We take a small number of volunteers at a time, and we take them seriously. Here is exactly what the work is, who we can take, what it costs you, and how to apply.
This is not a packaged experience. There is no minibus of volunteers, no fixed itinerary, no evening programme. You will spend days doing ordinary, useful things: sanding, painting, carrying, setting up, sitting with a class, washing brushes, and waiting out the hottest part of the afternoon.
What you get in exchange is real: you will know the people you worked with by name, and something you helped make will still be standing when you leave.
If you want wildlife work or an adventure package, Victoria Falls has excellent operators for that and we are happy to point you at them. This is a village arts trust.
We ask for a [minimum stay — confirm] because short placements cost us more time than they give. Induction, training and supervision take a week before a volunteer is genuinely useful.
If you can only come for a few days, come as a visitor instead — buy work, see the Centre, and tell people about it. That helps too, and it is honest about what it is.
We match people to the work, not the other way round. Tell us what you’re good at and what you’d like to learn, and we’ll build your weeks out of these.
Assisting a local facilitator with art and craft sessions — preparing materials, working with small groups, clearing up. You assist; you do not lead a class on your own.
The Centre is still being finished. Carpentry, painting, plastering, fencing, fixing what the sun and the rain have taken apart.
Preparing boards and canvases, mixing and managing paint stock, framing, hanging and taking down exhibitions.
Watering, planting, composting and keeping the grounds usable through the dry season. Unglamorous and genuinely needed.
Documenting the work properly. Good photographs of finished pieces are worth real money to the artists who made them.
Stock lists, pricing sheets, the website, social media, grant research and applications. Quiet work that keeps everything else running.
Days start early and stop in the heat. Nothing here is fixed — an exhibition, a delivery or a funeral in the village rearranges everything, and that is normal.
| Mornings | Work on site from early — building, studio prep, grounds, or setting up for a class. This is when most of the physical work happens. |
|---|---|
| Midday | Lunch and a long break through the hottest hours. Most people read, sleep or walk into the village. |
| Afternoons | Workshops and classes, admin, documentation, and finishing what the morning started. |
| Weekends | Yours. Victoria Falls, the gorge, Zambezi sunsets, the market. Most volunteers take one weekend to travel and one to rest. |
| Exhibition weeks | Everything changes. Long days, everyone on hangs, invitations and set-up. The best weeks to be here. |
| Minimum age | 18. Under-18s only as part of a school or family group with their own supervising adult. [Confirm] |
|---|---|
| Minimum stay | [Confirm — we recommend stating this clearly, e.g. two weeks] |
| Placement fee | None. We do not charge volunteers a placement fee. Everything you spend goes on your own travel and living costs. |
| Skills needed | No formal art training required. Practical hands, patience and a willingness to be told how things are done here. |
| Accommodation | You arrange your own. We will send you a list of guesthouses and self-catering options nearby with current prices. [Confirm whether on-site accommodation is ever available] |
| Meals | [Confirm: is lunch provided on working days, or do volunteers self-cater?] |
| Getting here | Fly into Victoria Falls (VFA), or cross from Livingstone. Transfers to the Centre are easy to arrange and we'll help. [Confirm typical transfer cost] |
| Visa | Most nationalities can get a visa on arrival in Zimbabwe, and a KAZA UniVisa covers Zambia too. Check the current rules for your passport before you book — they change. |
| Insurance | Required. Travel and medical insurance that covers you for manual and volunteer work, with repatriation. |
| Clearance | If your placement includes work with children, we require a police clearance or equivalent from your home country, plus two references. |
Plenty of good organisations do charge, and they use the fee to fund the project. We've chosen not to, because we would rather you spent that money locally — on your guesthouse, your food, your transport, and on the artists' work. If you want to give to the Trust as well, the Support us page shows how.
Volunteering abroad can do harm. These are the rules we hold ourselves to, and we would rather lose a volunteer than break them.
We do not run, arrange or endorse placements or visits at children’s homes. The evidence on the harm this does is settled.
A volunteer never occupies a role a paid local person could hold. If a task is a job, we employ someone to do it.
No volunteer is ever alone with a child. Clearance, references and a named local facilitator in the room are non-negotiable.
Ask before photographing anyone, especially children, and never post an image of a child that could identify where they live or go to school.
Use the form below or email us. Tell us who you are, roughly when you'd like to come, how long you can stay, and what you're good at. A paragraph is enough.
Twenty minutes with someone from the team. It runs both ways — we'll be honest about what the work is, and you should ask us anything you're unsure about.
Two references, and a police clearance if your placement involves working with children. We'll confirm your dates once these are in.
We send an arrival pack: accommodation options, what to bring, what the weather does that month, and how to get from the airport. Then we see you at the Centre.
No. Roughly half the work is building, grounds, admin and documentation. Being able to draw is a bonus, not a requirement.
Yes, and groups often work well for building projects. Tell us the numbers and ages early, because it changes what we can plan. Groups with under-18s must bring their own supervising adults.
You book your own accommodation. We’ll send a list of nearby guesthouses and self-catering places with honest notes on each, and we’ll tell you what a fair price looks like so you’re not overcharged.
It is a well-established tourist town and generally safe, with the ordinary precautions you’d take anywhere. We’ll cover local specifics in your induction on day one.
Work clothes you don’t mind ruining, closed shoes, a hat, high-factor sun cream and a refillable water bottle. If you have space, art materials and good brushes are the most useful thing you can carry.
We’ll happily write a reference and confirm your hours and duties. Formal academic credit has to come from your institution — send us their requirements early and we’ll work with them. [Confirm you’re happy to offer this]
[Confirm — e.g. dry months for building work, green season for the studio]
We read everything that comes in and reply to all of it, usually within a week. If you don’t hear from us, please chase — email fails more often than people think.
Or write to us directly at info@humbleafricantrust.org.
[Insert the volunteer application form here — see README step 7.]
