Volunteer Travel

Travel with The Mesoamerican Ecotourism Alliance

Belize Starfish

Image source: Travelwithmea.org

With all of the volunteer organizations in operation today, it’s a wonder they aren’t in conflict with each other more often. Organizations are drawn to popular areas—places where tourists naturally go and where volunteering opportunities are likely to be in high demand. It would logically follow then that organizations would be vying for the same villages in the same spectacular locations. So how do organizations prevent conflict? How do they ensure the wellbeing of the communities they serve while ensuring the wellbeing of their own volunteer programs? How do they avoid exploiting a particular site for its massive tourism appeal? How do they make sure the people and wildlife come first?

Ecological Expeditions with EcoTeach

EcoTeach Guide with a Sloth

Image source: Flickr.com

This week I’ve been exploring the interesting intersections between tourism and learning. In some cases, like Return to Freedom (the American wild horse sanctuary) and the Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute, volunteer tourists learn directly through work. They help take care of animals, help with research, work on the farm, and help conceive of new sustainable projects. In other cases, like the Texas A&M Volunteer Entomology Training Program, volunteers learn in the traditional way, in the classroom. At EcoTeach, the subject of today’s article, volunteer tourists learn in a combination of ways—through wilderness expeditions (a classroom in the forest), conservation work, cultural exchange, and guided exploration.

Agri-Tourism With the Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute

VISFI Farmer Teaching Volunteer and Kids

Image source: Theaccidentalfarm.com

In the future, I think we’re going to see a world full of sustainable farms. Our current techniques are unsustainable. We deplete the soil with single-crop harvests. Year after year we grow corn on the same land and each year that land loses more of its vitality and biodiversity. As the microorganisms die, flooded by artificial fertilizers and pesticides, the land becomes increasingly barren. Eventually, that land becomes infertile and we move on, abandoning one wasted farm after another until we have nothing left. Barren soil is prone to erosion from wind and rain. As the last of the life-giving dirt is lost to runoff, the farm becomes a desert. This is how we will lose our green spaces, our food, and our future, unless we start farming responsibly. The Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute is doing just that.

Explore Wild China

Miao Village in Leishan

Image source: Wildchina.com

WildChina is a sustainable travel company that brings travelers and volunteers to a wide variety of locations across the country. They are an ecologically sensitive operation, focused on sharing China’s unique culture and heritage, but they are also a model for-profit organization with a broad spectrum of opportunities for all sorts of travelers. They offer a unique combination: 100% customization, deep-seated networks of opportunities and programs, and commitment to education. WildChina is passionate about China and that passion is infused in all of their trips. Their overarching mission—to teach travelers and volunteers about the beauty, culture, and history of China—is served by their focus on individualized itineraries. Each traveler—vacationer, volunteer, or student—has a unique WildChina experience.

Global Citizens Network: A Cross Cultural Exchange

GCN Volunteers in Tumbatu Ecuador

Image source: Goabroad.com

Lately, I’ve been exploring the benefits of multigenerational volunteer travel experiences. I think families grow stronger when they face positive challenges. Being out of your element as a family means sticking together, relying on each other for support, and learning side-by-side. Seeing your family members in a new way teaches you about who they are as people. On volunteer excursions, families learn as much about each other as they do about the country they’re visiting. I’ve also been on the lookout for family volunteer experiences that involve total cultural immersion. I think, especially for kids, being challenged to acclimate to a home-stay fosters adaptability. It also encourages the development of language skills, since many home-stay families don’t speak English.