Volunteer Tourism & Eco-Tourism: The Cheapest Way to Travel

The idea sounds great. Take a little vacation, spend some time seeing new places, and get a chance to help out someone in need. Volunteer tourism and eco-tourism are great alternatives for someone who thinks sitting on a crowded beach burning to a crisp amounts to a rather dull vacation. However, if you do a bit of research into the more popular volunteer tourism programs, you can't help but notice the price tag: $2,500 or more to spend two weeks working in a third world country! This doesn't even include travel fees and many of your meals. If you want to make a difference but don't have that kind of cash, you might want to check out one of the following options for wallet-friendly volunteer tourism.

Help Exchange is an online organization connecting organic farms, ranches, hostels, and even sailing boats with travelers willing to work hard in exchange for food and lodging. You can sign up for a free account and browse dozens of opportunities in the United States and abroad. Typical entries involve local families needing someone to help a few hours a day or a certain number of hours a week. The terms of each agreement are laid out for volunteers to review before contacting a host. You can also sign up for a premium account, which allows you access to even more hosts and other features of the site. This is a great site with varied opportunities to fit any passion. You can find Help Exchange at www.helpx.net.

While Help Exchange has many listings for hosts on organic farms, WWOOF-World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms-is a site dedicated exclusively to matching volunteers with organic host farms. In order to participate, you must sign up with the WWOOF organization for the country you would like to volunteer in. This involves a small fee. For instance, joining WWOOF-USA costs $20 for a single membership and $30 for a couple. Once you are a member of the organization, you can look through hundreds of hosts to find the perfect farm for your interests. Many hosts allow you to bring children or pets, but you are expected to work hard and learn about organic farming. One drawback with this site is that you can only preview a few host listings online, and only have access to the full database once you have signed up and received your registration packet in the mail. Also, if you wish to volunteer in multiple countries, you must join each region's organization separately. However, this is a great opportunity to learn about the organic movement and help make organic produce affordable for all. The main site can be found at www.wwoof.org, and from there you will be directed to the main sites for each country that participates in the network.

Idealist, a project of Action Without Borders, is a site where people and organizations can collaborate to help others and find solutions to social and environmental problems. This site provides information not only on volunteer opportunities, but also nonprofit jobs, projects, and like-minded people to get involved and make a difference in the world. The volunteer opportunities listed on the site range from helping recovering addicts, to working with orphanages, to lobbying for wildlife conservation issues. No matter what issue you would like to help resolve, you'll find ample opportunities here. Idealist can be found at www.idealist.org, and the volunteer opportunity link is on the left sidebar along with links to searches for non-profit jobs, internships, organizations, and events.
Many people want the chance to make a difference in the world but cannot afford a traditional volunteer tourism vacation. The sites listed here are just a few of the dozens of organizations that connect people who want to help with those that need a helping hand. If you look around enough, you will find the perfect host opportunity to fit your skills, passions, and interests.