteer at Cawston?
By joining our volunteer projects in Zimbabwe, you’ll be:
- Supporting ethical land management
- Experience the benefits of field-to-table food
- Contributing to wildlife research
- Promoting education and local empowerment
- Helping preserve Zimbabwe’s incredible biodiversity
- All volunteers get an opportunity (in term time & subject to school timings) to support the local school — reading with kids or coaching sports.
These are hands-on, fully immersive wildlife-oriented volunteer experiences. You don’t need prior skills to take part in our volunteer Zimbabwe working holidays. We’ll show you the ropes! Learn new skills, make lasting connections, and create stories worth telling.
Our Zimbabwe Volunteer Opportunities Are Open To:
- Gap year students and career-breakers looking for purposeful travel
- Horse lovers and riders seeking a unique horseback volunteer program in Africa
- Those interested in working with animals and wanting to experience a real-life perspective on livestock management
- Families who want to connect with each other and volunteer in nature and conservation work
- Nature enthusiasts who want to get their boots dirty in real-world scenarios
If you are an experienced equestrian, teacher or forester, we’re especially interested in you! Just chat to us when you book your Zimbabwe volunteer working holidays!
How You’ll Live
These are small programs with no more than 10 volunteers across the board at any one time. You’ll stay in a shared room with its own bathroom. Meals are hearty and homemade, and evenings are often spent around the fire, sharing stories under the stars.
Make It Count
Come for a week or stay longer. However long you join, you’ll leave with new skills, real friendships, and an addiction to Africa’s wild heart.
Interested In Zimbabwe Working Holidays?
Please check out our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) below for further information on all our Volunteer programs.
All our stays are USD $900 per week with a minimum of 1-week stay and a maximum of 11 weeks.
From week 5 our rate is $800 per week.
Keen to join us on Zimbabwe working holidays? Please fill out our application form below indicating your preferred start and end dates, and we will get back to you with availability.
Zimbabwe Working Holidays FAQ
Logistics and Booking
Activities and Schedule
Transport
Accommodation and Meals
Safety and Preparation
Research
At Cawston, we’re deeply committed to conserving wildlife and maintaining a thriving ecosystem. Understanding our animal populations – especially elusive species like leopards and brown hyenas – is key to ensuring ecological balance and sustaining the land.