Community Tourism in Kilengi / Photo: The Dilly Lama

What exactly is Community Based Tourism (CBT)? You may not be the only person who doesn’t know what this phrase means.

In the world of “funders, conservationists and development workers,” Community Based Tourism denotes visitors who live and work within a community – usually a poor, rural one.

The purpose is to help implement projects that will benefit the community over the long term.

Or, as ResponsibleTravel.com explains:

The residents (of the community) earn income as land managers, entrepreneurs, service and produce providers, and employees. At least part of the tourist income is set aside for projects which provide benefits to the community as a whole…CBT enables the tourist to discover local habitats and wildlife, and celebrates and respects traditional cultures, rituals and wisdom.

Sounds good and cheery, doesn’t it? Well a new study has found that the economic viability of these projects is not quite…viable.

Harold Goodwin, of the of main researchers on the study, writes in his blog that out of 116 CBT initiatives nominated from all over the world, only four were economically sustainable (keeping in mind that only 28 of the projects responded).

What’s the problem?

Issues ranging from donor dependence, lack of adequate markets (average bed occupancy achieved by CBT initiatives is around 5%), vague definitions of what CBT actually is, and the fact that there is not much difference between CBT projects and conventional investments are all working against this form of tourism.

Interestingly, Goodwin notes:

The research has demonstrated that there are a number of initiatives which are not CBT which have demonstrated very considerable employment, local economic development and collective community benefits, for example Manda Wilderness (Mozambique), Aga Khan Development Network in Pakistan (Baltit and Shigar Forts) and Chumbe Island (Tanzania).

He still lists off 6 recommendations that would strengthen CBT.

Still, many of us like to believe that working from the ground-up is the way to implement sustainable ways of living, and that as tourists, we can help a community achieve this goal.

Even Goodwin asks: “If you know of examples of successful CBT initiatives where success is demonstrable by data please let me have them – I am still looking for successes.”

Do you think Community Based Tourism has been mis-judged, or should it be discarded? Share your thoughts below.

Photo by carf

A traveler walks down the red-light district of Manila City, Philippines. Carrying a backpack, a distressed expression and a pack of eager street children at his heels, he is left at a crossroads — to give or not to give?

Some yield to the desperate pleas, guilt ridden for the clean beds they know are waiting for them; others stare into space, hoping that their polite dismissal really is for the best.

This is not an uncommon sight in countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, Brazil and India, wherein the divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots” is extreme. Though poverty is a global issue, the evidence of such despair is most blatantly displayed in developing nations.

There is no avoiding a child’s eyes looking up at you, an amputee holding out an empty McDonald’s cup or a mother and infant sitting in the blazing heat hoping to look “pathetic” enough to warrant the charity of a few coins.

It is an anxiety-ridden dilemma.

Knowing that these kids have not only been damaged by their homeless state, but also by the constant sexual, physical and emotional abuse, makes saying “no” a tortuous task. However, handing out a few coins results in sense of helplessness as this donation often goes to their “beggar masters,” drugs or to parents who often spend it on alcohol or illegal substances.

Therefore, how can travelers help when money is clearly not the answer? Here’s 10 things you can do:

1. Volunteer

Even if you’re not part of the Peace Corps or United Planet Quest, does not mean that you can’t reach out.

Aside from volunteer vacation programs such as Global Volunteers, you can do your part, even for just a day, with a legitimate agency. There are several directories of international outreach opportunities online, such as Idealist.org, Eyesong.org and Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree forum on volunteerism.

If you are interested in a more direct method, then head over to the local church, mosque, temple and ask if they need any help or know any local programs or schools where you can take part.

You can also peruse the internet and search for community organizations such as Hands on Manila in the Philippines, Asha.org in India or Streetfriends.org in Cambodia.

2. Give A Moment

The simplest and the most valuable thing you can give to a child is time. Rather than brushing them off to make your way to the next tourist site, spend some time to ask them their names, what they like to do, or their favorite games.

Traveler, writer and co-founder of the Ethical Traveler, Jeff Greenwald stated in an interview with the Globe and Mail that “Generosity doesn’t have to mean giving away things. Sharing a bit of yourself, opening a window into your own world, is a good place to begin.”

3. Eat Together

Photo by carf

If you’ve made a connection with a particular child, dining together is a great way to spend time with someone whilst letting them enjoy a warm meal. Try to eat together in one of the local eateries rather than a fast food chain.

Not only will it be healthier but it will also let the child feel more secure knowing that you are interested in his or her country and culture. However, remain cautious when extending the invitiation, as one may end up meaning that you’re taking the entire community out for a treat.

4. Share Your World

Giving things such as pens, candies or clothes may seem like a great alternative, but it often leads to a whole slew of problems.

Not only does it breed materialism, it also promotes unhealthy competition and makes them view begging as a “fun” possibility. Rather than learning anything from travelers, children come to view foreigners as gift dispensers.

Author and vagabonder Jeff Greenwald states in Straight.com that it becomes like “trick-or-treating” for the kids. Louis, a traveler from Ottawa says on the Journeywoman.com board that handing out pens and balloons often causes fights, pollution and “gets children used to systematically ask for things.”

