Tour Types
Voluntourism News
Voluntourism in Australia
Posted on Friday 4th April
Holiday with the works By Brad Crouch August 05, 2008 12:00am
It is one of the fastest growing niches in travel – voluntourism. Trips where travellers use part of their time to do community and environmental work are booming. As well as the feel-good aspect of such trips, participants have a much closer connection to the areas they visit. In places from Nepal to the Coorong, a variety of companies now offer a diverse range of trips where people can do volunteer work. Travellers can sign on for holidays that restore habitats for endangered species, build schools for poor communities, teach English and much more. Some trips revolve entirely around such work, others have a volunteer component as part of a sightseeing tour, and some use payments to fund projects. One woman who has seen some incredible parts of the world, and built a close bond with local villagers thanks to voluntourism is South Australian Kyra Glasby. After working in Ethiopia with aid agencies when she left school on a world trip, she returned home to Mt Barker and completed a nursing degree. She has repeatedly returned to the Afar region of Ethiopia to continue the work of the Barefoot Initiative, founded by Kyra, her husband Sunil and brother Aidan.
This raises funds in Australia for simple, sustainable projects to improve the lives of people in Afar. As these photos show, working as a volunteer can take you to unusual places and give a deep insight into foreign cultures. Such places may be well and truly off the tourist map - Ethiopia rarely figures on "hot" destinations lists - but for many people that is part of the appeal. Go online for more on the Barefoot Initiative - here are a few more volunteer holidays:
From www.news.com.au
Las Vegas, June 7- Escape Adventures, a Las Vegas based multi-sport touring company, recently received the highest rating ever granted by Sustainable Travel International, making them the greenest touring company on earth. With hundreds of tour companies claiming to be environmentally responsible, this will undeniably raise the bar for outfitters who claim to be running their tours in an eco-friendly fashion.
These companies claim to be sustainable, not leaving carbon pollution in their tracks, when essentially they are only paying to pollute by purchasing energy credits and not truly offsetting their carbon footprints. The people need a better way to decipher real green from "light green" companies who use "green" as nothing more than a marketing ploy. If you drive a Hummer to shop at Whole Foods, you may fall into this category.
Jared and Heather Fisher of Escape Adventures have worked many years to acquire this outstanding honor. Their mission is simple: Support human power and the natural environment. Give back to the earth for the boundless free services it awards us.
The Fishers differentiate themselves from other outfitters in many ways.
· Grow their own organic garden & they feed its fare to guests on tour
· Collect used kitchen vegetable grease from local restaurants to fuel tour vans
· Recycle 90% of waste; tires, bottles, paper, plastic, glass- on tour & at shops
· Have public recycling bins
· Have installed solar panels at their home & shops
· Awarded, "Certificate of Environmental Stewardship," by Rocky Mountain Power, for purchasing 30,000 kilowatt hours of renewable wind energy
· Offer all employees $5/day to ride to work rather than drive
· Use only recycled products and buy merchandise with little or now packaging
Third party auditing by organizations like Sustainable Travel International, which has over 1200 companies adhering to their uber-strict guidelines worldwide, will hold the key to knowing whether a touring company, or any company for that matter, is truly green. For more information on Sustainable Travel International, please visit http://www.sustainabletravelinternational.org.
For more information about Escape Adventures and Las Vegas Cyclery please visit www.escapeadventures.com or call toll free 800.596.2953
World Environment Day 2008
The World Environment Day slogan for 2008 is Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy. Recognising that climate change is becoming the defining issue of our era, UNEP is asking countries, companies and communities to focus on greenhouse gas emissions and how to reduce them. The World Environment Day will highlight resources and initiatives that promote low carbon economies and life-styles, such as improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, forest conservation and eco-friendly consumption. The main international celebrations of World Environment Day 2008 will be held in New Zealand. UNEP is honoured that the city of Wellington will be hosting this United Nations day (read the press release). The day's agenda is to give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership, which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. When did it all begin? World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Another resolution, adopted by the General Assembly the same day, led to the creation of UNEP. How can you celebrate World Environment Day? The World Environment Day Alphabet - 80 Ways to Celebrate Heads of State, Prime Ministers and Ministers of Environment deliver statements and commit themselves to care for the Earth. Serious pledges are made which lead to the establishment of permanent governmental structures dealing with environmental management and economic planning. This observance also provides an opportunity to sign or ratify international environmental conventions. On this World Environment Day, let us examine the state of our environment. Let us consider carefully the actions which each of us must take, and then address ourselves to our common task of preserving all life on earth in a mood of sober resolution and quiet confidence.
