Over 50s volunteering in India

Environment

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 tuk 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 policies of minimising and properly disposing of waste created, conserving energy and water, and by ensuring that endangered wildlife and environmentally compromised areas are treated with respect.

On our health, 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.

Community

Volunteer support makes a big difference on this project, as you will support children who come from disadvantaged families. Many children attending the school have parents who are not educated and need help in learning, and revising subjects. By developing their English skills, and teaching children new skills through extra-curricular activities, it will help in their overall development and confidence.

The schools lack teaching resources and the teachers also need a lot of support from volunteers. They have classes that are too large and hence disruptive. You will help in student monitoring and management and also helping to train teachers with new teaching methods or building teaching aids for a particular class if you possess the relevant qualifications. We screen all applicants for relevant skills/certificates so for example you have TEFL qualified teachers helping with the teacher training and trained medics helping with health care.

In your time off, we use local adventure tour companies to offer you options. The local guides they use: drivers, chefs and others involved all earn income through bookings. We also arrange your stay in local homestays which is a source of income for local families. You will be eating home cooked food and all your food will be sourced from local markets and local areas. You will be taking cooking classes and also attending a cultural dance show to give you a true flavour of life on ground and in turn you will be supporting all those involved.