In Jeff Greenwald’s article “A Fistful of Rupees: Coping with Begging on Third World Trails” he recounts an experience with some kids from Delhi and the power of an inflatable globe:

“Cornered by a troupe of 10-year-old beggars in Delhi, I pulled out a small, inflatable world globe. What started as a feeding frenzy quickly became a geography lesson. The kids immediately began matching bits of news they’d heard on the radio – about Russia, Japan and the U.S. – to the appropriate countries, and argued heatedly about why India was pink and Pakistan blue.”

5. Play With Pictures

Another great tool is your digital camera. Kids love to ham it up and in my experience, they will often burst into excited shrieks and start making funny faces, flashing “peace signs” or doing group photo ops. If you can, show them the results, and guaranteed you’ll have a ton of kids squealing with excitement and eager to do another round of wacky poses.

6. Feel the Music

If you’re musically inclined (or in denial of being tone-deaf), try singing a few lines of a global pop song like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” More often than not, you’ll have kid’s belting out the lyrics with an accompanying “moonwalk.”

7. Create a Picture

If you want to leave a part of yourself behind, then how about a postcard of your hometown or a drawing of cities you’ve visited? Not only will you be sharing a part of where you’re from or where you’ve been, but it also provides a great image of the world beyond the slums. You can make it even more personal by writing a few words or do a group drawing session on the postcard.

8. Teach Each Other

Even if you’re not the artistic type, getting the kids involved in a spontaneous ‘arts and crafts’ session is a great way to get their creative juices flowing.

Small projects such as showing them some cool Origami techniques (or paper airplanes) or making simple bracelets with some string will be a mutually inspiring activity. If you’d like to do something more in-depth, you can also check out an charity organizations that specialize in this field.

9. Learn Local Slang

Have the children teach you some of the local lingo. In turn, share some funny phrases in your language. This method beats any phrase book you can buy, as you’ll be learning the key phrases to getting around the city. In turn you’ll gain a few friends and make them feel like they’ve done something special.

10. Donate To Local Orgs

Just because the jingling coins in your pocket are rendered useless on the street, remember that there are still ways to shell out those pennies without the guilt.

You can head over to the local schools or organizations and donate books, coloring materials and other learning paraphernalia.

Do some internet sleuthing and find out how you can help out when you return home. A great read is Emma Jacobs article on helping the locals you leave behind.

Though there aren’t any clear cut answers, recognizing that poverty is a global issue and that children all over the world deserve a future is the first step in the right direction. As Dr. Loretta Scott famously said: “We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.”

Do you have advice on helping street children? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Ferrymen in Laos. Photo by fredalix

One of the most challenging things about traveling in developing areas can be returning home. Once back in familiar surroundings, you can feel miles away in more ways than one.

It’s hard to know what you can do about the things you’ve seen and done abroad. You may have left, but there are still ways to stay involved in the communities you’ve visited.

In our global age, even when you cannot be traveling and working abroad, you can still do a lot of good long-distance.

1. Keep in touch

Most importantly, stay in touch with the people you’ve met. Write by snail mail and by email to keep up with friends and acquaintances you’ve made abroad. There’s nothing like a pen pal to keep you up on current events and to help you stay connected to the community you’ve left.

2. Round up donations

The community let you visit and learn from them. So why not try mailing back things they can use?

Collect school supplies or books. Help start a micro-project. A lot of the clothing and items are cast away where you live can mean a business opportunity for someone in another country.

3. Help build partnerships

Look at the businesses and institutions you’re involved with to see if you can help build bridges between them and others in the country you’ve been living in abroad.

Think about what you can collect. Then consider what fifty motivated people could collect. Sister schools, rotary clubs and other groups that round up old computers and supplies and send them abroad can help organize and fund cooperative projects.

4. Create a website

One Italian tourist was so grateful to his guide in Dogon Country, Mali that he created a website for his guide to help other tourists find and hire him.

Could you do a similar project? How can you help people abroad communicate with people in your home country?

5. Find an organization at home

If you care about an issue, chances are there are others who do too. There are lots of organizations working for human rights or fighting poverty around the world that would love to have you on their side.

If you look around, you can probably find one that’s focused on a region you’ve visited. Offer some of your time. Find an internship or volunteer.

6. Practice the language

Just because you’ve left doesn’t meant your language study needs to end! Sticking with a language is the best way to keep engaged in the place and culture you have left and bring it home with you. And if you practice long enough, you may find a way to go back and speak it again.

7. Keep talking and writing about what you’ve seen

You have had an opportunity to visit a part of the world other people may never see. Share the country you’ve gotten to know, in all its dimensions.

Make yourself known as a contact person for others headed abroad. Try writing for a wider audience.

All sorts of publications would love to hear about different aspects of your experience-try submitting to a publication on travel, development, food or music or human rights.

Share your photos, your advice and your experience and let other people get to know the country you’ve come to love.

Community Connection!

Join a community of passionate travelers and connect with grassroots organizations by checking out the Matador community today.

Christmas has always been about family, yet in the same context, Christmas has been about the spirit of giving-in many different ways.

When I say giving, I am referring to a scale of giving; from honest care to its’ opposite, or shall we say mass consumption and the hoards of consumers, entering shops and browsing online catalogs with as deep or as shallow of pockets permissible.

