Yes, it is open to all regardless of nationalities. People from all around the world are welcome.

It is necessary to have keen interest in the particular project you wish to choose. Special skills and qualification is not necessary for general volunteering/internship placements. However, some of the more specialized placements like health care certainly needs specific qualification and experience. Regardless of your background or experience, volunteering/ internship is an opportunity for you to learn and grow by getting to know another culture while taking part in meaningful community development.

You may have to bring some items like mosquito repellant, sun screen, lip balm, cotton clothing, personal medicines, toilet paper, a sleeping bag, first aid kit, sweater, pictures of home, small souvenirs to exchange etc.

SBF is a non profit conservation organization without any external funding sources. To keep the conservation programs alive SBF charges a small fee which covers your food, accommodation internal transport and support. The excess is utilized to run the conservation programs.

In case you are not happy with your placement, you can request for a change and we will certainly try and put you into some other project.

Bangalore in Karnataka state, South India is well connected by international flights. Volunteers/interns may have to buy their ticket to Bangalore. One of our staff members will receive you at the airport. He or she will be holding a placard with your name on it.

If you wish we can arrange a trip around Bangalore to all the tourist destinations and you will have to take the night train ( Hampi Express) to reach Bellary or Hospet which is about 300 to 350 kilometers away. The journey is overnight and the volunteers/interns will be received at the Bellary or Hospet railway station depending upon the project.

Extra money is your own personal preference. SBF takes care of the volunteers food, accommodation, internal transport etc. If you participate in activities outside the program, you’ll need some extra money. You may also need money to buy souvenirs, for the VISA and the airport tax. The airport tax is about Rs 300 ( 6 euros).

Any traveler to India can obtain a single entry or a multiple entry tourist's VISA for 180 days. You must apply for a tourist visa at the Indian High commission or consulate in your country prior to your departure to India. Be aware that the airport authority of India does not issue visas at the international airport. Please remember that it is the volunteer's/interns own responsibility to manage their individual tickets and VISA. Some country's citizens do not need a visa to enter India, while other countries require a valid passport and visa for traveling to India. Once you get a 180 days multiple entry Visa, an extension is not permitted. There is no special working or volunteering/internship Visa, so our volunteers/interns will come to India with a tourist Visa.

The fee includes food, accommodation, ground transportation, in country perspective programs, orientation to the local languages, culture, history, arts, food, environment, wildlife, yoga, ayurveda, etc.Fee excludes international airfare, visa fee, personal insurance and airport tax

Extension of stay is possible as long as the VISA has enough time left on it. If it is going to expire obtain a VISA extension. Secondly in such cases an open air ticket is advisable when you buy the ticket, so that you can take your return flight anytime within 12 months period. You should keep us informed about your plan in such cases.

The SBF programs are continuous and you can join anytime. There is no time frame to join and finish. You may volunteer/ intern from 2 weeks to 6 months , depending upon your personal conditions. However, Indian tourist visa is valid only up to 6 months.

Fundraising is a very good way to help reduce your own travel expenses. For ideas on fundraising click here.

You can go to as many program consecutively as you want. Each program has a separate program fee.

Our project leaders are qualified and respectable people who speak very good English and will guide you in all your day to day work.

The SBF volunteer/ intern program also has lots of excursions planned on weekends and holidays. Apart from this, should you wish to explore more, our local staff can guide you and you can utilize your free time on most evenings and afternoons to get to know the community and people more intimately. You may also choose to travel before and after the program at your own cost.

Most of our placements are well within 15 to 20 kilometers from Bellary or Hospet. Smaller villages in India are well connected by telephones. Internet can be accessed from Bellary or Hospet. More information on communication will be made available to you before the commencement of the program.

This all depends on what vaccinations you already have and what country you come from. We suggest you consult a travel doctor from your country before traveling. Take care to bring the malaria proflylaxis.

SBF programs are very flexible. You can join any time of the year.

India has six International airports ie., Delhi, Kolkota, Mumbai, Trivandrum, Chennai, and Bangalore. As SBF is based in Karnataka, Bangalore is the most ideal place to reach. You’ll be taken to the work place from Bangalore ( If you wish to). However if you wish to reach any other places like Chennai or Goa, getting you to the work place might be difficult. In such cases volunteers/ interns have to make their own arrangements to reach Bellary.

