Cheap and Ethical Volunteer Travel

Whether you’re a student about to embark on an adventure to reward you for your arduous studies or a lifelong backpacker whose school is the open road, chances are you’ve considered volunteering on your travels. Okay, maybe no one wants to think of themselves as a voluntourist. but the concept is a good one. There’s nothing with the potential to be more rewarding than volunteering whilst traveling. If you’ve spoken to anyone who’s done it, they’ll tell you it’s a life changing experience. Travel the world, change your life, make a difference and connect with exciting folks in far-flung lands… Where do I sign up?

Once you’ve decided to take the plunge, the decision of how the hell to find an ethical company to volunteer with is swiftly upon the horizon. There are so many organisations out there—some for-profit, some not, some well-run, many not—it’s hard to know which groups are legit. Not to mention that, if you don’t do it right. volunteering can actually cost a bomb.

Here’s how it generally works (for any newbies). You are responsible for your travel costs (flight, insurance, visa, vaccinations, and all that jazz). Then, usually, you pay a registration fee to take part in any of the volunteer opportunities a given organisation offers, and a program fee for the particular volunteering gig you choose. The fees cover accommodation, food, support from in-country staff, and usually transport to the volunteer site. So, basically, instead of paying a hotel or hostel, you get all that stuff sorted for you by the in-country team; usually, you crash out with a local family in a homestay and eat cheap, nutritious (well, sometimes), local food.

Volunteering abroad is probably one of the best things to spend some cash on. But here’s the problem: many volunteering companies are god-damn evil. Yep, here we go, I said it and we are going to roll with it.

Many of these organisations are just out to make a profit…

Many of the big names in volunteering and travel, charge up to $200 or even $350 per day of volunteering; this is point blank outrageous.

Not-for-profit groups sometimes get so big or badly managed that their program and registration fees get out of control too. The last thing you want to do is work with a non-profit that’s gotten so big that it’s lost sight of the communities it formed to help. It’s important to keep yourself grounded and do your homework try to find a real volunteering company which charges reasonable fees.

The best bet  is to try to get with a small group that works directly with local communities. That way the fees you pay go directly to the local grassroots communities and you avoid the overhead. And the best part is you pay significantly less to get significantly closer to the people you want to reach.

Love Volunteers is one of the best groups like this out there and I am happy to go on record as personally recommending them. They offer a ton of different types of programs in over 35 countries. You can easily match your skills to the volunteer opportunities available, as they range from medical aid, to wildlife and environmental conservation, to social justice issues. And you can even use athletic and artistic skills in lots of their programs.

At Love Volunteers, you can find non-profit programs fees that cost as little as $20USD per day. … $20. … To experience another place, get to know people from another culture, and actually make a difference to people. That’s pretty amazing.

Even the wildlife volunteer programs (which tend to be the most expensive ones with any organisation) cost around $65USD a day as opposed to the hundreds of dollars often quoted by STA… Yeah, I’m going after the big boys here.

Love Volunteers charge a reasonable registration fee ($249USD) that functions as the only source of income for the organisation—that money pays for their overhead, their staff, etc. The rest of your money goes to the community you’re traveling to help. It’s pretty simple really they don’t jack up the price to make a buck.

Mind blown, right?

Ethical organisations, such as LV, tend to have much lower fees as they keep overheads way down by partnering with local NGOs. Now personally, I think it s important to find a volunteer organisation that works closely with local NGOs who know the real needs of each community. It doesn’t do anyone any good to pay through the nose to “help out” where the kind of help you can provide isn’t needed. The cool thing is that with organisations like Love Volunteers, lower costs actually go along with stronger ties to local groups. Win-win!

So if you want to sign up for a life-changing volunteer travel experience, whether it’s for two weeks or six months, be sure to partner with an ethical organisation. such as Love Volunteers  that isn’t just trying to bleed you dry.