This holiday season I experienced both worlds, but fortunately, there was a choice, and on the family side of things we removed ourselves from ritualistic spending and nonsensical wasting of resources. Instead, we decided to give back, both with thought and action.

There is a way to find balance. With the Christmas spirit, it is to be thoughtful in all one gives and possibly volunteer for those less fortunate.

The Corporate Holiday

Spending the fall and winter seasons in the midst of corporate America did not elevate my excitement for the holidays. Whether it was the exhausting rush of Thanksgiving sales, the merciless orgy of Black Friday, to the final week before Christmas, I clocked my hours at Seattle’s REI Flagship store as a snow-sports specialist.

I sold snowboards, packaging the hard-goods with boots and bindings to push a 10% discount. I rearranged, organized and picked up after customers in the helmets and goggles department where plastic and cardboard boxes splayed across shelves. I answered phones, ordered unavailable products, put others on hold, and directed individuals to their desirous locales, pointing at signs clearly posted but apparently lost to the sights of shoppers too cluttered to notice.

The retail world roundabout the holiday season: I came, I went, and I shall never return.

Likewise, for a month straight I heard Christmas carols echoing from the wooden rafters. From Michael Bolton to Alvin & The Chipmunks and way back with Doctor Demento-they bounced off nuts and bolts, across metal air ducts and through vast open spaces.

My head spun with cheesy saxophones and piercing voices and jangling bells, along with the questions, services, projects, areas to tidy, customers to greet. Influenced by this madness, the idea of Christmas was appalling. And yet I still needed to shop.

Therefore, my hours were minimal. Having lived the false spirit of Christmas via retail with maddened shoppers who believe the higher the price, the more love received, the more gratitude awarded-I went homegrown.

Back Home

The best gift is one with heart and soul. It is a gift with thought, personalized with the flavor of the giver and the appetite of the receiver. Since youth, my mother has reminded me: “The best gift is one made by you and your imagination alone.”

So I lived the consumption at work, and in the end I quit, giving my two weeks notice long before December 25th arrived. I had to leave.

Back home I spurred my imagination into creativity, thinking of family and friends, lovers near and lovers far. I mended my Grinch-filled spirit so as not to steal away the blessings of Christmas and I designed my own gifts.

I wrote poetry and prose. I concocted a blend of organic hot cocoa mix, baked sweet yummy banana-carob goodness bread, and shared music to continue the dance of life. In essence, I stayed away from the money-frenzied Western culture and supplied the core of Christmas giving with my own two hands and my own open mind, combining their creativity into one.

Assuaged from corporate nightmares, the spirit of Christmas was born again.

A Spiritual Rebirth

Morning arrived: December 25th, 2007. All shopping ceased. All those long lists of desires, wants and dreams shortened until tomorrow, next week, the year’s resolutions.

Yet, nestled within a small home, my family and I drank tea and coffee as we sat on the couch and watched two dogs bound upon one other. There was no Christmas tree. There were no lights, no stuffed Santa Clauses, no ornaments and no scents of cinnamon, nutmeg or cloves from fresh batches of Egg Nog.

There was only family and the call within each of our hearts to reunite from our individual lives and be near each other. The sun rose, and shortly we were off.

What truly rings clear not only during the holidays, but every day, is that spirit of sharing. Having so much, granted the ability to experience many things, there comes an alignment within oneself to give back and actively show appreciation.

As a family, we wanted to share our energies with those most in need.

To emerge from the bubble of one’s single-track lifestyle and share oneself with others less fortunate is the best gift, not only to give to those asking for help, but to oneself as well.

Coming Full Circle

At 9:30 Christmas morning we unloaded and stepped into a large grassy park in southern California. The sun was shining, the air comfortable with a short breeze, and all around were hundreds of volunteers busily organizing themselves and preparing for the annual Christmas feed.

Stepping up to the volunteer table, we presented ourselves and set to work in the spirit of giving, one not of monetary means, clothes, jewelry or cars, but simply of our time, our concern and our compassion.

We filled and tied balloons. We decorated. Others set up chairs and tables, cones for lines, stalls of beverages, collected donations of food and carved slices of honey ham. Yams were plentiful, as were the pies, peas and sweet corn. Cars drove up and provided more food, more gifts and more love.

The spirit of giving-a true Christmas-was alive and well.

From the wastelands of consumerism to the return of Christmas and the spirit of giving, sharing, and gratitude. The holiday season can come full circle, traveling through the polar opposites of living and the joys and pains it can bring.

With all things in life, in each moment, there are choices to be made, and whether from motherly advice or individual participation, the holiday season can be one of humble creativity and compassionate giving.

As members of the human family, we all have to learn to cherish each other; this includes ourselves as well as those nearest to, and farthest from, our circle of understanding.

Come again, sweet holidays, and bring with you the joy of giving, the gratitude of receiving, and the spirit of sharing.

Cameron Karsten writes spiritual and health travel columns for Brave New Traveler. He left his formal classroom studies to indulge in dreams of travel at 19 years old, and has been wandering ever since. Visit his personal website.

Whether that is true or not is for you to decide after you come back from that international vacation. If you spent it roasting on the beach, shopping like mad, and binging on local drink specials every afternoon, you probably don’t feel any different.

If you really want a life changing experience, you should explore how to find great international volunteering opportunities.

