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.
First Descents in Montana rises up to outdo the perils of cancer, one paddle at a time. By Bruce Northam “Healing the way, you need to, scientifically or emotionally.” — Brad Ludden This is a tale about putting outdoor medicine to work. Every employee at the outdoor adventure company First Descents is nicknamed (Fruit Boots, […]
Book Authentic Travel Experience With Do-Good Organizations By Anna Levine Looking to engage in society and travel at the same time? Visit.org aims ‘to enhance the mission of great social organizations by facilitating mutually beneficial virtual and in-person interactions between people and communities around the world.’ Funded in part by Columbia University in New […]
Spending time in rural Costa Rica with LEAF, an organization devoted to preserving indigenous cultures in the Costa Rica Rainforest.
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 […]
Thailand: At the Soi Dog Foundation in Bangkok, volunteers can help save dogs from becoming dinner. Helping out a good cause.
Amazon Jungle: Shaya Laughlin as a Amazon Jungle: Shaya Laughlin as a 17-year-old went to the Amazon jungle with adventurer Mike Horn to work with locals on a water project called Pangaea in Brazil.
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 […]