Courtesy of International Volunteer HQ
the COVID-19 pandemic, along with a number of natural disasters and negative effects from foreign conflicts, has placed an unprecedented strain on the Fiji’s economy. The weekdays will be spent participating in various projects, volunteers are free to spend the weekends exploring the island’s beaches and rainforests or participating in other organized activities.
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Participants on this trip will be able to make a difference by helping to combat the low literacy rates through teaching English or by working with local children at a nearby library.
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Jaipur, known as the Pink City for its magnificent pink facades, is a bastion of rich cultural history and a vibrant tourism industry, but still suffers from high poverty rates and social inequality. A significant portion of the population lives in slums, families struggling to afford school fees, access healthcare, and face overcrowded housing conditions. Many children under the poverty line or facing social exclusion are neglected and unable to access essential resources they need to thrive. Covid has disproportionately affected these populations, eliminating job opportunity, hampering access to quality education, and delaying necessary works on vital infrastructure. Volunteers can make a difference in the community by helping to build and renovate these facilities and assist with education projects like courses, games, arts and crafts, and sports for a range of age groups. Participants will engage with students to help them catch up with peers and avail them of further opportunities to learn and grow. Each traveler will work on unique projects organized by the need of the moment and the number of volunteers available. The tasks are chosen by the needs of the community. Big group projects involve volunteer working days at a school for 50-100 special needs children affected with mental and physical disabilities such as ADHD, Autism, Muscular Dystrophy, and more.
This trip is 7 days and costs $1,627. Globe Aware is a nonprofit organization that offers international volunteer programs that go beyond tourism. Globe Aware programs promote the immersion of participants in a unique way that also aligns with the United Nations sustainability goals. Volunteers get the chance to experience cultural awareness: acknowledging and celebrating the culture of a community, but not changing it. Participants will also work alongside the host community and help teach and learn skills with the concept of promoting sustainable practices.
Courtesy of Máximo Nivel
Guatemala, the most populous country in Central America, is endowed with an abundance of rich ecosystems and fertile land. However, almost half the population cannot afford the cost of the basic food basket, while food insecurity remains a pressing issue in the country. In recent years, sustainable agriculture has seen a sharp rise in popularity as it simultaneously tackles environmental issues and poverty-induced challenges. However, the introduction of these newer farming practices has also generated a demand for more hands in the field to maintain optimal production. Through this project, volunteers will be able to work with local farmers just outside of Antigua, where they can learn about the sustainable farming of coffee and macadamia nuts and participate in every step of the production process, from picking to weeding, planting, processing, and packaging. At the same time, volunteers will gain a deeper understanding of traditional agricultural techniques that have been practiced for centuries. This project also offers participants the chance to immerse themselves in local Guatemalan life and learn more about the rich history and culture of the region.
This minimum 1-week experience starts at $665 per person and includes airport pick-up, host family accommodations, meals, and 24/7 emergency support. Volunteers will work for 3-4 hours per day from Monday to Friday.
Courtesy of Under 30 Experiences
The only way to understand and appreciate the full depth and breadth of Moroccan life is to explore the country like a local. During this experience, travelers will be able to stay at a riad, a traditional Moroccan home with an interior courtyard, in Marrakech, the fourth largest city in the country and walk the narrow streets of the old medina to the great square of Jemaa el Fnaa, the city’s main square and market place.
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Courtesy of IVHQ
You can help local teams with the maintenance and renovation of community spaces like schools and soup kitchens to help make the city’s public buildings safer, more functional, and more attractive
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Lady sitting in front of Parthenon on Acropolis, Athens, Greece. Kristoffer Trolle. CC BY 2.0.
Greece is home to the longest coastline in Europe, filled with pristine beaches, Mediterranean forests, and rugged mountains. The country is also home to a myriad of prominent archeological sites from its ancient civilizations; these include the monasteries of Meteora, the mystical Delphi Archaeological Site, and above all, the city of Athens, home to the world-famous Parthenon, the incarnation of millennia of philosophy and culture. Travelers will follow the coastline from Corfu to Athens, with the opportunity to visit these landmarks and take in the beauty of this unique nation. From the hanging monasteries of Meteora, to the ancient city of Delphi, a UNESCO World Heritage site, whose structures include ancient buildings like the treasuries, an altar for animal sacrifices, the trip will immerse participants in the deep history of each remarkable site. In Athens, travelers will continue to embrace classic architecture through the city’s many archaeological sites before visiting Shedia Home, a non-profit cafe which provides purpose and employment to over 150 individuals undergoing homelessness in Athens.
This is a five-day trip and costs $705. This trip is a G Adventures Roamie trip, a hostel-based trip style geared towards 18-35 year olds looking to explore iconic destinations through an immersive, and wallet-friendly experience. G Adventures is a sustainable, small-group tour company that has been leading travelers for 35+ years. They have been pioneers in community tourism, and their trips directly benefit the local communities they visit. They have a responsible travel effort called G For Good and partner with the nonprofit Planeterra, dedicated to ensuring communities touched by tourism benefit from it. They were rated one of CATALYST PLANET’s 8 Best Sustainable Travel Companies.
Courtesy of GoEco
Volunteers will have the opportunity to work alongside animals who have been orphaned, abandoned, injured, born in captivity, or brought up unsuccessfully as pets.
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Costa Rica has implemented a range of environmental policies and initiatives to promote sustainability, including reforestation programs, wildlife protection laws, and incentives for renewable energy development. Volunteers can help contribute to these developments in the remote community of El Yaz.