There are a lot of programs out there, and finding a trust-worthy placement is a valuable way to spend the two weeks (or more) of your vacation every year. Not only will you return refreshed yourself, you will also be forming beneficial relationships with people in other countries.

So you may be asking yourself how to find great international volunteering opportunities? Here are 8 ideas to consider:

1. Your favorite non-profit organization

Maybe you teach English to refugees on Saturday mornings or give money to the Make a Wish foundation. If you already support a non-profit organization and want to travel abroad to donate your time, you should check with them to see if they have programs abroad. (Bonus: you may even be able to write it off of your taxes).

2. Join the Rotary Club

The Rotary Club calls themselves a global network of community volunteers, and by joining them, you can have access to their network all over the world. If you aren’t eligible for membership, you may be able to get them to sponsor you to go abroad. They give scholarships to students to study abroad every year and have volunteer programs as well.

3. Your Church

If you belong to a church, they probably have volunteer opportunities either through the church directly or through other churches in the area. Asking your pastor is a great first step.

One advantage about going through a church is often the trip will be less expensive, because you may be able to find lodging with the people that you are helping directly. It is a great way to understand the problem and make a difference.

4. The Newspaper

Of course you shouldn’t just go to the scene of some disaster unless you are invited to go, but after the situation stabilizes (and a lot of the international aid workers have left), they will be begging for people who can help to rebuild the area.

Your newspaper will likely be running stories about what is happening one year after a major earthquake or fire, so use this as a resource to help you know where to go.

5. Ask Your University

A lot of alumni associations have information about further education vacations and some even offer volunteer opportunities. This is a great way to help your university get its name out to people around the world.

6. Join a Professional Organization

Whatever your industry, they probably have a professional organization associated with it. By joining your professional organization, you’ll get access to a network of people all over the world, (and a subscription to their magazine). Many of these professional magazines give you information on how to help people all over the world.

7. Check with the Embassies

A lot of Embassies offer information for volunteers who want to come to their country. By asking them what they need, you can get information directly from the source.

8. Get a Group and Offer Your Services

If you still don’t know what you want to do, get a group of your friends or colleagues together and offer your services. You can put an advertisement on a volunteering board describing what you want to do.
　
When choosing a program, it is important that you pick an established company that has been in business for a couple of years. That way all of the kinks that are often associated with some of the initial trips are worked out.

(Don’t forget to visit The Complete Guide To Volunteer Tourism)

Casandra Tian is an American born writer, graduated from University of Illinois, and currently living in Xinjiang, China. She’s a frequent contributor to the following blogs:, Wine Making Supplies, and China Lenox and International Travel Medical Insurance.

The topic of volun-tourism has been mentioned numerous times of late (such as our volunteer guide) so when I came across this excellent short film, I thought I’d share.

Here’s the lowdown: 12 people, 3 days and 1 school. This is a documentary about a community project trek deep into the Himalaya to help restore a school. The project was a joint venture been The Footprints Network, World Nomads and World Expeditions.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

In the past, volunteer travel typically meant a significant investment of time – generally requiring people to spend several weeks or months supporting a project.

Now there are a multitude of options for people interested in mixing smaller doses of volunteering in with their holiday travel.

The question for many would-be “voluntourists” becomes, “how can I find a good volunteer travel program?”

Xola Consulting has spent the past two years working with a range of organizations providing blended adventure/volunteer experiences to travelers as well as talking with so-called “voluntourists” from age 20 to 72, and here’s how we break it down.

We’ve got two sections: Finding a Volunteer Trip and Evaluating Trips.

Finding A Volunteer Trip

Guidelines for Scouting the Trip of a Lifetime

Given the range of options available, scouting your ideal trip will involve a fair bit of Internet searching. A couple suggestions:

Step 1. Assess Your Interests

Before you go crazy on Google, honestly assess your interests: do you want to spend more time volunteering, or more time touring?

Specify for yourself whether you want volunteer activities to comprise the main dish, so to speak, or the seasoning of your holiday meal.

Do you want to spend most of your time lounging on the beach and maybe a couple afternoons volunteering? Or are you looking for a more intensive volunteer experience, where the majority of your time is spent working, albeit in a foreign land?

This first decision will be crucial to how you conduct your search and how you select a program.

Step 2. Start Your Search

Ok, now the searching can begin. Most people start with an online search, and we still think this is an excellent way of sizing up the vast universe of opportunities out there, given that a definitive database of volunteer travel experiences currently does not exist.

Below, two approaches to searching through the options.

• Emphasis on Vacation

  If you answered the first question with the decision that you want more holiday with a little volunteering thrown in, you can start your search by simply identifying trips that interest you – whether you’re searching by location or sport/activity.

  Then, from your short listed set of trips and tour operators that interest you, contact tour operators and ask whether they have any volunteer opportunities available on their trips.

  This may sound crazy, but many times good adventure tour operators, for example, have volunteer options – however, if it’s not their primary focus they may not be advertising them.

  Some suggested resources:

  Recommendations for blended adventure/volunteer organizations can be found at Off the Radar, a website Xola Consulting launched with a monthly newsletter dedicated to supporting excellent entrepreneurial adventure travel operators committed to communities and the environment.