World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.
World Environment Day can be celebrated in many ways, including street rallies, bicycles parades, green concerts, essay and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, recycling efforts, clean-up campaigns and much more. In many countries, this annual event is used to enhance political attention and action.
Our logo is a Turtle and we have been lucky enough to support Turtle conservation in several parts of the world over the years, the most memorable being on Bird Island when we helped tiny hatchlings out of their nest and protected them on their way to the see from the crabs and gulls that normally feast on them. Click here for holidays where you can help out these wonderful creatures. Throughout the world, the number of turtle species that have become critically endangered has doubled in the last five years due to their popularity in the food and traditional medicine trade. In the United States, turtles comprise approximately 95% of reptile exports each year. Thirty-five million turtles were exported from the United States between 2000-2002.
The majority, more than seven million per year, were freshwater turtles destined for Southeast Asia to supply the growing food markets. Because many wild turtle populations in Asia have been decimated by over-collection, dealers have begun targeting U.S. turtle populations to meet the Asian market demands. In May 2003, North Carolina passed legislation allowing the state Department of Natural Resources to protect native reptile and amphibian species from exploitation before they become threatened and endangered from over-collection. In order to stop turtle collection for the Asian market, the state then banned the harvest of freshwater turtles. South Carolina, Mississippi, and Alabama are considering similar action. In addition to conservation concerns, turtles in the food trade are treated with little or no regard as living creatures. Pollution and Development Loss of habitat and destruction of habitat (via damaging collection techniques) are serious threats to all turtle populations. The gopher tortoise, for instance, is declining throughout its range, particularly in Florida, primarily because of development. Researchers believe if action is not taken, the gopher tortoise will only exist within protected areas. Coastal developments such as hotels, resorts, and condominiums also greatly reduce suitable nesting habitats for sea turtles. Refuse, such as discarded plastic bags and balloons, cause suffocation, strangulation, or blocked digestive tracts in many turtles. Pollution, in the form of hazardous chemicals and garbage, further limits suitable habitats for turtles and causes illness and death in many land, freshwater, and sea turtles. A study conducted by the Canadian Wildlife Services at three sites in the Great Lakes region found deformities in male snapping turtles, believed to be the result of chemical pollution. Young turtles in the region also showed other biological abnormalities including impaired thyroid function. What's more, sea turtle populations near areas of intense human activity are suffering from the deadly disease Fibropapilloma, which may be caused by chemical pollution. It is believed that nearly 50% of all green sea turtles that occur off the coast of Hawaii are infected with this disease and will perish from it. Fibropapilloma is a contagious disease that causes turtles to develop large tumors that cover their soft tissue and spread to many parts of the body. External tumors inhibit the turtle's breathing, sight, and/or feeding ability, eventually killing the animal. Internal tumors destroy vital organs such as lungs, liver, and kidneys.
