Job Description
Welcome to Peace Corps Zambia! Volunteers who have served in Zambia consider it to be the “quintessential Peace Corps experience” due to the rural nature of their site placements and the enthusiasm typically shown to Volunteers for collaboration to address environmental needs. From their brightly colored chitenge fabric to the spectacular Victoria Falls, Zambia embraces their country’s philosophy of “One Zambia, One Nation.”
Volunteers serving in Zambia under the Linking Income, Food, and Environment (LIFE) project have an opportunity to collaborate with host country community counterparts to work in rural communities to boost their food and nutrition security with sustainable agriculture while working to protect one of Zambia’s greatest resources: the forests that cover more than two-thirds of Zambia’s land area.
Volunteers work side-by-side with host country counterparts in building the capacity of rural community members to be food secure in ways that do not destroy natural resources. Volunteers also work with community partners to promote the incorporation of agroforestry technologies in the farming system, help to enhance soil and water management practices, and highlight useful gardening and tree planting techniques. They provide communities with training in basic skills, such as planning, record keeping, and marketing for farmers who are interested in scaling up their activities. Volunteers and local counterparts work together to co-promote increasing dietary diversity by conducting trainings and cooking demonstrations at the household level.
The most successful Volunteers in Zambia are flexible and adaptable and have a passion for supporting host community members in building upon established strengths by offering their knowledge and skills in service of community-prioritized projects. Peace Corps Zambia offers exceptional technical training during Pre-Service Training for those with the motivation to learn about the Environment and Food Security.
In Peace Corps Zambia you can expect to embark on a challenging yet rewarding journey, where building strong relationships and executing projects will bring a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. Many of our current and past Volunteers will attest that the lifelong value of the experience far outweighs the challenges.
Required Skills
Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in agriculture or forestry and must have a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field.
Please Note: A bachelor’s degree is mandatory for all candidates as a requirement for your Zambian work permit.
Desired Skills
Additional skills that may make you a more competitive candidate:
• Competitive candidates will have one or more of the following:
Experience in organizing/leading environmental education activities.
1 to 3 years farm, forestry, or nursery management experience.
Living Conditions
Serving as a Volunteer in Zambia requires commitment to working in rural areas that may be mentally and physically challenging. Volunteers typically live in villages in traditional houses made of local materials, such as mud bricks and a grass thatch or tinned roof, cement floors, without plumbing or electricity. Water will be collected from a nearby bore hole, well or stream, which is filtered through a Peace Corps-issued water filter. Volunteers typically live on a large housing compound, but have their own living structure, cooking area, private bathing area, and latrine. Volunteers may choose to share meals with their host neighbors and resource family members or cook for themselves.
The locations in which volunteers will conduct most of their work are usually nearby, but others may need to bike a short distance to work. Bicycles will be provided, and you will receive riding and maintenance training to ensure their reliability and safety.
Transportation from your community to the provincial capital may take one or two days and will generally be by crowded and dusty forms of public transportation. After transiting at the Provincial Resource Center, it usually takes one day to reach the capital city, Lusaka, and transportation is normally more comfortable, with better roads and commercial vehicles such as buses.
In some provinces where Volunteers serve, Peace Corps Zambia operates a Provincial Resource Center, which is staffed year-round and is used for work collaboration and training. These Centers allow for more comprehensive and timely support of Volunteers’ programming and administrative needs, along with their health and safety, which are Peace Corps’ top priorities.
Cell phone coverage for making calls may not be completely reliable in all communities, but all Volunteers report having enough coverage for text messaging. Many Volunteers choose to bring a laptop, as internet is available at the Provincial Resource Centers and through cell phone providers. Upon arrival, all Volunteers are offered brick phones (not a smartphone) and tablets to support their personal and professional needs in their community.
Zambians regard dress and appearance as demonstrating respect for one another. Volunteers are expected to dress appropriately, whether they are in training, traveling, or on the job. LIFE Volunteers spend much of their time outside, so it is advisable to bring clothing that is comfortable, professional, and modest, yet also sustainable for the many environment related activities you will be performing. Footwear appropriate for considerable standing, walking, and biking is also a necessity.
For women, dresses and skirts should fall below the knee and spaghetti straps are not appropriate unless covered with a sleeved shirt, coat, or jacket. Skintight sports shorts or leggings/yoga pants worn alone are also inappropriate, but may be worn under a skirt or dress, especially when riding bicycles. Men and women should wear shorts only at home, when exercising, or doing work where Zambian counterparts are also wearing them.
Hair should be clean and combed, and beards should be neatly trimmed. Long hair for men, tattoos, and some piercings may not be culturally accepted and may impede community integration, especially during your first few months in the community. Facial piercings are considered inappropriate and should not be worn during Volunteer service. Large tattoos should be covered as much as possible.
Food availability and variety will depend on your community. The staple food in Zambia is nshima (shee-muh), which is made from maize meal and cooked into soft lumps that are eaten with cooked vegetables, fish, meat, beans, or chicken, typically by hand. Vegetarians should have little trouble maintaining a healthy diet, though vegetarianism is relatively uncommon. A few words of polite explanation usually suffice to be excused from eating meat in any situation.
Language Skills Additional Information
While English is the official language of Zambia, Volunteers cannot effectively integrate without the ability to hold basic conversations in the local Zambian language. Some community members may have intermediate or advanced levels of English, however most will not. Therefore, Volunteers are required to learn a local Zambian language.
Trainees are offered a comprehensive language immersion program during their 10-week Pre-Service Training (PST), consisting of roughly 80-85 hours of language training. Trainees will learn from native speakers in the predominant language spoken in their community in which they will be placed. They will be required to attain an intermediate level score and will receive a language survival kit. Trainees are expected to practice during breaks, evenings, and or weekends, as necessary, to meet basic language qualifications.
Once in their community, Volunteers are encouraged to continue to engage in language skill acquisition through the services of a language tutor (paid for by Peace Corps).
Couples Comments
Peace Corps Zambia welcomes couples serving together during service. For any couples to be considered, your partner must qualify for and be invited to serve as a Health (CHEP), Education (RED), or Environment (LIFE) Volunteer.
The Pre-Service Training communities for Environment, Health and Education Volunteers are in the same location. Cross-sector couples will be living together during the three months of Pre-Service Training. Couples also need to be aware that additional but compulsory trainings such as in-service training and mid-service training can be held at different times. However, they will live together at their permanent community.
Language Requirements Information
There are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position. Please take a moment to explore the Language Comments section below to find out more on how local language(s) will be utilized during service.
Environmental Adaptation and Resilience Activities (Public Information)
As an Agriculture Volunteer, you will be trained on best practices for smallholder agriculture to improve household food security and nutrition and adapt to a changing and uncertain environmental context. As the impacts of environmental degradation and unsustainable natural resource management practices become more evident, the social, economic, and environmental contexts that smallholder farmers operate within will continue to change. This will add to the challenges of smallholder farming, particularly for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.
As an Agriculture Volunteer, you will be trained to support food security and livelihood improvement while increasing community resilience and adaptation to global change through your activities. These activities will:
• Promote the adoption of improved, appropriate, and adaptive agricultural practices and technologies that increase productivity, including practices that:
• Improve soil health and promote circularity of on-farm organic waste
• Reflect indigenous knowledge of nature-based solutions and
• Preserve and enhance forests, biodiversity, and ecosystem services.
• Build and strengthen household resilience by integrating and diversifying existing and new agriculture-related income-generating opportunities
• Improve household nutrition, particularly that of the most vulnerable household members