  Off the Radar occasionally reviews and makes recommendations for more trips that blend volunteer service with adventure travel – stay tuned for the August issue where we’ll be covering a great volunteer cycle trip in Nepal this fall.

  Companies with volunteer service trips are also frequently reviewed by Voluntourism International a non-profit organization dedicated to educating and disseminating information about volunteer travel in their Voluntourist newsletter and on their website in the section dedicated to Worldwide Options.

• Emphasis on Volunteer Work

  If, on the other hand you answered the first question with the decision that you want volunteering to be a primary focus of the trip, get ready for a deluge.

  If you do a google search on the words, “volunteer tourism,” for example, it’ll return more than 2 million results.

  Get more specific about your interests and search “volunteer travel and africa” for example, and you’ll still find nearly as many results – tour companies, non-profit organizations, and educational institutions with programs.

  Some places we like to start for the more volunteer-focused traveler:

  Transitions Abroad magazine dedicated to volunteering and working abroad. Their website is also a wonderful resource.

  Idealist.org with its vast and growing database of over 61,000 nonprofit and community organizations in 165 countries, is another excellent resource.

  Peter Greenberg’s travel site also has a good section on Voluntourism with links to some of the larger, global organizations such as Airline Ambassadors, Globe Aware and i-to-i.

  Great ideas and information can also be found from our trusted friends at Lonely Planet – they published a new title in June 2007 called Volunteer and also have plans for a new microsite.

  Bill McMahon’s book Volunteer Vacations: Short-Term Adventures That Will Benefit You and Others is another good resource.

Evaluating A Volunteer Project Or Trip

How To Tell The Good, The Bad, and The Scams

Having spent months on the road experiencing a variety of volunteer adventure trips, one thing we see missing from the guidance being offered to travelers is how to evaluate the substance of the programs they’ll be supporting with their time and money.

Although volunteer travel can be extremely beneficial to local communities, there are instances where well-meaning tour operators or NGOs have initiated poorly designed and researched programs that ultimately do a disservice to the communities they seek to support.

In addition to all the standard questions about fees, accommodations, time spent volunteering, and nature of the work (ie. will you be doing manual labor like helping to build or fix something, or something softer like teaching English classes?), we recommend asking the program manager specific questions about the nature of the program and its impact in the community.

In Xola’s consulting work into “best practices” on this topic, some of the greatest challenges we’ve seen tour operators and NGOs face are corruption, sustainability, and what we’ll call the “law of unintended consequences.”

Corruption

Sometimes tour operators may not even know when their financial or material contributions are being mismanaged.

For example, they may take travelers to visit and volunteer at an orphanage, but may not know until too late that the orphanage managers are “hiring” kids from family homes in villages to pose as orphans in order to encourage donations.

Sadly, there are too many examples of this type of corruption worldwide. Here are some ways to assess whether the tour operator or NGO you plan to volunteer with is worthy:

• How Long Has The Organization Been Operating?

  Find out how long the organization and/or its partners have been supporting humanitarian or environmental projects in the country you’ll be visiting.

  Then again, if the tour operator or NGO is brand new and has little experience in the region it doesn’t mean they’re not worthy of your support, but they might not have sorted out any issues of corruption with their programs.

• How Do They Measure Results?

  Ask directly whether and how they measure the results of their program and whether they’ve had to face issues of corruption.

  They’ll usually be very candid with you and may share experiences they’ve learned from in the field, and ways they’ve had to modify their program to address these issues.

  If an organization can show measurable improvements over time, it’s a pretty fair bet that even with some issues, enough of the organization’s contributions and efforts are achieving their objectives.

  Remember, volunteering and doing business in developing countries can be very different from operations in developed countries.

• Do They Understand The Local Language?

  Find out whether the tour operator or NGO’s in-country team speaks the native language; organizations can only really interact well and understand the social undercurrents in local communities if they speak the language and can establish trust.

  This may be especially challenging in countries where local people speak a variety of dialects.

Sustainability

The goal of most humanitarian and environmental aid work should be to build up communities to eventually manage projects that are self-sustaining and can continue without foreign support.

Strengthening local communities through education and economic development is a challenge that can take years, but keeping this goal in mind is crucial – think “a hand up, not a hand out.”

Some suggestions for gauging the sustainability of tour operator or NGO programs:

• How Involved Is The Local Community?

  Find out how involved the local community is with any volunteer service projects. Is the community in full receive-mode or are they making some contribution of time and/or money as well?

  All the research suggests that unless local communities are invested in projects they will not value or maintain them over the long term.

• How Self-Empowering Is The Project?

  Another serious issue with volunteer travel for communities located on a tourist route is that over time traveling volunteers may put local communities in a welfare state of mind, lulling them to a place of perpetually expecting and counting on the support of foreign volunteers.

  Programs aimed at self- empowerment are the best, so it’s good to ask about the organization’s long term goals and how they are working for sustainability.

The Law Of Unintended Consequences

Tour operators and well meaning NGOs may establish dependencies in communities for services or products they are not in a position to support over the long term.

Talk with the tour operator or NGO to learn the details of how their programs were created. Here are some key issues:

• How Is The Project Need Determined?

  Did the operator simply cruise through the village one day and say, “Hey! Looks like these people need more tennis shoes, windbreakers, and blankets, I’m going to bring some of that through on my next tour!”

