As part of the volunteer donation, our volunteers are provided with primarily vegan food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  We never serve meat, volunteers can buy their own in town though.  Meals are served “buffet style” on the patio of our Education Centre dining area.  All meals are prepared by staff and at the weekends volunteers have the opportunity to cook for everyone. You may be asked to help prepare food and you will be asked to help clean up during your stay at least once a week.

The main meals are usually served at the Education Centre which has a large kitchen, toilets and dining facilities.

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Our food is basic but filling! Any luxury items (chocolate, crisps, soda, etc.) can be purchased from our tuck shop, or bought in town on our weekly trips. We can cater to most dietary requirements including vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free, etc. We cannot cater to those with extreme allergies- such as peanuts.

You can purchase bottled water; although the water from all taps in the rebuild is from a borehole, it is filtered and all the long-term staff/volunteers drink the water without issues. 

Using a part of your Volunteer Donation C.A.R.E. buys food supplies each week for the meals.  Again, we must stress that your donation was to help care for the animals you are coming to help and therefore the food we provide is basic essentials and not an all-you-can-eat restaurant or hotel standard.  The funds from the volunteer program fund the running of the centre, feeding +/- 440 baboons is expensive and caring for them is also costly.  We try to budget the volunteer meals in order to also feed the animals at the centre and therefore, we urge volunteers who eat a lot or prefer certain tastes to purchase their own luxury food items at their own expense and have an opportunity to do so each week. 

We provide all meals (excluding snacks) and your daily meals.  We have strict meal times and we ask if you want to eat outside this time to use the volunteer kitchen and personal food items.  Meals served will generally consist of the following;

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1. BREAKFAST; served between 6 and 8 am on a weekday; a selection of cereals/muesli, toast, soya milk, tea and coffee. 

2. LUNCH; served between 12 and 2 pm; sandwiches, pasta, salads, savory pies, etc. (if you as a person like to eat eggs, cheese, etc. then we ask you to buy a personal supply at your own expense since we provide mostly wholesome vegan meals)

3. EVENING MEAL; Served around 6:00 pm; Using basic ingredients, which are bought each week (tinned lentils, chickpeas, mixed beans, tomatoes, corn, fresh veggies such as broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes, spinach, beetroot, potatoes, grains such as rice and pastas), dinner is prepared for you. We primarily serve vegetarian and vegan foods. Typical dishes include; spaghetti bolognaise, baked potatoes, lasagne, veggie stir-fry, rice dishes, macaroni and other pasta dishes, roasted veggies, “roast dinner”, pancakes, vegetarian braai (South African variation of a BBQ), pizza and more.  We may ask you to help cook or clean up.

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Sometimes we offer the volunteers to take a trip into town for a small fee to cover fuel expenses (+/- R30 per volunteer; £1.50, $2) for the chance to buy an evening meal at a local restaurant or to buy take-away pizza.  We try to arrange for a meal out each week but it varies depending on which staff are at the centre, how busy we are at the time and if all the vehicles are present.

There is a trip to town once a week for volunteers to purchase their own groceries if they desire additional items and there are fridges and cabinets to store personal food items in the volunteer kitchen area.  One or two volunteers accompany a staff member each week and the rest of the volunteers give their shopping lists to the designated shopper.  Some volunteers like to buy fizzy drinks, chips and chocolate, others prefer to buy healthier salads, fruit and specialist gluten-free or additional vegan substitutes.  South African supermarkets cater for all cultures and tastes.

We can help you every step of the way of getting you to C.A.R.E. & if the donation is a stumbling block we can provide supporting materials to help you fundraise.

Past volunteers have successfully done Curry Night fundraisers, coffee mornings, cake sales, table top sales, run marathons, done crowd fundraisers & more!  Email us info@primatecare.org.za for help!

C.A.R.E. has been utilising volunteers for over 20 years.  The management & vet team are also primarily volunteers.  Without volunteers C.A.R.E. couldn't function.  Volunteers bring with them fresh energy & excitement, which is absolutely priceless.  Volunteers also come with a diverse skill set which is very valuable to us, & volunteers can help in all areas.

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We ask all volunteers to make a minimum donation to C.A.R.E. which covers food, accommodation, training time, education (all volunteers are provided with an extensive education and training program) and also funds some of the day-to-day running costs; to feed and care for the animals you will be coming to help.

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As the animals at C.A.R.E. are not classified as an Endangered Species, it is very difficult for our team to raise enough funds to run the centre; the volunteer donation and help is essential.  

Extra costs once at C.A.R.E. can be as minimal or as much as you like; it depends on your budget and personal preferences. 

Onsite we have a tuck-shop & curious shop, with a can of soda or packet of chips costing +/- R15, we also have WIFI vouchers available.

We offer a weekly shop where you can buy any personal items in town; you know how much you eat so can budget accordingly; most people might buy a pack of beer, soda, chocolate, shampoo.

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Excursion prices change dependable on the safari companies but a typical cost to the Kruger National Park might be R1500 for a day trip.