World Turtle Day May 23rd
We are very concerned about a little girl we sponser in Burma and it's very hard to get information about the affected areas, so if anyone knows of the situation in Chan Mya Thar Zi, please let us know. many thanks len@voluntourism.co.uk World Vision has today launched an appeal to provide emergency relief to millions of people displaced and homeless after Cyclone Nargis slammed into Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region on 2 May. "The country has been paralysed and all infrastructure has been wiped out. Villages in the southwest delta region have been completely flattened. People are finding whatever shelter they can until aid arrives," said World Vision Chief Executive Tim Costello. Cyclone Nargis hit the southern delta regions about 250 kilometres southwest of Yangon. The storm has dissipated after pounding the country with ten hours of rain, packing winds of 190 kilometres per hour at its peak. Almost 90 per cent of the region around Laputto has been wiped out. World Vision's emergency teams arrived overnight at the request of the Government of Myanmar. Immediate response will be to distribute emergency food and shelter and assess longer-term needs. "We are still trying to get to the worst hit region. There are massive obstacles to reach these parts. Roads are impassable and communications are down. This is a catastrophe for a small nation." World Vision has more than 500 staff in country and is now mobilising all available humanitarian aid into the region. Cyclone in Burma
The value of voluntourism
Do good, but have fun, too
Voluntourism is also becoming more viable for more people thanks to more flexible scheduling. Instead of having to commit to weeks or months - or even years, as in the Peace Corps - it's now easy to mix doing good with having fun in as little as a week or two.
In fact, when survey participants were asked how many days out of a two-week trip they would be willing to devote to volunteer work, two choices - four to six days and seven to 10 days - accounted for 56 percent of the responses.
Full story at
www.msnbc.msn.com
Tourism company fuels up on recycled cooking oil A leading Canterbury tourism company has taken steps to offset its carbon footprint by switching all its vehicles to bio-diesel. Hassle-free Tours is the first tourism operator in the region to make a complete switch to the cleaner, environmentally-friendly fuel produced in Canterbury by Biodiesel New Zealand which is made recycling cooking oil from restaurants and hotels. Mark Gilbert and partner Nikki Marsh, who own and run Hassle-free Tours, say its important New Zealand lives up to its clean, green image and that tourism operators take steps to reduce their carbon emissions. Hassle-free Tours operates seven vehicles which take visitors on tours of the Canterbury high country, including spots where scenes for the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed. Two of their vehicles are large six-wheel drives, one of which was designed and built in Christchurch, and both successfully switched to bio-diesel. “Our tours take visitors into some breath-taking countryside. We really want to make sure that we have as minimal impact on the environment as possible which is why we made the decision to change to bio-diesel,’’ Mark Gilbert says. “With overseas visitors, particularly those from Europe, becoming increasingly environmentally-conscious New Zealand tourism operators need to show they are paying more than lip-service to being green.’’ Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism chief executive Christine Prince praised Hassle-free Tours’ initiative and stressed the importance of the tourism industry taking steps to become environmentally sustainable. “This is a perfect example of the kind of long-term commitment to change and continuous improvement we are encouraging here,” she said. “It is ideal that cooking oil from our hospitality venues can be reused to facilitate amazing experiences for visitors,” she said. The switch to bio-fuel is one of two big changes Hassle-Free Tours has made this year. It’s now running the popular Alpine Safari Tour which takes visitors on trips to the picturesque heart of the South Island’s scenery on three iconic modes of transport – the jet boat, the 4WD, and the TranzAlpine Express. “We’ve been on enough tours during our travels to know how disappointing it is when a trip doesn’t live up to expectations. It’s really important to us that people who come out with us really enjoy the experience and every detail is right,’’ Nikki Marsh says. Hassle-Free Tours also runs 4WD and jet boat adventure tours into the Southern Alps.
Msnbc.com-Condé Nast survey explores emerging travel trend
By Rob Lovitt
Travel writer
MSNBC contributor
Volunteer tourism, aka voluntourism, is alive and well and growing in popularity. In fact, according to a new survey sponsored by msnbc.com and Condé Nast Traveler, more than half (55 percent) of the respondents expressed an interest in taking a volunteer vacation.
The survey polled more than 1,600 people and found that approximately 20 percent had taken at least one volunteer vacation. Of those who hadn't, nearly two-thirds (62 percent) said they'd be very likely or somewhat likely to take one.
Then again, considering that 95 percent of those who have taken one said they'd be (somewhat or very) likely to take another, those who haven't may discover that taking one is just the beginning.