Financials

Matang Wildlife Centre Volunteer Program

Through 2012-2013, our price for a two week volunteering placement was £602 per person, which was roughly RM2750. The chart below demonstrates the division of this money through 2012 between expenditure on our project site, and expenses incurred through the volunteers themselves:

We endeavour to meet the living expenses of our Western staff through means other than volunteer contributions such as day-tourism ventures, fees obtained through professional speaking engagements and other commercial tourism products. Our Western team is not salaried, we simply cover food and accommodation.

 Where money is remaining at the end of a given month (which is not always the case, depending on how many volunteers have come through), we save this money for spend on larger projects, such as new enclosures or equipment such as radio telemetry tracking and receiving devices. Generally, the income from the volunteer project is tied up in the daily running costs of Matang (not including the cost of the volunteer themselves). Many of our larger projects and/or purchases have been made through donations, with some assistance from extra money earned from months with lots of volunteers.

As of December 2012, Orangutan Project has spent RM2,383,890 at and on Matang Wildlife Centre, which is almost £500,000 or $800,000. We are proud that a small volunteering project has been able to create such a significant financial contribution to conservation and animal welfare.