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Courtesy of Untamed Borders
Travelers will spend 16 days traversing through the heart of the mountain range, staying in the homes of the Pamiri locals, camping near centuries-old caravanserais and exploring the hidden beauty of the Alpine lakes along the way.
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Courtesy of IVHQ
Volunteer travelers will spend up to three weeks assisting a local family with small-scale farming tasks, learning traditional Nepalese farming practices while introducing newer farming techniques and agribusiness principles to boost sustainability and financial security for the family and their broader community.
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Train Street, Vietnam
To maximize their time in the country, travelers will head down the coast of central Vietnam by train, starting in the Ancient Town of Hôi An and hitting two beachside cities before concluding their journey in Ho Chi Minh City.
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The outfitter works with Ghanaian grassroots organizations to find places where volunteers are needed most and places participants with a range of projects including water sanitation, facilities renovation, and education improvement.
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Courtesy of IVHQ
During this experience, volunteer travelers will work at some of Rome’s many farms and parks, assisting with tasks such as cultivating and harvesting vegetables and legumes; planting, weeding and watering plants; and taking care of farm animals.
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Courtesy of G Adventures
The Yucatán Peninsula, lying between the Gulf of Mexico to the west and north and the Caribbean Sea to the east, is renowned for its lush rainforests, tropical beaches and historic Mayan ruins. During this experience, the group will explore some of the area’s many cenotes – enormous sinkholes resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock, take a guided tour of the Chichén Itzá, one of the most famous ancient Mayan ruins in the world, home to wonders like the Temple of Kukulcán and the Sacred Cenote, and swim in turquoise waters to escape the heat. In Tulum, once a Mayan port city, travelers will encounter more historic ruins as well as magnificent beaches on which to relax. The city also offers the remarkable natural waterpark of Xel-Há where the group can snorkel and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
This is a 6- day trip and costs $769. This trip is a G Adventures Roamie trip, a hostel-based trip style geared towards 18-35 year olds looking to explore iconic destinations through an immersive, and wallet-friendly experience. G Adventures is a sustainable, small-group tour company that has been leading travelers for 35+ years. They have been pioneers in community tourism, and their trips directly benefit the local communities they visit. They have a responsible travel effort called G For Good and partner with the nonprofit Planeterra, dedicated to ensuring communities touched by tourism benefit from it. They were rated one of CATALYST PLANET’s 8 Best Sustainable Travel Companies.
Courtesy of G Adventures
On this trip, the group will journey along the Peruvian coast, discovering small coastal towns, desert oases, islands and bustling bohemian neighborhoods along the way. Starting off in Lima, a capital city with a UNESCO World Heritage Site at its center and a vibrant nightlife, travelers will get the chance to explore independently and roam the romantic plazas of this coastal center. In a small fishing town, travelers will experience a fresh seafood lunch and learn how Peruvian ceviche is prepared. Heading into the Peruvian desert, the group will have the chance to zoom around the sand dunes on dune buggies, try out sandboarding, take a sunset swim in an oasis, take a kiteboarding class, and visit a pisco distillery. In the Ballestas Islands, see a unique pantheon of fauna from penguins to flamingos, to sea turtles on a boat excursion.
This is a 5-day trip and costs $439. This trip is a G Adventures Roamie trip, a hostel-based trip style geared towards 18-35 year olds looking to explore iconic destinations through an immersive and wallet-friendly experience. G Adventures is a sustainable, small-group tour company that has been leading travelers for 35+ years. They have been pioneers in community tourism, and their trips directly benefit the local communities they visit. They have a responsible travel effort called G For Good and partner with the nonprofit Planeterra, dedicated to ensuring communities touched by tourism benefit from it. They were rated one of CATALYST PLANET’s 8 Best Sustainable Travel Companies.
Travelers will enjoy the full extent of the country's riches, from the lively streets of San José to the verdant slopes of Arenal Volcano National Park.
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After an initial day spent in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, travelers will take a day trip to visit the archaeological remains of Samarra, a UNESCO world heritage site and the only Islamic capital that retains its original plan, architecture and arts.
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The Amazon Rainforest, the world’s largest tropical rainforest, is home to over 3 million species and covers much of Brazil and Peru, as well as Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and Ecuador. During this experience, travelers will have the unique opportunity to live with the Quechua people, the Indigenous people of South America who speak the Quechua language, and learn more about both the rainforest and the people themselves. Beginning their journey in Quito, Ecuador, travelers will go by bus and truck into the Amazon Rainforest where they will spend the next four nights with a local Quechua family in the small town of Tena. In the town, travelers will be able to learn about medicinal plants as they explore the rainforest, go on a canoe ride to the amaZOOnico Animal Rescue Center, experience a shamanic healing ceremony and participate in a blowgun contest. Other activities include a natural mud face mask treatment and a cacao culinary experience and tasting. At the village, travelers will get to know the Quechua people on a personal level, sharing meals with them and learning about the secrets of the rainforest with local community members as their guides.
This is a seven day trip and costs $712. This trip is led by G Adventures, a sustainable, small-group tour company that has been leading travelers for 35+ years. They have been pioneers in community tourism, and their trips directly benefit the local communities they visit. They have a responsible travel effort called G For Good and partner with the nonprofit Planeterra, dedicated to ensuring communities touched by tourism benefit from it. They were rated one of CATALYST PLANET’s 8 Best Sustainable Travel Companies.
Volunteers will work with a team of experienced veterinarians in addition to the thousands of volunteers from around the world who have helped over the past 10+ years.
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