  Or did they take a collaborative approach, and work with local people to ask them what they need and then determine whether and how they might be able to support those needs?

  Donors and well meaning volunteers bring their own cultural perceptions of “need” with them when they travel, and can create needs that didn’t exist in communities, even though they have the best intentions.

• Does the organization have a regular presence in the community?

  Tour operators that pass through periodically without having any regular presence in communities may be providing services or materials that establish dependencies in local communities, which they are not in a position to continue supporting over the long term.

  If you’re part of a tour delivering supplies to local communities, for example, think carefully about that.

  Once you deliver the school supplies or medical supplies and created a local “need” for these new products, is there anyone dedicated to providing them on an ongoing basis? Do local people know how to use the medical supplies provided?

Wrap Up

While we tried to cover most bases in this volunteer tourism guide, there are no right answers for every situations. Visiting the links mentioned above will expand your knowledge and help you find the perfect volunteer position.

Thanks for reading, and good luck!

Christina Heyniger is the founder of Xola Consulting and Off the Radar, an online resource for adventure travelers. Xola (which means ‘stay in peace’) provides research and consulting services to adventure travel companies and tourism boards around the world.

Do you have any more tips for volunteering tourism? Share in the comments!

The white Toyota pick-up truck bumps along the pitted dirt road and over several very questionable wooden bridges. That last pothole we cleared could have swallowed a Volkswagen. Later on we pass through a traffic jam of stubborn water buffalo.

My hands are white knuckled as I sit on the side of the pickup, clinging with all my strength. I am on my way to Tol Krol East village in the Pursat province of Cambodia.

I am part of a team of seven volunteers from across Canada and one from the UK who are in Cambodia with the Hope International Development Agency (Hope) Understanding Needs in Other Nations (UNION) program.

The goal of the UNION program is to immerse Westerners in the daily rural life of developing countries like Cambodia in order to learn the challenges people face and understand the causes of the poverty cycle.

Our team will help build a school for the children who have no access to education. In fact, most of the children spend their days working the land, walking miles to gather water, or earning a meager wage toiling in the local quarry breaking rock and loading dump trucks by hand.

An Auspicious Arrival

The road narrows and becomes more dilapidated as we pass a few small thatched huts, the only sign that we are approaching the village. I am told it is the rainy season, but all the fields are dry and the crops are sparse. As we round the corner I see the community Buddhist Pagoda (temple) perched on a nearby hill.

Shortly after we arrive at the school site to find most of the village there to greet us, including kids, parents, workers, and monks. I see a few children swimming in a small watering hole, likely the remnants of previous gravel mining in the area.

We unload the tools and supplies from the truck in a whirlwind of introductions to the village leaders and the local carpenters who will work on the school with us. There is so much I want to say, but my Khmer (Cambodian language) is limited to “hello,” and “my name is.” Luckily a warm smile and friendly handshake is all that is needed.

The team is immediately put to work using hoes to load soil into wicker baskets and hauling the baskets to the school site to level the floor. It is early morning and I can already feel the heat and humidity building. It’s going to be an inferno of a workday. I don’t even want to look at a thermometer.

I quickly realize I would do anything for a wheel barrow, and at one point the team considers trying to build one. Yet the children are strong and resilient as they help us carry the soil-laden baskets. I wear my heavy work boots while many of the kids make do without shoes and a smile ear to ear, happy and proud to help build what will be their school.

I teach them to count to three in English before we toss each basket of soil and soon all the children are counting out loud and trying to teach us to count in Khmer. This month will be full of hard work but it will also be a lot of fun.

After lunch I am recruited to help hoist the main sections of the wooden frame into place. The frame is tropical hardwood and it takes about fifteen of us to hoist each section. At the end of the first day I am surprised and delighted to see the school is already taking shape.

The sun sets while we play a game of Saiee with the kids. Saiee is like hacky sack but instead of a bean bag we kick around something similar to a badminton birdie. I end up kicking more air than Saiee but receive points for style.

Hard Work And Hot Sun

Over the next few days we haul large rocks with a small creaky wooden cart to further fill the foundation. Again the kids are more than eager to help us load and help push the cart.

At one point a small girl fell to the ground, knocked over by the group pushing the cart. My heart leapt to my throat as I rushed to check her over, while she cries in the arms of Odette, the UNION team leader. Luckily she is not injured, however the mishap reminds our team to be careful at all times.

Each day we break for lunch and walk up the hill with the rest of the workers and kids to eat at the Pagoda. I decide to carry Ruan, (a hyper and mischievous little tyke who likes to karate chop me when I am not looking), over one shoulder and give him a few airplane spins on the way up the hill.

We eat lunch on woven grass mats in an open air pavilion. Streamers of brilliantly coloured cloth strips of hang from the thatched roof and a small Buddhist shrine is located at the far end. Barang, the local woman who cooks for us, prepares a full lunch with spicy sour fish soup, chicken and green beans with rice, and fresh dragon fruit for dessert.

It is hard not to notice the contrast of our lunch with that of the locals: rice or raw corn eaten straight from the cob. Needless to say everyone makes sure to finish what is provided, and any remaining food is given to the monks of the Pagoda who live largely on the donations of others.

