DS planning a Gap Year - how to choose which company to plan an environmental conservation trip with?

[beachyhead]

DS is planning his gap year and doesn't want to do the typical travelling thing, but would like to do a month or two volunteering abroad, ideally for a conservation project.

There are tonnes of companies out there who can arrange this, but it's really hard to find actual reviews (ie. not on their website) to see which ones really deliver. It seems a really overcrowded market.

Does anyone have experience, positive or negative, to help him choose?

Does anyone have any experience?

Try www.thelanguagegap.org.uk

Is it proper volunteering, or is it charity tourism that he will have to pay to do?

Charity tourism is big money, and doesn’t actually benefit local communities. Teens “helping” build a house for example doesn’t help the community. What would be useful is training and education of locals so they can build their own houses. Same for “teaching” English.

Pick carefully!

World Veterinary Services is a well respected organisation that often requires non- veterinary volunteers of their trap and neuter and rabies vaccination programs. These help to control population of feral cats and dogs and the rabies program helps to dramatically reduce the about of rabies disease in the human population. It's not big and flashy, but it makes a real difference in the areas it works.

This Guardian article has ideas on how to pick a place, but also that to be of use a volunteer should be there at least a few months.

A gap year/young volunteer thinks that it is actually detrimental to local communities. There is an article from BBC here

Voluntarism is a huge business and charity is not at its heart - profits are. Far better to look for agencies working overseas who take on a few 18 year olds each year on proper supervised programmes which typically are several months! A friends son did 6 months in an Indian orphanage and they provided accommodation and food plus a tiny stipend, his only cost was flights.

He could look at helpxchange or wwoof as alternative. They have volunteer places where you actually get to learn some skills without paying. I did it in Australia and New Zealand and only one place turned out to be a bit weird, the rest were fantastic. You actually live and work with people who know the place, rather than a bunch of transients.

Maybe look at the www.aiesec.co.uk/

It tends to attract DC who have actually started at Uni....so maybe worth consideration.

Not sure about helpxchange - I know a young teacher who had an awful experience (although she was female - so probably a slightly bigger risk).

Have you thought of WWOOF? Pretty sure that's the acronym. Willing workers on organic farms.

Totally agree with posters who flag the sometimes unsavoury nature of this. I remember stories about false orphanages set up to encourage donations etc. You are wise to be wary.

Thanks so much, I'll take a look at the articles and names suggested. He's seen WOOF and may do that in the UK.

The websites look so glossy and enticing and somehow you don't want to believe that they do no good at all....

Chances are if you’re having to pay for the “experience” it’s charity tourism.

The World Vet Service looks good, various opportunities of varying lengths all over the place.

Thanks to all