Take a tour to the Banaue Rice Terraces

Volunteer projects and support - Theme

Opportunities, projects, tips and discussions around volunteering and sustainable project support

Join one of the weekly beach clean-up actions as a tourist in Thailand, Vietnam, Romania and more

Volunteer for one day. Making a difference during your holiday is not so easy. But, with the local trash hunting events of Trash Hero you can easily join a beach clean-up or nature clean-up just for one day and make a part of your tourist destination better. It is a great way to meet local people and leave your holiday destination cleaner than when you arrived. No costs are involved, no experience needed and no further obligations. When you travel to Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Georgia, Germany, Netherlands, Kuwait, Cambodia or Japan there are active volunteer groups of Trash Hero that regularly/weekly host clean-up events. The best way to check upcoming events is on the specific Facebook pages that the local chapters host.

Note: they also offer options for online volunteering - to promote their worldwide activities from your living room.

Volunteer in a Bolivian Animal Refuge

Join La Senda Verde Animal Refuge in the Bolivian jungle. They offer a rotational programm with a minimum stay of two weeks. During your volunteer stay you can experience working with a wide array of rescued animals: parrots, macaws, turtles, tortoises, bears, wild cats, and monkeys! Maintanance and construction of enclosures is also part of the job. Do you have specific skills to offer in the field of veterinary, IT or carpentry => even better! Please contact them before you enrole in the program to see what they are up to during your expected period of stay. They also keep a wishlist on their website for products you could bring as a donation.

No time to volunteer? It is also possible to have a short term travellers overnight stay in their cabins

Volunteer options in Iceland: trash hunting

join SEEDS to make the coastal area of Iceland a little cleaner again. As just one of the many options for short term volunteering in Iceland this project is organised to increase awareness and to have fun in nature. Organised trip of one week where you have a full schedule with a group of 12 other volunteers. Vegetarian meals will be provided.

This camp combines learning, sharing, hands-on work and fun. No previous experience is needed. Volunteers should prepare to share environmental issues from their countries and be ready to spend time outdoors, walk medium distances during the cleanups, as during other activities and sightseeing. As part of the project happens outdoors, volunteers should be ready to adapt and be flexible with the work and free-time schedule, as depending on the changeable weather, we may not be able to perform some of the activities planned.

Have fun!

Take a tour to the Banaue Rice Terraces

Let a local guide show you the rice terraces that are commonly referred to by Filipinos as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". A van will take you to several viewpoints enabling you to enjoy the green and stunning landscapes. You will be informed about the Ifugao culture that revolves around rice. Get to know the local feasts that are linked to agricultural rites from rice cultivation to rice consumption. Hear about the harvest season with the thanksgiving feasts & the harvest rites like tungo (the day of rest), the drinking of the bayah (rice beer), and the practice of chewing betel nut. Are you feeling energetic? Your guide will take you for a hike up (and down) the terraces.

The Banaue Rice Terraces (Tagalog: Hagdan-hagdang Palayan ng Banawe) also called Payo, are 2000-year old terraces that were carved into the mountains by ancestors of the indigenous people. Locals to this day still plant rice and vegetables on the terraces

WWOOFing and your travel insurance

WWOOFing is a great way to experience a country on a completely different way than when you 'just' travel. You generally perform work you haven't done before and live on a farm that you didn't know before. Besides all the reasons why you should pack your bag and start WWOOFing, please consider some points of attention regarding your travel and health insurance.

In general travel insurances are designed to meet the needs of travellers and many times even narrower just 'tourist trips'. When you stay on a WWOOF farm as a volunteer this might not be covered at all. This exposes you to risks regarding liability and health care related costs and other costs you thought were covered by your travel insurance. So before you do any volunteer work, always check the conditions and when the conditions don't give enough clarity contact your insurance broker or the insurance company. It's best to have a written answer to your question to avoid problems when you need to file a claim later.

Depending on the WWOOF farm you visit the type of work will vary. Your insurance might cover volunteer work, or even volunteer work on farms in general but there may be exceptions or surcharges for working with farm animals of large machinery. Check with your host farm what kind of work you can expect and again check your activities with your insurance conditions.

The duration of your stay may also have an impact on the validity of your insurance. At WWOOF farms it might be possible to stay several months while your travel insurance may only cover short trips abroad. When the farm work turns out to be even nicer than expected you might want to extend your stay. Not all travel insurances allow you to extend your coverage while traveling.

Some national WWOOF departments have explicit requirements for for your insurance coverage, some earn some money by highlighting a specific travel insurance. When enrolling for WWOOF-USA you automatically have an accident emergency policy, but health/medical related costs are not included. WWOOF-USA recommends 'volunteercard' as a travel insurance, but that insurance seems to be available for US and Canadian citizens only.

Insurances that cover WWOOFing

Do you have any additions about WWOOFing in relation to travel and medical insurance? Please leave a comment below

Volunteers needed in the field of regenerative agroforestry

reNature is a Dutch initiative to make the world a little greener again. In many countries intensive and or monoculture agriculure have degraded the soil. Through training of farmers and local organisations reNature tries to change the way farmers use their land. Agroforestry is their solution. By planting trees in combination with other crops the soil will be more resilient against drought, have rain and erosion. Agricultural land that has bevome unproductive can be restored with this method. On model farms reNature shows the result: higher and more diverse income and a vast incline of biodiversity. On model schools they teach farmers how to handle the transition from old school to new school agriculture

reNature offers several opportunities to become a volunteer (also online). If you get inspired by renatureing the world and are inpired to make this world green, inclusive, complete and rich again, you are welcome to sign-up. Since they focus on agroforestry a certain level of prior knowledge will open up more opportunities. If you wish to engage in field work a minimum availability of one month is required. Want to know more about opportunities around the world? Get in contact