FWFF is extremely keen to develop its volunteer program at the Kotel eco farm because of the huge benefit we believe volunteers can provide to the organization and because of the benefits we believe the volunteers themselves receive by developing skills and experiencing new things.
We are extremely flexible with volunteer placements you can stay as little or as long as you like, the only thing we ask is that you are self-funded as we cannot afford to provide food or travel costs for volunteers. Now, we can only provide extremely cheap or even free accommodation for volunteers at the Kotel Eco Farm. See below for details on volunteering positions and see the bottom of this page forpictures of the farm, the area and the accommodation.
Volunteering Opportunities:
Bird and Wildlife Surveyors of any Orders:
For people who have an interest in nature and are able to identify species to an acceptable level (contact us if your unsure what an acceptable level is) we would be delighted for you to stay at Kotel Eco Farm. We need people with experience of any taxa to come and survey the area so we can build up an idea of the biodiversity of the farm to make an appropriate management plan. Birdwatchers will have a very interesting time especially during migration with flocks of 300 storks being seen and 200+ raptors being seen in a day. There is also a huge variety of breeding species in the area as the habitat ranges from mountainous to forests to pastures. Many raptor species have been recorded around the farm including Short-toed Eagle, Levant's Sparrowhawk, Long-legged Buzzard and Pallid Harrier and in total 81 species classed as endangered in Europe are present in the Kotel IBA of which 8 are globally threatened. Combine that with the newly released Vultures and you have a birdwatchers paradise! Recorders of other orders will also have a fascinating time as many of the species you will record will be new records for the area and the records will be crucial for filling in the gaps in the national atlases of many species. The area is especially under recorded for invertebrates and anyone with experience of any of the invertebrate orders is more than welcome, who knows what you will find!
Vulture Monitors:
With the vultures having been released and more on the way it is crucial to monitor the progress of these magnificent birds. No previous experience is necessary as training will be given, don't be worried if you've never bird watched before the vultures are huge and pretty hard to miss! You will also help with feeding of the vultures in the acclimatization aviary and placing food at the "Raptor Restaurant" and of curse you will have the opportunity to help out with the day to day running of the farm.
Farm Volunteers:
We need volunteers to help us with the daily operations of the Kotel eco farm all year round. This includes daily maintenance of the farm and looking after the animals. We appreciate any help we can get during our busiest times between the months of March and September, when our milking and lambing periods occur. You will also have the opportunity to help with the vulture recording and the placement of food in the aviary and "raptor restaurant".
Don't worry if you have no previous farm experience! Our staff and team of friendly shepherds will be very glad to help and guide you. As some of our past volunteer said, "They are some of the friendliest people you will ever meet!"
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Volunteers Accommodation:
All volunteers will stay in the accommodation at the farm where there is beds for 7 people in 1 dormitory. The farm is situated in a beautiful, secluded and isolated valley surrounded by mountains, forest and the nationally protected Yurushky Scalay cliffs. The farm is a very new building completed in July 2007 but despite this its still quite basic living although not extreme as it does have hot water! The farm has no electricity except for electric lighting powered by the solar panels but the farm manager can charge mobiles, cameras etc at his house. There is also no washing machine but again the farm manager will wash your clothes for you. Cooking is done on a very large open fire which is also the main heating for the house. The nearest town is 5km away but the farm manger will take you there for shopping and perhaps the odd beer on request. So far volunteers have all really enjoyed their stay at the farm and found it refreshing to live a very low impact lifestyle. A highlight for many volunteers has been listening to the Jackals that frequently howl on a night from the nearby mountains. Members of the very large and extremely friendly shepherding family live in a nearby village but take it in turns to stay in a separate part of the farm house to look after the animals. If you have an especially big fear of dogs living at the farm may not be for you as the sheep are protected by 4 very intimidating Karakachan guarding dogs although once they've got used to you (takes 2 or 3 days) they are as sweet as puppies.
Pictures of the farm and surrounding area:
Feel free to contact the FWFF headquarters anytime about volunteering on the farm. For further information using the contact details on the "Contact" menu. If you can think of any other skills you can bring to the organization, we'd love to hear from you.