The best time to visit is an individual preference. Some people prefer cooler climate of the winter during Nov-Feb and some like to experience the hot weather of the summer during March-June. Summer in many parts of India is hot and the temperature touches 44 degree Celsius in the peak. Rest of the year is comfortable.

South India is by and large a very peaceful place to travel. People in Karnataka are very friendly and other than petty cases of theft, etc, no large crime is reported in many places with the foreign nationals. It is very safe to travel in rural areas as people protect the foreigners who visit their villages. However ,certain amount of caution is necessary as girls are advised not to walk alone after dark. Moving around in groups is advisable.

Volunteers/ interns involved in our short term programs ( 2 to 4 weeks ) will not need foreign language skills. However, volunteers/ interns interested in participating in our long term programs should join our language and cultural classes so that they will be comfortable during their stay. These language and cultural classes will include an introduction to kannada language ( the official language of Karnataka).

Our project leaders and guides will be in constant touch with the volunteers/ interns. Also please do not forget to take down the phone numbers of the people concerned. Telephones are available everywhere in India and within minutes of your call our people will reach there and tackle the emergencies. We also have many doctors and surgeons assisting our organization. Should we need any doctors, they are ready to tackle any kind of emergencies.

There will be a thorough orientation to introduce volunteers/ interns to the program. This includes slide or power point presentation that explains the local climate, local people, safety issues and issues that will concern you during your stay in India. Apart from these orientations the volunteers/ interns are given many other presentations on the Indian history, Indian culture, languages, art, food, geography, yoga, ayurveda, Hindu Mythology, etc. These presentations are given by guest speakers of international repute like Dr Seshadri, Prof Sathyanarayana, Dr Madhava Diggavi, Dr L.C.Soans, Mr Govind Bhatt, Mr Maltesh Bhatt, Mr Ajith Paul, etc depending upon their availability. Mr Santosh Martin, the Executive Trustee of the Sloth Bear Foundation, who is an expert on wildlife will talk about the Indian wildlife and the biodiversity in his power point presentation. He will also talk about the people and our planet, problems concerning the population, depleting forest cover, water and food availability,etc.

Our program does not cover liability and insurance for our volunteers/interns. Therefore, volunteers/interns must have appropriate insurance before joining the program.

Weekends and holidays are packed with lots of field visits and excursions. For information on the excursions click here

Food and accommodation for the volunteers/ interns for the entire period. Office and staff support and advertising. Rent and maintenance of the office space. Telephone, internet, Fax, email, website maintenance, postal service. Local advertising and printing material. Salary for co-coordinators and local staff. Accounting and legal services. Traveling of the trustees to maintain project quality. Supporting staff and field expenses including local transportation, fuel etc. Program development information and management. Government taxes.The surplus if any will be utilized to meet the various objects of the SBF.

We encourage volunteers/ interns to try and travel and see as much of the country as possible. You may travel before the program, in-between the program by taking a break or after the program before flying home.

Once the volunteer/ intern makes a decision and pays for the program , SBF does not refund any program fee under any circumstance. Under unavoidable circumstances (such as illness, death in the family,etc) volunteers/interns may request to leave the program. SBF will consider to refund 30% of the fee, if volunteer/ intern is registered for more than 30 days program. No refund will be made if program is less than 30 days

Yes, we encourage participants to come with a friend, spouse or children. You can choose to work at the same or different projects. However separate program fee will have to be paid by each individual.

Yes, many volunteer/ intern participants have had special dietary needs. Host families and SBF camps can accommodate vegetarians, as well as other participants with dietary needs. If you have dietary restrictions, please notify SBF while applying, and an appropriate host family will be assigned to you.

We do have provision for the volunteers/ interns to use the local gym and its facilities. However, the volunteers/ interns have to pay for these facilities.

SBF is independent of any religious, political or economic interest.

Yes, we do conduct an evaluation to understand the volunteers/ interns experience and satisfaction.

Yes, we want to have a separate page for the return volunteers/ interns in our website, so that the volunteers/ interns can post messages and can stay in touch with each other.