Teaching and community volunteering in Kerala

Planet

We are addressing our local environment by working with local communities, local charities, local government bodies, local schools, or indigenous tribes. Our tours are carefully selected – we only partner with local tour operators that are either committed to responsible tourism themselves, are eco-friendly, or have ethical policies. Of course we have to use transport and where possible our local guides encourage walking or biking and traveling on public transport- buses, railways or took tuks. This can minimize our demand for special tourist vehicles and fuel whilst giving you plenty of opportunity to meet and interact with local people/communities.

Our operations are also eco-friendly as we introduce policy of minimising and properly disposing of waste created, by conserving energy and water, and by ensuring that endangered wildlife and environmentally compromised areas are treated with respect.

On our heath,construction and women’s empowerment programs we focus on environmental development projects such as recycling, gardening and planting trees.

Our independent travel options and small group sizes help us to tread lightly and to use more environmentally sound forms of transport, minimizing impact, and ideally enriching the environment.

We will offer traveler’s tips on how to conserve water, reduce waste, and otherwise minimize the environmental impact of their trip. We hope that our travelers will be able to take some of the conservation tips they learn home with them.

Wherever possible, our employees use recycled paper and recycle waste created in the office, as well as attempting to minimise waste created and be a “paperless” office. We also work to minimise energy and water consumption in our offices, and we encourage our partners to follow similar waste management and energy philosophies.

People

This unique and rewarding project brings many benefits to the community we work in. Your interaction with locals in the community who want to learn and develop skills through fun and creative activities will help them grow their talent and develop self-confidence. Volunteers are required as we need assistance with running sessions.

We alos support our community by employing local staff - they are the cultural ambassadors, know multiple dialects of the sub-continent and can easily facilitate local interaction and thus guide our travelers in general best practices (e.g. how to avoid encouraging a “begging” mentality, how to be sensitive in photographing local people, etc.) as well as specific tips on how to avoid running afoul of local customs. More importantly they will earn an income through employment.

We also want to ensure that skill projects are following the guidelines of responsible travel. This includes :

Having Qualified teaching applicants taking classes only. Non qualified applicants can assist our staff only.
We do not work with vulnerable individuals at all or at places like shelters or care homes.
Having emphasis or encouraging long term applicants of 4 weeks minimum
Making DBS checks compulsory
Minimum of a days training on arrival
Having a child protection code