FWFF is extremely keen to develop its volunteer program at the Kotel eco farm because of the huge benefit we believe volunteers can provide to the organization and because of the benefits we believe the volunteers themselves receive by developing skills and experiencing new things.
We are extremely flexible with volunteer placements you can stay as little or as long as you like, the only thing we ask is that you are self-funded as we cannot afford to provide food or travel costs for volunteers. Now, we can only provide extremely cheap or even free accommodation for volunteers at the Kotel Eco Farm. See below for details on volunteering positions and see the bottom of this page for pictures of the farm, the area and the accommodation.
Volunteering Opportunities:
- Bird and Wildlife Surveyors of any Orders:
For people who have an interest in nature and are able to identify species to an acceptable level (contact us if your unsure what an acceptable level is) we would be delighted for you to stay at Kotel Eco Farm. We need people with experience of any taxa to come and survey the area so we can build up an idea of the biodiversity of the farm to make an appropriate management plan. Birdwatchers will have a very interesting time especially during migration with flocks of 300 storks being seen and 200+ raptors being seen in a day. There is also a huge variety of breeding species in the area as the habitat ranges from mountainous to forests to pastures. Many raptor species have been recorded around the farm including Short-toed Eagle, Levant's Sparrowhawk, Long-legged Buzzard and Pallid Harrier and in total 81 species classed as endangered in Europe are present in the Kotel IBA of which 8 are globally threatened. Combine that with the newly released Vultures and you have a birdwatchers paradise! Recorders of other orders will also have a fascinating time as many of the species you will record will be new records for the area and the records will be crucial for filling in the gaps in the national atlases of many species. The area is especially under recorded for invertebrates and anyone with experience of any of the invertebrate orders is more than welcome, who knows what you will find!
- Vulture Monitors:
With the vultures having been released and more on the way it is crucial to monitor the progress of these magnificent birds. No previous experience is necessary as training will be given, don't be worried if you've never bird watched before the vultures are huge and pretty hard to miss! You will also help with feeding of the vultures in the acclimatization aviary and placing food at the "Raptor Restaurant" and of curse you will have the opportunity to help out with the day to day running of the farm.
- Farm Volunteers:
We need volunteers to help us with the daily operations of the Kotel eco farm all year round. This includes daily maintenance of the farm and looking after the animals. We appreciate any help we can get during our busiest times between the months of March and September, when our milking and lambing periods occur. You will also have the opportunity to help with the vulture recording and the placement of food in the aviary and "raptor restaurant".
Don't worry if you have no previous farm experience! Our staff and team of friendly shepherds will be very glad to help and guide you. As some of our past volunteer said, "They are some of the friendliest people you will ever meet!"
Volunteers Accommodation:
All volunteers will stay in the accommodation at the farm where there is beds for 7 people in 1 dormitory. The farm is situated in a beautiful, secluded and isolated valley surrounded by mountains, forest and the nationally protected Yurushky Scalay cliffs. The farm is a very new building completed in July 2007 but despite this its still quite basic living although not extreme as it does have hot water! The farm has no electricity except for electric lighting powered by the solar panels but the farm manager can charge mobiles, cameras etc at his house. There is also no washing machine but again the farm manager will wash your clothes for you. Cooking is done on a very large open fire which is also the main heating for the house. The nearest town is 5km away but the farm manger will take you there for shopping and perhaps the odd beer on request. So far volunteers have all really enjoyed their stay at the farm and found it refreshing to live a very low impact lifestyle. A highlight for many volunteers has been listening to the Jackals that frequently howl on a night from the nearby mountains. Members of the very large and extremely friendly shepherding family live in a nearby village but take it in turns to stay in a separate part of the farm house to look after the animals. If you have an especially big fear of dogs living at the farm may not be for you as the sheep are protected by 4 very intimidating Karakachan guarding dogs although once they've got used to you (takes 2 or 3 days) they are as sweet as puppies.
Pictures of the farm and surrounding area:
Feel free to contact the FWFF headquarters anytime about volunteering on the farm. For further information using the contact details on the "Contact" menu. If you can think of any other skills you can bring to the organization, we'd love to hear from you.
