Volunteer Travel Your Way Around the Globe

Volunteer travel can be an incredibly rewarding way to immerse yourself in a new culture.

When you volunteer travel, you’ll find yourself going beyond what tourists see on the surface and delving deeper into the local culture. You’ll learn about what day-to-day life is like for the locals and you’ll uncover deeper aspects of their living style and philosophy that will help you to understand them more profoundly. Volunteer travel has been embraced by digital nomads, long-term travelers and those who want a different experience than traditional tourism can offer. 

Here are some examples of volunteer opportunities that offer you a chance to immerse yourself in another culture while giving something back.

Volunteer Travel Opportunities

Rustic Pathways, Peru

On this journey through Peru, you’ll live in rural village communities and volunteer in many capacities, including at local schools or even at an animal rehabilitation center in the Amazon Jungle.

Rustic Pathways has been traveling to Peru since 2008 and the program is for young students, making it an incredibly valuable learning opportunity. Also, participants in the program will have the opportunity to learn Spanish with the locals, or even pick up a few words of the indigenous dialect of the region.

Rustic Pathways also organizes many other volunteering projects in nations such as the Dominican Republic, Fiji, and Costa Rica.

Projects Abroad, Ethiopia

Although Ethiopia is a recovering nation, this region of Africa has been deeply affected by famine and it still is in need of volunteer help. The Projects Abroad volunteer program will allow you to take part in a wide range of projects, including sports, journalism, medicine, healthcare, and more. Volunteers are needed to teach English, spend time with children in an orphanage, and generally be a positive part of the community.

Global Service Corps Buddhist Immersion Program, Cambodia

This fascinating program allows volunteers to be both the teacher and the student, interacting with the Buddhist Khmer culture in Cambodia. Participants meditate with the monks and experience daily rituals like chanting and giving alms.

You’ll provide English training to the Khmer community, work at a youth center for children affected by HIV/AIDS or conduct public health workshops. Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Asia and by supporting these projects — as well as living there and spending money on local products — participants contribute to the economic growth of local communities.

Mayan Cultural Immersion Program, Guatemala

On this volunteer abroad program, you’ll be able to experience what life is like in a small Mayan farming community in rural Guatemala. The village is approximately 30 minutes from the city of Antigua by bus and life for the Kakchiquel-speaking families here is simple and traditional.

During your stay you will work and live with the family, assist with agricultural work, learn how to weave textiles, care for animals and livestock, help with construction projects and work with children at the local school.

These are just a few examples of fully immersive volunteer experiences where you’ll feel like you are a part of the community you are visiting, rather than just being a visitor.