Travel is all about experiencing a place – the culture and their lifestyle. But what if you don’t want to be a mere spectator? What if you want to actually immerse yourself in their way of life? Voluntourism is the answer. Traveling to volunteer will let you discover a new destination while you return the favor of the community! Here are 10 places where you can travel for free and head to if you want to help and heal.
1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Andaman and Nicobar Environment Team
What?
What can you do?
2. Travel for Free at Jodhpur: Mandore Project
What?
What can you do?
3. Ladakh: 17000 ft Foundation
Teach at Local schools in Ladakh with 17000ft Foundation. Source: better india
What?
The 17000 ft Foundation’s goal is to reach remote villages that are difficult to access due to the rough terrain and strengthen their schools, infrastructure, education and skillsets. The organization’s objective is to grow despite geographical boundaries and enrich the communities.
What can you do?
With 17000 ft foundation’s Voluntourism Program, volunteers get the opportunity to explore remote villages of Ladakh while returning the favor by teaching and schools and instilling creative skills. You can volunteer under reading, art, video, infrastructure programs depending on your skillset. The structured programs range from 10, 16 to 1 Month programs.
4. Sikkim: ECOSS
What?
What can you do?
5. Ladakh: SECMOL
What?
Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) is a one-of-a-kind school that admits students who have failed in conventional educational institutions. Here they live an eco-friendly life, use renewable energy resources, learn through activity base teaching, get hands-on practical experiences and contribute towards reforming the traditional education system.
What can you do?
6. Travel for Free All Over India (& World): Willing Workers on Organic Farms
What?
If experiencing the simple farm life has been one of your to-do things, look no further than WWOOF. The Willing Workers on Organic Farms is a worldwide initiative that promotes cultural exchange and an organic lifestyle by connecting farms and volunteers. You can volunteer at any of the locations registered with WWOOF by farming at coffee estates, tea estates or farmlands. Training, developing projects, crop procurement, horticulture, hygiene, food safety, livestock management are few of the many things that the organization undertakes.
What Can You do?
By joining WWOOF you can stay at a local farm, help with their livestock, their crops, participate in farming activities while you get a taste of their life.
7. Auroville
The first and the only township that recognizes human unity by encouraging diversity and sustainability. Auroville in Southern India is a world of its own with a population of roughly 2,500 people from all over the world. The township is built by the people and truly for the people. Not only a destination, Auroville is a way of living and more and more people are now adapting to it.
What?
The community focuses on cultural, spiritual and social progress through shared learning and community building by keeping the environment at the core of it. One visit to the township and you’ll know there’s plenty you can offer. Besides the permanent residents that work towards building the community, volunteers can help a great deal.
What can you do?
Community engagement, skilled technical work, maintaining records, managing projects, fundraising or designing products – whatever your skill be, you can volunteer in areas like arts, social change, environment, health, research, education, and technology.
8. Chennai: Chennai Trekkers Club
What?
What can you do?
9. All over India (& World): Workaway
What?
Exploring a new place on a limited budget can be a hassle. What if you get to discover a new destination and get accommodation and food in exchange for a helping hand? A platform built for people who want to engage with different cultures cut down on travel expense and engross themselves in a new lifestyle for a brief time, Workaway is your answer to voluntourism. It is a community of people who want to work in exchange of experiences. Individuals or families can host volunteers at their houses or for projects and in return volunteers can lend their time and effort in contributing to their chores or projects.
What can you do?
The range of activities depends on the host. Gardening, painting, waiting in restaurants, farming, teaching a language, animal welfare, activities at school – there’s a range of things you can help with.
10. Spiti Valley: Spiti Ecosphere
Leaving behind the urban life and seeking simpler things – Spiti’s best offering. Yes it is spectacular, yes the mountains look even more majestic, yes it shares its borders with Tibet, yes it is still untouched, and yes Spiti is a different world altogether. But rest aside, Spiti’s heart lies in the Ecosphere.
What?
Ecosphere is an organization that can take the credit entirely for making Spiti a self-sustained village and promoting tourism in a previously unexplored valley. Strengthening the skills of the locals, conserving their culture, developing solar-powered houses, building greenhouses, making the utmost use of their local flora – Ecosphere is helping Spiti transform itself while maintaining its core.
What can you do to travel for free?
With a place that has so much going on, there’s lots one can do. You can be a helping hand in a variety of development projects, teach at schools, build greenhouses, help out at stores and more.