FWFF is extremely keen to develop its volunteer program at the Kotel eco farm because of the huge benefit we believe volunteers can provide to the organization and because of the benefits we believe the volunteers themselves receive by developing skills and experiencing new things.
We are extremely flexible with volunteer placements you can stay as little or as long as you like, the only thing we ask is that you are self-funded as we cannot afford to provide food or travel costs for volunteers. Now, we can only provide extremely cheap or even free accommodation for volunteers at the Kotel Eco Farm. See below for details on volunteering positions and see the bottom of this page forpictures of the farm, the area and the accommodation.
Volunteering Opportunities:
Bird and Wildlife Surveyors of any Orders:
For people who have an interest in nature and are able to identify species to an acceptable level (contact us if your unsure what an acceptable level is) we would be delighted for you to stay at Kotel Eco Farm. We need people with experience of any taxa to come and survey the area so we can build up an idea of the biodiversity of the farm to make an appropriate management plan. Birdwatchers will have a very interesting time especially during migration with flocks of 300 storks being seen and 200+ raptors being seen in a day. There is also a huge variety of breeding species in the area as the habitat ranges from mountainous to forests to pastures. Many raptor species have been recorded around the farm including Short-toed Eagle, Levant's Sparrowhawk, Long-legged Buzzard and Pallid Harrier and in total 81 species classed as endangered in Europe are present in the Kotel IBA of which 8 are globally threatened. Combine that with the newly released Vultures and you have a birdwatchers paradise! Recorders of other orders will also have a fascinating time as many of the species you will record will be new records for the area and the records will be crucial for filling in the gaps in the national atlases of many species. The area is especially under recorded for invertebrates and anyone with experience of any of the invertebrate orders is more than welcome, who knows what you will find!
Vulture Monitors:
With the vultures having been released and more on the way it is crucial to monitor the progress of these magnificent birds. No previous experience is necessary as training will be given, don't be worried if you've never bird watched before the vultures are huge and pretty hard to miss! You will also help with feeding of the vultures in the acclimatization aviary and placing food at the "Raptor Restaurant" and of curse you will have the opportunity to help out with the day to day running of the farm.
Farm Volunteers:
We need volunteers to help us with the daily operations of the Kotel eco farm all year round. This includes daily maintenance of the farm and looking after the animals. We appreciate any help we can get during our busiest times between the months of March and September, when our milking and lambing periods occur. You will also have the opportunity to help with the vulture recording and the placement of food in the aviary and "raptor restaurant".
Don't worry if you have no previous farm experience! Our staff and team of friendly shepherds will be very glad to help and guide you. As some of our past volunteer said, "They are some of the friendliest people you will ever meet!"
Back to Top
Volunteers Accommodation:
All volunteers will stay in the accommodation at the farm where there is beds for 7 people in 1 dormitory. The farm is situated in a beautiful, secluded and isolated valley surrounded by mountains, forest and the nationally protected Yurushky Scalay cliffs. The farm is a very new building completed in July 2007 but despite this its still quite basic living although not extreme as it does have hot water! The farm has no electricity except for electric lighting powered by the solar panels but the farm manager can charge mobiles, cameras etc at his house. There is also no washing machine but again the farm manager will wash your clothes for you. Cooking is done on a very large open fire which is also the main heating for the house. The nearest town is 5km away but the farm manger will take you there for shopping and perhaps the odd beer on request. So far volunteers have all really enjoyed their stay at the farm and found it refreshing to live a very low impact lifestyle. A highlight for many volunteers has been listening to the Jackals that frequently howl on a night from the nearby mountains. Members of the very large and extremely friendly shepherding family live in a nearby village but take it in turns to stay in a separate part of the farm house to look after the animals. If you have an especially big fear of dogs living at the farm may not be for you as the sheep are protected by 4 very intimidating Karakachan guarding dogs although once they've got used to you (takes 2 or 3 days) they are as sweet as puppies.
Pictures of the farm and surrounding area:
Feel free to contact the FWFF headquarters anytime about volunteering on the farm. For further information using the contact details on the "Contact" menu. If you can think of any other skills you can bring to the organization, we'd love to hear from you.
