We are a farmed animal sanctuary located on a 13 acre property on the beautiful Hamakua coast in Laupahoehoe, Big Island Hawaii. Our purpose is to prevent cruelty to animals by rescuing animals from situations that are abusive, endangering, or neglectful, and to provide sanctuary for rescued animals. Due to the 2018 volcanic eruptions, our little sanctuary grew fast overnight! It is now home to 75 animals and counting including goats, sheep, cows, chickens, pigs, four cats, and two dogs. We have a mix of feral and domestic animals, babies to great big (600 lbs!) pigs. Each and every one loves attention and will be super excited to welcome you to the sanctuary!

We are looking for experienced live-in animal care interns to assist with the daily animal care (which includes lots of love and cuddling!). We are looking for interns with prior animal experience who are committed to the full time animal care position for at least three (3) months to ensure you have time to get oriented, get to know and connect with all the animals, and provide continuity on projects. Every one of our animals is a cherished part of our family, and we prepare healthy meals for them 2-3 times per day, clean and maintain their shelters daily, and are always working on projects to expand the sanctuary to best serve the animals here and in the broader community.

Animal care is centered around feeding, grooming, cleaning, and training from sun-up to sun-down (6:45/7:00am sharp to approximately 6:00pm). Alternating shifts include babysitting for our special needs animals and new babies who need around the clock care and supervision, and computer/photo/video work. You will also have the opportunity to support outreach programs such as sanctuary tours, manage our social media presence, and help on construction projects like building tiny homes for our animals, a special needs animal barn, fence maintenance, etc. We have special needs animals and sometimes new babies that require around the clock supervision, so we are rotating overnight shifts in the guest room off the main house (don't worry, our babies are good sleepers so it's usually just a matter of sleeping in the room with them to ensure they are safe). Expected hours per week is approximately 30 (excluding the overnight shift) with 2 full days off per week.

The help is physically challenging (lots of walking and moderately heavy lifting) but very accessible. You will need to be able to work independently, but we all work closely here as it is our home as well as the sanctuary, and we want to be with the animals all day every day too! There are also several lovely day-shift volunteers who will manage much of the feeding and cleaning chores on their given shift, and team up with you on special projects. Our animals thrive with love and affection so chores are balanced with plenty of time to be close with the animals.

Ability to Commute/Relocate:

Laupāhoehoe, HI 96764 (Required)

Experience:

Farm animal care: 1 year (Preferred)

Language:

English fluently (Required)

License/Certification:

Driver's License (Required)

Interns live in a shared yurt, usually four at a time. We are still working on building out the yurt amenities, but it is currently a fully enclosed living space and interns use the bathroom, kitchenette, and WiFi connection at the main house. We do not allow any smoking or excessive drinking, and no animal products onsite out of respect for our rescued dairy cows, pigs, chickens, goats, etc.

Food is not provided with this position, and will be one of your only expenses while staying with us. We do ask that all volunteers maintain a vegan diet while on the property, in respect of our rescued dairy calves, pigs, and other farm animals. You will have tons of resources and support in this here if needed! Intern candidates will ideally be vegans who can also explain why these types of animals need the sanctuary we are providing them, but we can also help you learn about the issues and support you on the food front if you are not 100% there yet. We have good vegan basics at the local country store, and a fantastic chain of natural foods grocery in the bigger towns where you can buy the best vegan foods. Please absolutely no smoking, drugs, or excessive drinking on the property.

Everyone lives and works together close to the main house (our home), and it is important that we find interns with similar lifestyles to ours to ensure a good fit. We are quiet and respectful, and we enjoy working together during the days and having peaceful time on our own in the evenings once the work day is finished. We love getting to know our interns and sharing this beautiful life together, but we are also looking for individuals who can be independent in their off-work hours. The property (and Big Island in general) is a peaceful place of stunning natural beauty, but very few social activities, so interns should be okay with a small network of people to connect with and of course quiet time with the animals.

We are in a rural area so interns should be excited for the experience to totally immerse with the animals on our beautiful property for the duration of their stay. We are very happy to help you plan time to explore the island and other islands after your volunteer stay. On days off you can explore the lava fields, white sand beaches, swim with turtles and manta rays, go on breathtaking hikes with hiking groups in the area or connect with our wonderful day volunteers to explore with. Hawaii is rich with stunning natural beauty and traditional Hawaiian cultural events like Hula dancing, ukulele and slack-key guitar concerts.

Interns must be appropriately licensed to drive a car in the U.S., as we make daily trips to the country store to pick up scraps for the pigs' dinners. We try to make the truck available for interns to grocery shop and explore the island one day per week (schedule permitting, as sometimes it needs to remain onsite for sanctuary chores and in case of emergency). Interns will be responsible for the fuel costs for personal use of the truck.

We are a completely volunteer run organization and there are no paid positions available. We sincerely appreciate the time our volunteers and interns generously donate to caring for the animals and supporting our cause, and hope that you feel well compensated by the love they will shower you with every day

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Work-Trade Animal Care Intern