Afterwards the group relaxes in the shade of the Pagoda until the midday heat dissipates. This relaxation time, or ‘sombra,’ is a great time to play games with the kids, and just sit back and observe life in Tol Krol East.

A card game of ‘go fish’ starts up and we instantly have an audience interested in learning the game. Darun and Simpa, two of the boys who live under the care of the Monks, learn the rules very quickly. Simpa even ends up winning most of the games.

The pavilion is situated adjacent the main temple building of the Pagoda. I watch from afar one of the older monks perform a blessing on several of the local families. The family members kneel in a row and the Monk sits behind them on a stool.

As the Monk recites the blessing he splashes a small amount of water on each of the family member’s heads, starting with the parents and then the children, and repeats until the blessing is complete. As I observe the blessing and the surrounding landscape I feel the energy of this land and the people.

I am filled with a sense of hope and I consider myself privileged to be a guest in their village.

Must Get Your Hands Dirty

By the end of the second week the school’s roof is finished and we are ready to compact the earthen floor area by hand. We are told by Peeyep, the project foreman, that we may have to wait a day for a water truck to arrive to water down the soil.

I notice menacing dark clouds are forming in the east — perhaps a storm? At the end of the workday the clouds arrive with impressive force. The winds drive the rain sideways, and the crew is forced to huddle under the newly constructed roof for shelter, hoping the new structure will survive the gale force winds.

Small rivers begin to appear in the previously dry ditches. The runoff floods toward the school and the quick thinking workers decide to divert the water towards the earthen floor. We would no longer have to wait a day for the water truck to arrive. Mother Nature was not about to allow us to have a day off!

In the morning we start compacting the floor by hand with elephant’s feet. To my dismay, we do not receive any help from our large tusked friends from the animal kingdom. Rather the elephant’s foot is a large heavy tree stump with handles that we repeatedly lift and drop to the floor.

By midday my arms are ready to fall off, and I whimper at the thought of more work with the elephant’s foot. Luckily the floor is done and we are ready to mix and pour the concrete.

The UNION team mixes it by hand in piles on the ground and carries the concrete by bucket to the school. The local mason levels and finishes the floor by eye with incredible precision. When he finishes his work, we are allowed to leave our hand prints in the concrete. I draw a small maple leaf in the corner, a symbol of the partnership formed between the Canadians and this village.

The next week is spent cutting the wall panels and nailing them to the exterior of the school. All the work is done by hand without power tools. The only power in the area is supplied by the car batteries each family uses to run lights or small televisions.

Painting the building a vibrant red is complete in two days. The school is officially finished in three weeks, one week ahead of schedule, allowing the team to work on other projects in the area for the final week: including a drinking water well, and learning to plant rice at an agriculture project.

A Celebration

On the last day a celebration is organised for the village children who will attend the school starting in October. We are guided into one of the class rooms where the children are lined up by gender and age group and dressed in their best clothing. Each team member is allowed to say a few words which are translated for the young audience.

As I step forward to speak I feel tears well up in my eyes. I manage to thank our hosts for our wonderful time as guests in the community. I also confess the friendships forged over the past month are as strong as the school building we stand in and will last in my mind forever.

The village chief thanks us for caring about the people in his village and for our dedication to travel so far from home.

With the emotional speeches over it was time for fun. Pop and cookies are handed out to the kids and we distribute a big bag of toys. I could not help but grin ear to ear at the sight of the children skipping, playing Frisbee, and running around in the school yard for the first time.

An immense sense of satisfaction fell over me to see many of the kids smiling and simply being able to laugh and play as kids.

Before long it was time to leave. Feelings of joy, sadness and excitement fill me as I jump into the back of the pickup for the last time.

The vehicle slowly pulls away and the team waves enthusiastically to the village. We drive onto the road that leads out of the village.

There are few moments in life when you can feel your heart grow in an instant. Without a doubt, mine swelled as I looked back to see the group from the village walking after the truck, smiling and waving until we drive out of sight.

To join an experience like this yourself, visit Hope International.

Bryan Tripp plans to stay active in international development through his ongoing involvement with Hope International and Engineers Without Borders. For good-times, he enjoys beach volleyball, hiking, camping, and live theatre.

In 2002, after a dozen years of office work, I took off around the world. I had a good job, with a good firm and I wasn’t happy. Changing jobs wasn’t enough.

So I traveled. First through South East Asia and then Central America. I visited a dozen countries in all and had the time of my life.

Coincidentally, my trip turned into something of a “Victims of US Foreign Policy World Tour.” Vietnam, Cambodia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama – I asked the same questions about their history and got roughly the same damning answers.

By the time I returned to the UK the next victim was being lined up. The Iraq war was inevitable. My marching, letter writing and blogging didn’t seem enough.

In the ‘70s our rock stars and businessmen joined the “brain drain” and left highly taxed Britain for the States. In 2004 I joined the “Shamed Drain” and followed the huge number of Americans, Brits and Australians who are not in love with their respective countries because of these events.

What did we do about it? We volunteered.

So without further ado, here are 10 Reasons Why Volunteering Is Better Than Traveling.

1. Eating banana pancakes and lying in a hammock is a great way to live. I won’t deny it. But through volunteer work you can be proud of what you did today, rather than revelling in doing nothing.

2. Spend a while somewhere and you find all the coolest places. By the time the Lonely Planet catches up – the party is already over.

