19 Apr Taking Voluntourism for a Test Drive
Volunteer vacations are having a moment. Like many travelers, I like the idea of seeing the world and making a difference at the same time, but it’s also a big commitment. With unlimited time off, I’d be happy to build a library or dig a well on vacation. With only a few weeks of paid time off a year? I’m not so sure.
©Elizabeth Moreno
Natural Habitat Adventures has solved that problem with their voluntourism extensions: short add-ons to longer adventures that allow guests to care for the planet and the people on it for just a few days. Travelers can give back without giving up their entire vacations.
Be more than a tourist
After experiencing a destination like Costa Rica as a tourist, roll up your sleeves and help Grupo Tortuguero protect the eastern Pacific green sea turtle. Since the cost of the trip extension goes directly to the organization, you’ll be helping out in two ways. Even if you’re not particularly skilled at measuring and weighing marine reptiles, you’ll be doing a good thing.
After their trip to Ecuador, Don and Jan Wilkinson worked at a nursery school. “Often when travelling you see the highlights, but not the everyday life of the people in whose country you are visiting,” they said. “ This was a great opportunity to balance this. We would do it again.”
Embrace flexibility
While some of the extensions have a narrow focus like education or wildlife conservation, others offer a broader range of tasks for guests. With the Livingstone Community Development Project in Zambia, you might find yourself painting a medical clinic, planting a garden, or helping a school teacher in the classroom. Your job will depend on their needs and your interests and physical capabilities.
Trade luxury for immersion
While the extensions are fun and rewarding, the emphasis obviously isn’t on 5-star dining or high thread count sheets. Meals are included, but you may be camping or bunking in a modest hotel. For some people, this is a highlight. “I loved the basic essentials and back-to-nature aspects of camp,” said S. Myers of her extension in Baja California. “The tents were great with warm blanket and great mattresses.” W. Redal agreed, describing the trip as “What ecotourism truly should be: an immersion in a place, its people and way of life. Hands-on, educational, relational – I felt like we got a unique, very non-touristy window on the challenges and gratifications of living in a place like Magdalena Bay.”
To learn more about voluntourism opportunities with Natural Habitat Adventures, call them 800-543-8917, or visit www.nathab.com/voluntourism
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