Voluntourism - Why "Helping" Is Not Always Helpful

One of andBeyond's lodges is India.

Top notch luxury safari outfitter andBeyond (see the company review in our Adventure Ratings) is known for its commitment to conservation and local community building. With burgeoning efforts in India coming to fruition in 2010, these guides are on the cutting edge of socially conscious adventure travel. But voluntourism? Think again. While staff take Indian middle schoolers on Conservation Lessons in Kanha National Park or orchestrate the building of a new local school, guests decidedly do not.

“There’s a bit of a controversy in allowing tourists to do work,” says andBeyond’s Paula Franklin. “Say there’s a local carpenter who needs a job and he sees a family from Nebraska building a house. He’ll think: Why are they taking the job that I could get paid for? The community would rather we pay someone who needs the money than let a tourist do it.”

Which isn’t to say guests can’t get involved. “If you just want to drink champagne you can do that,” says Franklin, “but if you want to be brought around the community you can do that as well.” In between jaunts tracking tigers on the back of an elephant in one of India’s national parks, you’ll tour andBeyond’s projects that work closely with local communities and hire local artisans. Then make a donation to help support that program.

It’s a model that’s worked for andBeyond in Africa for almost 20 years, and in India for the last three. Their latest Indian projects include taking local students on game drives in the Indian jungle to teach them about conservation.

So go in search of Asiatic lions and exotic birds with one of andBeyond’s specially trained local naturalist animal trackers, then go ahead and relax with that glass of bubbly—you may be contributing more than you know.—Greer Schott

Photograph courtesy of andBeyond

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Tourism is the best way to help the community feed their families

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Now I wish I was there. a wonderful place. Lighting, trees, water clarity.. pleasant place..

[Christopherjwhill]

Philanthropic travel does have an important role, as indeed it may not be appropriate to offer hands-on volunteering...but if managed properly, the local expert builders can be employed via the traveler's donation as part of their trip fees, and guests can participate in the building project alongside the local experts, and even other members of the community, thus deepening and enriching the experience for the travelers.
In my experience, both philanthropic travel and voluntourism are great, and need to be managed appropriately to ensure that the local communities benefit.

Yours in Adventures That Count
Christopher Hill
Founder
www.handsupholidays.com