3. You learn the language. That includes the swear words.

4. You learn that local people are not always trying to rip you off. More often than not, that REALLY is the price.

5. Because staying in one place means less plane travel. Travel is good. Planes are not good. It’s tricky but a longer time in fewer places is a step in the right direction.

6. You get to know the neighbourhood. In Vietnam I’d say: “HALLO!” 30 times before I reached the end of my street. Even my grumpiest moods were transformed.

7. You enjoy all the seasons. Hot, cold, rain. After I couldn’t get any wetter, walking to work up to my waist in water was actually one of the funniest, silliest, most joyous things I have ever done.

8. You learn not to wear stupid clothes. I’m sorry but backpackers walking around winter in Hanoi dressed in tiny shorts, singlets and flip flops look ridiculous. Where’s the beach? Not here dude.

9. If you choose the right volunteer organization, they will support you. I recommend VSO as it’s better to scrimp on their stipend wages than have to budget your own meagre savings or, worse still, shamefully ask mum and dad for more cash.

10. Because your efforts will never be forgotten by those that most needed your help. Sorry, but no one remembers a traveler passing through.

The world continues to be messed up without us. And maybe it’s selfish but at least our conscience is clear.

I can also tell you, as wonderful as traveling is – volunteering is on a different planet altogether. I never knew before how lucky I am and how happy I could be.

Update:

Just stumbled across this website that lists a stack of free volunteer position.

Steve Jackson has worked as a fundraiser at KOTO in Hanoi and has just started a new post at CafeChavalos in Granada, Nicaragua. Read about his adventures in Vietnam at Our Man In Hanoi and in Nicaragua at Our Man In Granada.

Part III in a series exploring the experience and responsibility of the traveler in the 21st century. Read the introductory post here then read Part I and Part II.

I wake up realizing the familiar acquaintance of feeling lost accompanies me and I see a long day of passing time ahead.

I think of home, my purpose, where I should be right now, what I should be doing. I begin to think how difficult life can be, its finality and even feel a little sorry for myself. I go downstairs and sit down for breakfast with my friend, an illegal migrant from Burma who runs the guesthouse I am staying in.

His face appears more burdened than usual so I ask him how he is doing? He tells me things could be getting unsafe for him and that he will be heading to live in the jungle at one of the nearby refugee camps for six months to a year at the end of February.

I am speechless.

I realize instantly how trivial my questions are and that asking myself such questions of life is a freedom many are not so lucky to have. I learn a valuable lesson I will not forget.

I am in Mae Sot, Thailand, a town on the Thai/Myanmar (Burma) border. Like many towns on the same border line, its surroundings serve as a “temporary” home for some 100,000 refugees and migrant workers of the total 1-2 million internally and externally displaced people the oppressive military regime in Burma has created.

Governing by fear, the military has been in control for the past 50 years, forcefully supressing the several pro-democracy movements by the Burmese people and arresting or killing those that oppose.

It is a grim situation here with a definite lack of global awareness and attention. Yet it is this global awareness that could create international pressure on the dictatorship that would serve as a crucial stimulant for change. The Thai government tolerates the resulting flood of refugees, yet they are restricted to a certain area by military checkpoints preventing them from venuturing further into Thailand.

Neither citizens of Thailand, nor can they return to Burma, the majority here are quite simply waiting for life to begin; to get back a life and a home that might only exist in their memories.

As a volunteer, I have been teaching English in a nearby village called Boarding High School for Orphans and Helpless Youths (BHSOH). It is one of the many illegal migrant schools in the area for Burmese refugee children and serves as a home for just under half of the students; school by day, kitchen, play area, and sleeping quarters by night.

Although these children have suffered so much and have so little, it was not evident in the smiles and positive attitudes of those I encountered. These children had no control of their past and what happened to place them in their current situation, but it is evident that only they control how they respond to it.

I believe it is a matter of acceptance.

Don’t get me wrong, I am talking about acceptance, not resignation. The moment we accept our present reality is the moment we can take measures to change it.

A very different reality from my own exists here, a reality very difficult to grasp.

It is now time for me to leave Mae Sot.

My friend drops me off at the bus station and we say goodbye. In a fair world I could ask him if he wanted to come with me, and that it would be his choice, his freedom to say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ But, this is not possible in his reality, not today.

Meanwhile, my reality quickly changes, one day I will be in Cambodia standing in wonderment at the Temples of Angkor Wat, one week and I will be lying on a beach in Southern Thailand, just over one month and I will be back in Canada. A country where I am free to choose my own reality, democracy prevails, and freedom is not just a word providing hope that better days lie ahead.

I feel helpless, guilty, hopeful and incredibly thankful for the freedoms I am so blessed to have. It becomes painfully clear; these same freedoms I take for granted everyday are the same freedoms for which lives are lost for everyday, and the same freedoms that keep many alive, in hope that one day they might be as lucky as I.

If you are reading this, chances are you are one of the lucky ones too.

Sean Aiken is a Rastafarian travel junkie at heart, an avid sportsman and Ping Pong champion. Sean is also a co-founder of TravelBlogger, a global community of backpackers. Visit his profile to read more of his travels.

What do you think about Sean’s experience in the town of Mae Sot? Please share you thoughts in the comments.