Voluntourism is traveling for good. Here we explore the many ways travelers can give back to communities around the world by going on volunteer work trips and helping people around the world.
The goal is to preserve and support indigenous cultures and the Rainforest By Carol Antman When a Bribri child is born it is anointed with chocolate. Deceased are washed in it. Legend has it that the Creator Sibú attracted his wife Tsiru as they swam in a chocolate waterfall, her hair adorned with cacao […]
GlobeAware sends volunteers to help local families improve their lives by putting in cement floors. By Elijah Rivera For most of us, having a solid floor underneath our kitchens and living rooms a pretty basic necessity that we take for granted. But for many rural villagers in Guatemala and other countries, the reality is that […]
Indonesia: Bombed and Bleached Coral Reefs Local is working to save the coral reefs of the Togean Islands By Fuyah I found myself swimming through a grey and deserted battlefield, littered with the lost lives of its coral comrades, fish swimming around in circles, aimlessly about like demented citizens in a ghost town. Silently drifting […]
Swim with Sharks in Beautiful Thailand By Andrew Neal There are many things that kill more people each year than sharks – dogs, cows, and lightning. Trying to follow that logic was important as a blacktip reef shark, longer than I am tall, swam towards me in the open water just off the beach at […]
At the Soi Dog Foundation, volunteers help save man’s best friends By Chantal Briere At 8:30 in the morning in Phuket, Thailand’s largest island, it was already very hot and humid and my husband, Bob, and I were sweating bullets. We had just walked at a brisk pace for 25 minutes or so, along the […]
A Young Explorer’s Expedition to the Amazon By Shaya Laughlin It was on a hot and humid day that I arrived at the starting point of an expedition that would change my life forever. Standing in the bustling metropolis of Manaus, after several long haul flights, it was surreal to finally be reunited with my […]
Apple Harvest in India: Volunteering during the Harvesting Season By Priya Krishnan Das Apples aren’t my favorite fruit. But the very thought of climbing apple trees and plucking apples seemed very romantic, so I set out looking for volunteering options for this year’s apple harvesting season. I found Banjara Orchards in Thanedar, whose family has […]
Cleaning the Reef in Oracabessa, Jamaica By David Peters I wondered what I was doing. Watching intently and photographing as three men surveyed their underwater garden, possessively cleaning coral and rocks with toothbrushes. They do this twice a week in an attempt to re-build Jamaica’s damaged reef. I was in Oracabassa, a small coastal fishing […]
Africa Travel: A New Kind of Road Trip Across South Africa By Eleanor Harte A new road trip across South Africa allows visitors to see the sights and do some good in the process. If you’ve always wanted to swim in Kosi Bay or learn to cook dinner with a Zulu tribe, and you like […]
MEETing A Different Provence–In the busy South of France, we travel lightly By Max Hartshorne, GoNOMAD Editor This story is about MEET…or Mediterranean Experience of EcoTourism and one of their soul-enriching trips to destinations all over Europe and next to the Mediterranean sea. Luca Santarossa, the organization’s founder, met me in the Cafe Gigante in […]
Leaving a Lasting Impact on Guatemala: Helping the Native Women of Xecam By Tyrel Nelson It’s T-shirt weather in Xecam (Shay-com). Team Leader Ernie and I (present for translation purposes) sit on plastic chairs outside a two-room house. Our counterpart Arturo sits across from us at the breakfast table. Sipping coffee in the bright Monday sun, […]
Volunteering in the small indigenous community of Xiloxochico in Mexico and experiencing the culture.
