Cheetah Conservation Fund

What to Expect

CCF Namibia is the headquarters of the Cheetah Conservation Fund. CCF Namibia is located on Eland's Joy, a farm about 30 miles (44km) east of the town Otjiwarongo, and about 3.5 hours drive from Namibia's capital, Windhoek. Eland's Joy has been developed over a number of years into a sophisticated Research & Education Centre, housing three large buildings: a cheetah museum, a research and veterinary clinic which is also the office, and an education hall. Staff housing, volunteer rondavels and student dorms are nearby, with showers/bathrooms located within walking distance. Also nearby is a communal kitchen and dining hall, and a TV/common room. Some staff and volunteers remain in Boskop, one of CCF's farms about 5 miles (8km) from the main center.

CCF Namibia is a collection of working farms as well as housing rescued, orphaned, and on occasion, wild cheetahs. Our farms have sheep, goats and cattle. Annually, we bale hay, fix fences, cut down overgrown bush, feed and care for animals. We breed and actively maintain Anatolian Shepherd guardian dogs. As of the beginning of 2006, we care for 38 resident cheetahs who cannot be re-released due to injury or orphanage. We conduct research, education and training programs. And on a daily basis, we allow day-visitors to visit our museum observe our cheetahs and learn about our programs. In short, it's a very busy place, with many people and animals. Our Volunteer Guide available on the left menu has more details on our programs and daily activities.

Volunteer Skills CCF Namibia Needs

Because we are so busy, volunteers that come to Namibia are required to be tremendously flexible, adaptable and patient. Working conditions can be extremely hot or extremely cold. You may work long hours, seven days a week. You may work much of the day indoors or outdoors. You will work with many people from different cultures and of different age groups. You will need to be able to work on your own and expect to multi-task. You will be asked to do administrative work such as filing, database entry, photocopying, organizing events, writing articles, running errands, do the weekly food shopping, cook dinner, etc. But you will also get the chance to help with cheetah feeding, raise puppies, assist in clinical workups, collect and dissect cheetah faeces, observe cheetah behavior, conduct field work and be involved in outreach and education programs. Longer-term volunteers may be assigned a specific project to complete during their stay. These will be matched according to your skills/background.

CCF Namibia requires volunteers with all kinds of backgrounds. In particular, we need people with business, finance, law, marketing, PR, event organizing, graphic design, report writing, proposal writing, fundraising and administrative skills. These functions are vital, "behind-the-scenes", operations. Of course, we also need applicants such as keepers, animal behavior specialists, ecologists, biologists, veterinarians, and vet-technicians, as well as educators, trainers and conservationists. We welcome student interns from all these areas.

You can download our Namibia Volunteer Guide from the left menu for detailed information on our activities. 

Mandatory Donation (Working Guest)

Our volunteer program is fee-based: because we are a not-for-profit organization relying entirely on donations, all volunteers and student interns are required to make a mandatory donation to CCF to cover the cost of room, board, training and supervision of volunteers. This fee also contributes to the day-to-day costs of running CCF Namibia. It is because of generous donations that we are able to continue to operate our education, outreach and research programs.

For information about fees, please click here. 

The fees include your room and board at CCF, but exclude the cost of your flights, transport between Windhoek (airport or city) and CCF, spending money and personal expenses. Please coordinate your arrival/departure dates with the volunteer coordinator prior to booking your tickets as CCF can offer a (free) lift between Windhoek and CCF on certain dates.

We generally accept volunteers for periods of two or four weeks. Longer-term volunteers are also sometimes accepted.

We regret that discounts are not possible. Please note that all payments made to CCF are non-refundable.

Ready to Apply?

Click here for application forms and important reading materials.